Hunting dogs are among the most common working dogs in France.

The French National Hunting Federation indicates that approximately half of France's 8 million dogs belong to the broad category of hunting dogs, spread across more than 150 breeds.

This considerable population presents specific health challenges, which are still under-documented in veterinary literature compared to other categories of working dogs.

These animals operate in varied outdoor environments, often in direct contact with wildlife, exposed to intense physical demands for periods limited to the hunting season, followed by prolonged rest during the off-season.

This alternation, an intense active season followed by a long period of low activity, generates specific risks at each phase.

Available veterinary literature on hunting dogs primarily covers three areas:

• traumatic injuries,
• infectious and parasitic diseases related to the environment,
• physical conditioning management.

The French Context: Hunting Methods and Breeds Used

In France, hunting practices are governed by the Environmental Code and organized through departmental hunting federations, under the supervision of the National Hunting Federation.

Opening and closing dates are set by departmental prefectural decrees.

The general closing occurs on the last day of February in most departments, with variations depending on species and geographical areas.

Among the major forms of hunting practiced in France are rifle hunting, venery (hounding), subterranean venery (ferreting), and falconry.

Venery is practiced from September 15 to March 31, in accordance with Article R424-4 of the Environmental Code.

Training, competitions, and trials for hunting dogs are subject to specific regulations, notably by the decree of January 21, 2005, relating to this subject, and may be subject to conditions or prefectural authorization depending on the situation.

The use of purebred or crossbred greyhounds for hunting in France is formally prohibited, as is the use of dogs classified as dangerous, in accordance with Article 8 of the decree of August 1, 1986, relating to hunting methods.

The breeds used are distributed according to the discipline.

• Hounds (Beagle, Grand Bleu de Gascogne, Poitevin, Anglo-French Petit Vénerie, Basset Artésien Normand, and many other French breeds) are used in venery and for hunting furred game.
• Pointers and Setters (Brittany Spaniel, Irish Setter, Pointer, French Braque, Weimaraner) are used for feathered game.
• Retrievers (Labrador, Golden Retriever) and spaniels (English Springer, Cocker) are used for flushing and retrieving game.
• Terrier dogs (Fox Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier, Dachshund) hunt underground.

This diversity of breeds and missions implies very different profiles of physical constraints and environmental exposures.

Traumatic Injuries: Available Data

Traumatic injuries are the primary cause of emergency veterinary consultations for hunting dogs during the season.

A literature review on hunting and working dogs highlights that these animals are at an increased risk of injury due to their intense outdoor work and their strong motivation to continue the task despite pain or fatigue, which can delay injury detection by the handler (Ridgway, Veterinary Clinics of North America Small Animal Practice, 2021, PMID 34059261).

Skin injuries are the most frequent. Lacerations and wounds from sharp objects (barbed wire fences, broken branches, glass, metal on the ground) are particularly common in dogs operating in dense environments or crossing fences.

Deep puncture wounds, caused by sharp vegetation, thorns, or bites from wild animals, pose a high infectious risk due to their depth and the difficulty of decontamination in field conditions.

Ear wounds, especially at the tip of the pinna, are characteristic of dogs working in dense undergrowth: hematoma and repeated bleeding from head movements are a classic field problem.

Musculoskeletal injuries represent the second most important category. Sprains, ligament tears, stress fractures, and tendon lesions are documented in populations of sport and working dogs (Marcellin-Little, Levine, Taylor, Veterinary Clinics of North America Small Animal Practice, 2005, PMID 16260320).

In hunting dogs, repeated obstacle crossing, landings on uneven terrain, sudden changes in direction during pursuit, and long distances covered in a day are risk factors.

A specific aggravating factor is deconditioning during the off-season: a dog that has been inactive for several months and then resumes intense activity at the beginning of the season has an increased musculoskeletal risk compared to an animal maintained in physical condition throughout the year.

Ocular injuries deserve special mention. Vegetative foreign bodies, particularly barbed grass seeds and grass awns, are a common cause of keratitis, corneal ulcers, and conjunctivitis in dogs working in late-season cover. The rapid progression of a corneal ulcer within a few hours, if the dog is not examined and treated emergently, is a documented risk in practice.

Infectious and Parasitic Diseases: A High Exposure Profile

Hunting dogs exhibit a significantly higher exposure profile to infectious and parasitic diseases than sedentary companion dogs.

This overexposure results from regular contact with wildlife, access to humid and forested environments, and the frequent practice of feeding raw game meat (Ridgway, 2021).

Leptospirosis is the infectious disease for which hunting dogs present the most documented risk:

The Leptospira bacterium, transmitted through contact with urine or water contaminated by wild animals (especially rodents, wild boars, and deer), enters through mucous membranes or compromised skin.

The severe clinical form combines acute renal failure, hepatic damage, and hemorrhagic syndrome. An updated ACVIM consensus on canine leptospirosis confirms that dogs in regular contact with humid natural environments are a risk population warranting vaccination, and that vaccination coverage must be adapted to the serovars circulating in the geographic region concerned (Sykes et al., Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2023, PMID 37861061, PMC10658540).

Since leptospirosis is a zoonosis (a disease shared between animal and human species, caused by an infectious agent), an infected dog can be a source of contamination for the hunter, which gives canine vaccine prevention a public health dimension.

Vector-borne diseases constitute the other major aspect of infectious risk. Studies document high exposure to these diseases in hunting dogs worldwide: Lyme borreliosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, with frequent co-infections (Ridgway, 2021).

In France, canine babesiosis (piroplasmosis) is one of the vector-borne diseases classically monitored in hunting dogs, with a marked seasonal incidence in autumn and spring.

Furthermore, individuals frequently exposed to numerous hunting dogs exhibit significantly higher tick exposure than individuals who only frequent natural environments without canine contact, highlighting the importance of antiparasitic prevention for dog health and, indirectly, for the hunter's health (Toepp et al., Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2018, PMID 30016206).

The Resting Season: Physiological Challenges and Prevention

The temporal structure of the hunting dog's year in France, several months of intense activity followed by an off-season of low activity, raises specific physiological challenges that are rarely addressed in dedicated veterinary literature.

A dog inactive for several months undergoes progressive muscular and cardiovascular deconditioning.

The abrupt resumption of intense activity at the start of the season, without a progressive reconditioning phase, increases the risk of acute musculoskeletal injuries.

Recommendations from sports veterinary medicine for athletic dogs advocate progressive reconditioning over several weeks before resuming intense activity, by gradually increasing the duration and intensity of exercises (Marcellin-Little et al., 2005).

These recommendations have not been evaluated in studies specifically dedicated to hunting dogs, but their consistency with the deconditioning mechanisms documented in other working dog populations is established.

From a nutritional perspective, the energy needs of hunting dogs vary greatly depending on the time of year.

• During the active period, energy expenditure is high and requires a diet adapted to the effort.
• During the off-season, reducing caloric intake in parallel with decreased activity is essential to prevent weight gain. Excess weight exacerbates joint stress upon resumption of activity and constitutes an additional risk factor for long-term degenerative pathologies.

The off-season is also the appropriate time for preventive veterinary check-ups.

A longitudinal study of 323 working dogs documented that 57% of them developed at least one musculoskeletal abnormality during their careers, with the carpus and stifle being the most frequently affected areas for reduced mobility, and the hip for pain (Isaksen et al., cited in Hall, Otto, Baltzer, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021, PMID 34395583).

This data, from a population of New Zealand agricultural working dogs, is not directly transferable to French hunting dogs, but illustrates the importance of regular orthopedic monitoring in populations of dogs subjected to repeated stress.

The end-of-season assessment allows for the detection of accumulated subclinical lesions and the adaptation of off-season management accordingly.

Prevention and Best Practices

Preventive practices consistent with available data for hunting dogs are organized into three phases.

1. Before the Season

A progressive reconditioning phase over several weeks is recommended to limit the risk of musculoskeletal injuries related to deconditioning. Up-to-date vaccination, particularly against leptospirosis with a vaccine adapted to local serovars, is a documented measure. The implementation of preventive antiparasitic treatment against ticks, adapted to the region and period, is also recommended.

2. During the Season

Daily checking of the dog's general condition after each outing, particularly the paw pads, eyes, ears, and skin, allows for early detection of injuries that can quickly worsen if they go unnoticed.

Deep puncture wounds, even if seemingly benign, warrant a veterinary consultation within 24 hours due to the risk of infection.

Ocular foreign bodies constitute an emergency: a delay in care of a few hours can compromise corneal integrity.

3. After the Season

The end-of-season veterinary check-up allows for the detection of subclinical lesions, updating preventive treatments, and adapting nutritional management and activity program for the off-season.

In Conclusion

Hunting dogs constitute a population of working dogs with a specific health profile, characterized by an alternation between an intense activity season and a prolonged resting off-season, and by high environmental exposure to infectious and parasitic agents.

Traumatic injuries (wounds, musculoskeletal lesions, ocular foreign bodies) and infectious diseases (leptospirosis, tick-borne diseases) represent the main documented challenges.

Managing off-season deconditioning and progressive reconditioning before resumption are preventive practices consistent with available data on working dogs, even if studies specifically dedicated to hunting dogs in France remain scarce.

For the practicing veterinarian, knowledge of the type of hunting practiced, the breeds involved, and the local hunting calendar is a prerequisite for appropriate care.

Sources

1. Ridgway M., Hunting Dogs, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 2021, PMID 34059261
2. Marcellin-Little D.J., Levine D., Taylor R., Rehabilitation and Conditioning of Sporting Dogs, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 2005, PMID 16260320
3. Sykes J.E. et al., Updated ACVIM Consensus Statement on Leptospirosis in Dogs, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2023, PMID 37861061, PMCID PMC10658540
4. Toepp A.J. et al., Frequent Exposure to Many Hunting Dogs Significantly Increases Tick Exposure, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2018, PMID 30016206, PMCID PMC6426272
5. Hall N.J., Otto C.M., Baltzer W.I., Editorial: Working Dogs: Form and Function, Volume II, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021, PMID 34395583, PMCID PMC8358669
6. Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs, official pages on hunting dogs, hunting methods and regulations
7. Environmental Code, article R424-4
8. Decree of January 21, 2005, relating to training, competitions and trials for hunting dogs
9. Decree of August 1, 1986, relating to hunting methods, article 8