Obtained at the end of the nineteenth century by the crossing of different strains of French common dogs, the Billy is a successful reconstitution of what could be the famous White Dog of the King.It is a first cousin of the Poitevin, since it descends of Larye, Ceris and Montembœuf.It takes its name from that of the property occupied nearly a hundred years ago, north of Poitiers, the creator of the breed, Gaston Hublot du Rivault, father of Mr. Anthony Hublot du Rivault, who was a judge well known to many huntsmen.
The first breeding of Billys of Gaston Hublot du Rivault goes back to the year 1877, and the famous cynophile estimated that the race had been definitively fixed in 1886. Several types of dogs had been retained to serve as a basis for the selection, among lineages. as free as possible from any English influence. There was even an attempt to infuse blood of Saintongeois with Magicienne, a very fine list of the Count of Saint-Ligier, but Gaston Hublot du Rivault then returned to the origins Céris and Montembœuf with Bellone and Baliveau. On the other hand, and contrary to what could be said or written later, there has never been a cross with Greyhounds. Gaston Hublot du Rivault was as difficult on the color of the selected breeders as on their origin, since he retained only subjects wearing white dress or lemon, for reasons which he himself defined as follows: "I insist on the dress, which must be white, orange and clear or quite clear, but can also be tinted coffee very washed milk, pale lemon or blue, steel bluish. This unique dress gave my dogs a very distinguished stamp that was not found anywhere else, especially as their beautiful black eyes and truffles of the same color lent them a unique look and appreciated by all lovers."
Despite the efforts of Gaston Hublot du Rivault, the influence of English blood could never be completely erased, especially because of the contribution of Larye and Pindray's dogs, which were used for a while, especially with Comrade VI belonging to Count d'Oyron. But the diversity of these "alliances" does not detract from the beauty and homogeneity of the race so fixed.
The two world wars bore a heavy blow to the raising of the Billy, as well as to that of many French races, and in 1945 there was practically no trace left of the original strains. It was then that Anthony Hublot du Rivault, son of the creator of the Billy, decided to take over the work undertaken by his father. From Vol-au-Vent and Volga, two Guyot dogs that had outstanding hunting qualities and whose descendants still run the deer within the Saint-Hubert crew, he managed, in the fifties, to produce Banco, Belle and especially the marvelous Blondinette, who gave her sixty-eight puppies, including Darius and Dagobert, which can be found in the genealogy of most current Billys.
Around 1960, there were beautiful lots of Billys at Mr. Boudet, the vautrait of La Mee, and in the breeding of Mr. Charles Hardy, including with Isard, his famous deer dog. It is from these subjects that were born at the time the majority of the dogs of the rally Teillay, the vautrait of Domes and most of those of the rally Kéréol.
Although they are very popular, the Billys are today much fewer, although we can notice in many crews many dogs who remember them, but which are still far from the standards defined by Gaston Hublot of Rivault. The standard of the Billy has changed little over the years, apart from some changes made in 1974 and 1978 by Mr. Anthony Hublot Rivault himself, who wrote after reviewing: "Regarding the standard, I did not change a lot of points. For the ear, I added: "Rather short for a French dog." Secondly, the size: 0.60 to 0.70 m; the color: lemon white or orange white, provided that the orange is not too dark pulling red. A very slightly beguiled dog should not be eliminated. On the other hand, he who is strongly must be ruthlessly."
The Billys are primarily deer dogs. Their character does not really seem to predispose them to hunt wild boar, because they are not very eager to attack it on the farm and maintain it, even if their speed allows them to follow their animal closely enough. Because they are thoroughbreds, made to gallop fast and long. Very ardent, very forward, they are also very thin nose. Well gorged, they shout and riot well, showing in all circumstances great hunting qualities. Which is hardly surprising when one reads what Gaston Hublot du Rivault said of their ancestors Montembœuf:
"Very screaming, voice a little short but sharp and hearing from afar, very fine nose, closers loving especially the straight, stag, wolf, wild boar, a very big train, a bottom and a remarkable vigor; dogs very piercing and very hunters, however, keeping the exchange naturally"
or Céris:
"Very active dog, skilful and cunning, expeditious in the defects and very resourceful, very hunter, a little crazy at first, but calming down quickly and good retirement"
and what Laryes wrote count Le Couteulx de Canteleu:
"Their voice was prolonged but very clear, the delicacy of their nose was extraordinary; it turned out that M. de Larye, after having driven the wolf all day, often caught him the next day, and raised him again after several leagues."
One can not dream of better acclaim for the Billy. |
Aggressive or overly shy.
English (United Kingdom) 
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