All about the Brussels Griffon? | What you need to know!

The Brussels Griffon is a sturdy small or toy breed of dog that originated in Brussels, Belgium, where they were kept in stables to hunt and eliminate rodents. They weight 8 to 10 pounds and have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years.

The Brussels Griffon personality is very unique. Some may be outgoing and silly, while others are serious, shy and timid. They prefer not to compete with other dogs and enjoy only 1 sibling or all the attention from their owners. The Brussels seem to enjoy mature owners and need to be supervised around young children who may hang on them, are clumsy or too rough.

The Brussels Griffon was created by mixing Affenpinshers, pugs and English toy spaniels. Giving them two coat consistencies of rough or wirey and a smooth coat. Accepted coat colors are red, black and tan, black and a color called Belge pernounced – “Beige” , which is a two-colored hair shaft ending with black on the top giving a smokey appearance.

And the first Brussels Griffon was registered in 1883 and became AKC recognized in 1910. The first Brussels Griffon was thought to be seen in the foreground of the Jan Van Eyck painting The Arnolfini Marriage, but what really gave them international fame and popularity was when the Belgian Queen Marie Henriette and her daughter began breeding and showing them and then exporting this little noble lad to other countries.

The Brussels is known for having a classic grumpy human or monkey like facial features, which some people believe was the dog breed that inspired the little Ewok look in starwars!

The Brussels does not require a lot of exercise and are often apartment dogs and can get their exercise playing and running around the house.

Ok, So there are actually 3 varriations of Brussels Griffons or Griffon Bruxellois, The Belgian Griffon (Griffon Belge) and the Petit Brabancon, all descendents from a small rough-coated dog called “Smousje” , haha which is a group of small breed grumpy dogs found in Belgium. Just imagine this being your street dog – I cant help but laugh – just too cute.

So why aren’t there many Brussels Griffons? Well, as this dog was becoming popular the First and Second world war proved to be a disastrous time for this breed. By the end of the wars there was almost no original native Brussel Griffons left. It was through the help of England and a few imported dogs that helped to bring this breed back again.

The Brussels Griffon is slowly making a come back but is actually a difficult breed to find and is still only the 97th most popular dog breed.

One little Brussels Griffon puppy can cost anywhere for $1,000 to $4,000.

They have health issues that other smooshed face dog breeds have, such as heat intolerance and breathing issues.

But 2 health issues common to Brussels which are congenital include:
Syringomyelia – which is a serious condition where fluid-filled cavities develop in the spinal cord and near the brain. The nature of this disease is that the dog’s skull is too small for his brain, which blocks the opening at the base of the skull and prevents the flow of spinal fluid. Because of this backup of fluid, pockets of fluid called syrinxes are created in the spinal cord which causes extreme pain in the shoulders, neck, head, and chest. They are usually very sensitive to touch in these areas and some dogs show weakness of extremities and possible paralysis.

Chiari-like malformation or CM is another genetic malformation in small toy breeds is when: Their small skulls crowd the brain and result in herniation of the cerebellum and brain stem through the foramen magnum. About 50% also have syringomyelia.

Some small dogs may have these congentital malformations and only present with “Phantom scratching” at the base of their skull, most likely from irritation or a feeling of pressure.

Alright guy!
I hope you learned a lot about the Brussel Griffon.
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