Flushing Dog / FCI Group 8 · Purebred · France's elegant blue-ticked spaniel — a medium-sized flushing dog with distinctive blue mottling bred for hunting waterfowl with grace and style
The Blue Picardy Spaniel (Épagneul Bleu de Picardie) is a French pointing and retrieving spaniel that developed in the early 20th century around the Somme estuary in Picardy. It arose from local Picardy Spaniels crossed with English Setters brought over by British hunters, producing a hardy, water-loving gundog suited to the region's marshes.
The breed takes its name from its distinctive speckled coat, a blend of black and white hairs that gives an overall blue-grey appearance, often with black patches. Medium-large and athletic with a gentle expression, it is an excellent all-weather hunting dog and a calm, devoted family companion. It is recognized by the FCI in Group 7 (Pointing Dogs).
Real Blue Picardy Spaniel photos — showcasing their unique appearance and character.
Gentle, calm, and affectionate, the Blue Picardy Spaniel is one of the more easygoing gundogs and makes a wonderful family dog. It is deeply attached to its people, patient with children, and generally friendly toward other dogs. Sensitive by nature, it does best with kind, involved owners and can become anxious if left alone too much.
An active sporting breed, it needs about an hour of exercise each day, and it especially loves swimming and retrieving. Long walks, fieldwork, and water games keep it happy and well balanced. A bored Blue Picardy will pine, so daily activity and companionship matter as much as physical exertion.
The medium-length, feathered coat needs brushing a couple of times a week to prevent tangles, with extra attention after outings in fields or water to remove burrs and debris. Check and clean the long ears regularly, trim excess hair around the feet, and bathe only as needed.
Intelligent, willing, and naturally cooperative, the Blue Picardy Spaniel is a pleasure to train and picks up gundog and obedience work quickly. Its soft temperament means gentle, positive, reward-based methods are essential — harsh corrections shut it down. Early socialization builds a confident, well-rounded companion.
A generally robust breed with a lifespan of around 12–14 years. The most common concerns are ear infections (a risk for any long-eared water dog) and hip dysplasia. Drying and checking the ears after swimming, keeping the dog at a healthy weight, and choosing hip-screened parents are the best preventive steps.
The Blue Picardy Spaniel does best on a good-quality complete dog food matched to its age, size, and activity level. As a rough guide, a typical adult eats about 2½–3¾ cups of dry food per day, split into two meals — but a hard-working or very active dog needs more, while a couch companion needs less. Use a large-breed formula and avoid heavy exercise right after meals to reduce the risk of bloat.
Puppies: 3 meals a day of a puppy formula to fuel growth.
Active adults: around 2½–3¾ cups daily, in two meals, adjusted to keep a trim waistline.
Seniors (7+ yrs): slightly fewer calories and, if needed, a joint-supporting formula as they slow down.
Never feed chocolate, grapes or raisins, onions, garlic, xylitol (a sweetener found in some gums and peanut butters), macadamia nuts, or cooked bones. Keep treats to no more than about 10% of daily calories so they don't crowd out balanced nutrition or lead to weight gain.
Where puppies are available, a Blue Picardy Spaniel from a responsible breeder typically costs around $1,000–$2,500, with rarer bloodlines and imported dogs sitting at the higher end. Rescue or adoption, where possible, is far less — usually a few hundred dollars in fees.
Food, treats & preventatives, routine care and supplies together usually run about $110–$200 per month for a healthy adult, not counting emergencies or boarding.
Over a full lifetime the total cost of ownership generally lands around $18,000–$28,000, including the purchase price. Pet insurance ($15–$45/month) and a small emergency fund are smart ways to cushion against unexpected veterinary bills.