Brussels Griffon History history

For centuries, rough coated, short nosed toy dog breeds have been found in Belgium, but the true history of the Griffon Bruxellois started in the 1800s, not in royal palaces, but in coach houses.

To help keep rats away, Belgium coachmen used to keep small terriers called Griffons d’Ecurie in their stables. These Affenpinscher-like dogs were friendly and popular. At some point in the 1800s, these coachmen bred their Griffons with imported toy dogs, such as the Pug, and the King Charles Spaniel, bringing about the change in coat types that lead to the Petits Brabançon, which was originally a fault of the breed. The spaniels also brought the rich red and black and tan colour of the modern Griffon Bruxellois and Griffon Belge.

The Griffon Bruxellois grew in popularity in the late 1800's with both workers and noblemen in Belgium. Queen Marie Henriette was a dog enthusiast who visited the annual dog shows in Belgium religiously, often with her daughter, and became a breeder and booster of Griffon Bruxellois, giving them international fame and popularity and indirectly leading to two Griffon Bruxellois clubs starting in England and America.

The First World War and World War II proved to be a disastrous time for the breed. War time is difficult on any dog breed, and the recovering numbers after the First World War were set back by increased vigilance in breeding faults such as webbed toes. By the end of the Second World War, Belgium had almost no native Griffon Bruxellois left, and only through the vigilance of dedicated breeders, in England particularly, that the breed survived at all.

The breed has never been numerous or popular, but had a brief vogue in the late 1950's, and now is generally an uncommon breed. There has been a recent increase in interest in the United States due to appearance of a Griffon in the movie, As Good as It Gets, and also because of a general increase in interest in toy dogs.