Breed history
The Ariègeois originates, as its name suggests, from Ariège, in the Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées region. The breed results from a cross between a country briquet dog and an older dog, probably the Bleu de Gascogne, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. To Count Élie de Vézins (1835-1920), we attribute its paternity and development. The objective was to develop a race called to excel in hare hunting.
Today, it is an area in which the Ariègeois always shows himself to his advantage, even if he also sometimes shines against the boar. Its ability to evolve on challenging terrain in the forest or the mountains has always been appreciated by hunters who have used it. Mainly present in the South, it is much rarer in the rest of France and, a fortiori, in the rest of the world. After nearly disappearing during the Second World War, the breed has been slowly getting a makeover. The breed was definitively recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) on October 1, 1954.
