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Breed profile · Toy Group · the almost-human toy with the beard

Brussels Griffon

The Brussels Griffon is a toy dog of 8 to 10 pounds with an almost human expression — large dark eyes, a short upturned muzzle, and a black beard and moustache on the rough coat — a sturdy little square dog that the AKC calls smart, devoted, and comically self-important, with enough personality for ten ordinary dogs.

Help us improve it. This is one of ThePetAdvisor’s breed profiles, built from public sources with generous links to the people who actually own this breed’s knowledge. If something’s off or missing, the parent club can claim the page and set it straight — see the bottom of the page.

A red rough-coated Brussels Griffon with an almost human face, large dark eyes, and a black beard and moustache, standing against a plain studio background
A red rough-coated Brussels Griffon with an almost human face, large dark eyes, and a black beard and moustache, standing against a plain studio background. AI-generated image.

Do you have a photo of a Brussels Griffon in the American show ring? We’d love this page to lead with one. If you have a show photo you’d let us use, email it to [email protected] — tell us the dog’s name and the show, and it may be featured here. Please only send photos you took yourself or have the photographer’s permission to share, and tell us the photographer’s name. We couldn’t find a public photo of a Brussels Griffon in the American show ring that we were free to share, so the photo leading this page was made with AI. We’d much rather lead with a real one — if you’re a club member with an approved photo, we’d love to feature it.

1. Breed at a glance

AKC group
Toy — recognized 1910; first in the AKC Stud Book 1899
Size
Usually 8–10 lb, not to exceed 12 lb. No height in the standard.
Coat
Two distinct types, rough or smooth — rough wiry and dense with beard and moustache; smooth short, tight, and glossy. Colors: red, belge, black and tan, black.
Temperament
Smart, devoted, and comically self-important. AKC: a sensitive companion for discerning grownups.
Lifespan
12 to 15 years.

Size, coat, and temperament facts are from the AKC standard (approved November 8, 2022; effective February 1, 2023) and the AKC Brussels Griffon breed page. Lifespan (12 to 15 years) is from National Brussels Griffon Rescue’s adoption guide.

2. History

The Brussels Griffon began in Brussels, Belgium, in the early 1800s, as a stable dog: the coachmen of Brussels kept small terrier-type dogs to keep down the rat population in their stables, dogs known as griffons d’ecurie, or “wire-coated stable dogs.” The raw material was the Smous, a common rough-coated stable dog — the dog in Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait of 1434 is most likely a Smous, an ancestor of the breed. (Source: AKC, Brussels Griffon History.)

The breed took shape through crosses the breeders could name: three crosses to Pugs and eight to English Toy Spaniels, the first to a black Pug named Mep in 1882. By 1880 the breed was called the Griffons Bruxellois in Belgium, and by 1883 Belgian breeders had formulated a standard and established regular classes in show competition. The turning point came in the 1870s, when Henrietta Maria, Queen of the Belgians, took a liking to the breed; with royal patronage, the Griff became all the rage among her courtiers, and kennel keepers of the upper classes refined it further, making the body smaller and the face more human-like. (Sources: AKC, Brussels Griffon History; ABGA Illustrated Breed Standard Guide.)

The first Brussels Griffons were listed in the AKC Stud Book in 1899 and shown at Westminster in the Miscellaneous Class; the first breed champion was recorded in 1908, and the AKC recognized the breed in 1910. The breed’s first parent club, the Brussels Griffon Club of America, was recognized by the AKC in 1913 — and dropped from AKC membership in 1937 after a dispute over the black smooth-coated dog, the Brabançon, that ended with the club fined $25 and refusing to pay. In 1945 a new club, the American Brussels Griffon Association, was formed; it became an AKC member club in 1982. In 1959 the AKC asked the club to reformat its two standards into one all-inclusive standard, and it was not until the standard was revised in 1990 that the disqualification of the black smooth was removed and the black Brabançon made its way back into the American show ring. (Source: AKC, Brussels Griffon History.)

The two world wars decimated the Griff population in Europe, and if not for the dedication of American and British enthusiasts the breed might not have survived. The modern Griffon won many new fans in 1997, when a Griffon named Jill upstaged Jack Nicholson in the film As Good As It Gets. (Source: AKC, Brussels Griffon History.)

3. The standard and why it’s written that way

  • A toy dog, intelligent, alert, sturdy — with an almost human expression. The standard opens with the whole dog: “A toy dog, intelligent, alert, sturdy, with a thickset, short body, a smart carriage and set-up, attracting attention by an almost human expression.” Everything that follows — the size, the head, the coat — is that sentence made specific. (Source: AKC standard.)
  • Size — usually 8 to 10 pounds, not to exceed 12. “Weight usually 8 to 10 pounds, and should not exceed 12 pounds. Type and quality are of greater importance than weight, and a smaller dog [that] is sturdy and well proportioned should not be penalized.” The body is square, measured from point of shoulder to rearmost projection of upper thigh and from withers to ground, thickset and compact with good balance. (Source: AKC standard.)
  • The head: large and round, with a very short nose and large dark eyes. The head is large and round, with a domed forehead, a very short nose, and a black nose. The eyes are large, dark, and prominent. The ears are small and set high — in the United States the dog can be shown with either natural or cropped ears. The whole head should look almost human: that is the expression the standard is written around. (Sources: AKC standard; AKC, Brussels Griffon History.)
  • Coat — two distinct types, and except for coat there is no difference between them. “The rough coat is wiry and dense, the harder and more wiry the better. On no account should the dog look or feel woolly, and there should be no silky hair anywhere. The coat should not be so long as to give a shaggy appearance, but should be distinctly different all over from the smooth coat.” The smooth coat is “straight, short, tight and glossy, with no trace of wiry hair.” The rough coat carries the beard, moustache, and bushy eyebrows; the smooth coat carries none of them. (Source: AKC standard.)
  • Color — red, belge, black and tan, or black. The standard allows red, belge (a mix of reddish-brown and black, usually with a black mask and whiskers), black and tan, and solid black, in either coat. The red rough-coated dog is the one most people picture — the Griffon Bruxellois of the European split — but all four colors are equally correct. (Source: AKC standard.)
  • Carriage, in the standard’s own words. The gait is purposeful, with an air of self-importance — a little dog that walks as if it owns the ring. That self-importance is the breed’s signature, in the ring and at home. (Source: AKC standard.)

4. Temperament & living with one

The AKC sums the breed up in a sentence: tipping the scales at no more than 12 pounds, this human-like toy of complex character has enough personality for ten ordinary dogs — a sensitive companion for discerning grownups, smart, devoted, and comically self-important. A Griffon bonds hard to its people and wants to be where they are: it was bred as a companion once it left the stables, and it is at its best as a lap dog and shadow, not as a kennel dog or a dog left alone all day. (Source: AKC Brussels Griffon breed page.)

That sensitivity cuts both ways. A Griffon is alert and watchful, quick to announce a visitor, and it can be wary of strangers and rough handling — it does best with older children and adults who handle a small dog gently, and with early socialization. It is a clever dog that learns fast and remembers slights just as fast, so training works best with patience and humor rather than a heavy hand. What it gives back is a loyal, funny companion that follows its person from room to room and treats the house as its stage. (Source: AKC Brussels Griffon breed page.)

5. Grooming

  • Brush the smooth coat weekly, and bathe now and then. The smooth-coated Griffon needs only a weekly brushing and the occasional bath — except during the seasonal shed, usually in spring and autumn, when daily brushing is advised for the week or so it takes to blow the coat. (Source: PetGOV, Brussels Griffon.)
  • The rough coat needs more work, and hand-stripping for the ring. The rough coat is wiry and dense, and it should never look or feel woolly, with no silky hair anywhere — that texture is kept by hand-stripping the dead outer coat rather than clipping it, which softens the coat and spoils the harsh texture the standard calls for. A pet rough coat still needs regular brushing and combing so the dense coat never mats underneath the furnishings. (Source: AKC standard.)
  • The beard is the grooming. The beard, moustache, and bushy eyebrows are what make the Griffon’s face, and they collect food and water with every meal — a wipe after eating keeps the beard clean and the face smelling fresh. The ears, eyes, and teeth need the same regular check as any toy breed, and the nails need keeping short on a dog this light. (Source: AKC Brussels Griffon breed page.)
  • Never shave the rough coat. Clipping or shaving a rough coat softens it and leaves it looking woolly — the exact thing the standard forbids. A pet trim for neatness is one thing; a shave is another, and the coat may never grow back with the same harsh texture.

6. Health testing

  • Three tests for a CHIC number. For a CHIC number, the Brussels Griffon needs three evaluations: a Patella Evaluation, a Hip Evaluation, and an Ophthalmologist Evaluation by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist (ACVO). That is the parent club’s list on the AKC’s Toy Group health-testing page. Breeders must agree to have all test results, positive or negative, published in the CHIC database. (Source: AKC Toy Group Health Testing Requirements.)
  • The watch list: airways, eyes, and the brain and spinal cord. The parent club’s 2026 national health seminar covered Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) — what it is, why it is an issue, and its complications and treatments — alongside ocular diseases, syringomyelia and Chiari-like malformation, and granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME). Those are the conditions the club itself puts in front of its breeders, and they are the questions to ask a breeder alongside the CHIC tests. (Source: ABGA 2026 National Specialty, health seminar.)
  • Patellas, like any small breed. Luxating patellas — slipping kneecaps — are the common small-breed problem in the Griffon, and the patella evaluation in the CHIC list is the screen for it. Ask a breeder for the parents’ patella, hip, and eye results — and look them up in the OFA database yourself. (Source: AKC Toy Group Health Testing Requirements.)
  • Lifespan: 12 to 15 years. A healthy Griff can live 12 to 15 years, and it really does not begin to show its age until about 13. That is a long life for a dog, and a long commitment to a companion that wants to be with its people every day of it. (Source: National Brussels Griffon Rescue, adoption guide.)

7. The annual Brussels Griffon specialty dog show

A specialty is the breed’s All-Star show — its Super Bowl. The American Brussels Griffon Association holds two national specialties a year: the March national at Louisville and the Roving Specialty, which moves to a different city each year.

The club calls it the roving specialty — the same kind of event other clubs call a floating, rotating, or traveling national.

The American Brussels Griffon Association’s national specialty: a one-day show in March, with conformation at its center and puppy and veteran sweepstakes, junior showmanship, and a 4 & Under 6 Months Puppy Competition around it. The 2026 show: Wednesday, March 11, at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, with 31 dogs and 76 entries in the specialty. The 2025 show: Wednesday, March 12, at the same venue, with 32 dogs and 75 entries. The 2027 show: Wednesday, March 10, at the same venue.

The standard, in brief: a toy dog, intelligent, alert, sturdy, with a thickset, short body, a smart carriage and set-up, and an almost human expression — 8 to 10 pounds, not to exceed 12, with two distinct coat types, rough or smooth, in red, belge, black and tan, or black.

The 2026 National Specialty — a one-day show, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, Kentucky. Entry: 76 entries (31 dogs, 45 bitches); whole event 80 entries / 76 competitors. Entries closed Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Event Chair: Bobbie Norkus. Superintendent: MB-F Inc. Host hotel: Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport Expo Center, 830 Phillips Lane. The week around the national: board meeting and seminars Monday and Tuesday, March 9–10, at the Crowne Plaza, and an ABGA supported entry Thursday, March 12, at the Mid-Kentucky Kennel Club show. (Sources: AKC event search, event 2026066901; ABGA 2026 National Specialty.)

National specialty judges: Ms. P Beisel-McIlwaine — regular and non-regular classes. Ms. P Beisel-McIlwaine — Junior Showmanship. Sweepstakes judge: not named in an official source as of November 2026. Best Junior Handler: Evan Catterson. Reserve Best Junior Handler: Mary Kocab. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026066901.)

Results (AKC event search, event 2026066901). Best of Breed: GCHB CH Bobcat Party Like A Rockstar (dog), R Whitlow / A Moulton / P Catterson / K Catterson. Best of Opposite Sex: GCHG CH Belleterre N Marsdon Firefly BCAT (bitch), A Jahelka / T Majors. Select Dog: CH Joval’s Mint To Be, V Rickard / B Strange. Select Bitch: GCHG CH Marsdon N Belleterre Time To Shine, B Strange. Best of Winners and Winners Bitch: Belleterre And Tenja Talk Of The Town, T Majors / A Jahelka. Best Owner-Handled: GCHG CH Belleterre N Marsdon Firefly BCAT. Winners Dog: Wee Darlin’s Hero Of Troy, M Scott / P Scott / L Campbell. Reserve Winners Dog: Walenga Fashion Forward, J Metheney-Mills / T Mills. Reserve Winners Bitch: Fist Face Batteries Not Included, L Vance / R Vance / K Ledesma. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026066901.)

The Roving Specialty

The 2026 Roving Specialty — a parent-club specialty away from Louisville, Friday, September 4, 2026, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, E 30th & Grand Ave, Des Moines, Iowa. Conformation judge Ms. L Olson. Entry: 10 entries (2 dogs, 8 bitches); whole event 12 entries / 10 competitors. Entries closed Wednesday, August 19, 2026. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026066904.)

Results (AKC event search, event 2026066904). Best of Breed: GCH CH Bobcat’s Late To The Party (bitch), P Catterson / K Catterson / E Catterson / A Catterson. Best of Opposite Sex: GCH CH Makimaki-N-Alvin Farms No Surrender BCAT (dog), H Campbell / C Campbell / M Prior. Select Bitch: GCHB CH Tazlandz Long Shot DCAT, J Achord / K Worley. Best of Winners and Winners Dog: Oltann Diary Of Dumbledore, E Oliinechuk / E Tannyan / N Tannyan. Winners Bitch: Joval I’M Just Peachy RN FDC BCAT ACT2J CGCA CGCU STR TKN ATT VHMA FITB, C Sitko / V Rickard. Reserve Winners Bitch: Oltann Coco De Poufsouffle, E Oliinechuk.

The 2027 National Specialty: a one-day show, Wednesday, March 10, 2027, at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, Kentucky. Entries close Wednesday, February 24, 2027. Event Chair: Heather Stants. Superintendent: MB-F Inc. Conformation judge: Jason Hoke. Junior Showmanship judge: Jason Hoke. Sweepstakes judge: not yet published as of November 2026. (Sources: AKC Upcoming National Specialties; AKC event search, event 2027066903.)

The Roving Specialty

The 2027 roving specialty had not been announced as of November 2026.

Past national specialties: 2025

American Brussels Griffon Association — abga.club

8. Regional specialties through the year: smaller regional shows

The national is the anchor, but the breed’s year also runs through regional specialties — smaller regional shows, not the national — held by regional Brussels Griffon clubs around the country. These are the 2026 regionals verified from club sources so far:

No regional specialties announced yet for 2026.

More regional specialties will be added here as their programs are verified — this section is built from show data, not guesswork. Browse upcoming show weekends →

9. Clubs

If you are new to the breed, the national specialty itself is the better first stop than a breeder’s website: the people there have owned, shown, and worked Griffons, and they will tell you the truth about the sensitivity, the company the breed needs, and the beard before you fall for a puppy.

10. Rescue

  • National Brussels Griffon Rescue, Inc. (NBGR). The national rescue for the breed: a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all-volunteer, foster-based network that rescues, medically and emotionally treats, and rehomes Brussels Griffons who have been abandoned, lost, abused, or surrendered. Most dogs come in as owner surrenders or shelter pickups, and the rescue takes its dogs back for life if an adoption does not work out. (Source: National Brussels Griffon Rescue.)
  • What adoption involves. An application, reference checks including a call to your veterinarian, and a home visit before the adoption is complete. NBGR does not ship dogs — you pick the dog up. There is a 30-day evaluation period in which either side can ask for the dog to come back. Adoption fees run $300 to $800 depending on the dog’s age, health, and condition. (Source: National Brussels Griffon Rescue, adoption guide.)
  • Adults and seniors. A rescued Griffon is usually an adult, often one whose owner underestimated how much company a Brussels Griffon needs, or an older dog surrendered when an owner moved into assisted living. What you get in return is a dog whose character you can see before you commit and a lower price. Either way, be honest with yourself first: a Griffon needs to be with its people most of the day, and it is not a dog for a household that wants an independent or low-maintenance pet.

11. Breeder vs. rescue: honest guidance

  • If you buy: start with the parent club, the American Brussels Griffon Association, and its breeder list. Ask for the parents’ health results — patella, hip, and eyes — and look the results up in the OFA database yourself. Expect to wait for a puppy from a careful breeder: this is an uncommon breed with a limited gene pool, and a good breeder will have the answers, will ask you as many questions as you ask them, and will take the puppy back for its whole life if you cannot keep it.
  • If you rescue: a rescued Griffon is usually an adult, often one whose owner underestimated how much company the breed needs, and it will arrive with its temperament visible before you commit. What you get in return is a dog whose character you can see before you commit and a lower price. Either way, be honest with yourself first: a Griffon needs to be with its people most of the day, and it is not a dog for a household that wants an independent or low-maintenance pet.
  • One breed, two coats — no separate varieties in the U.S. In the United States the rough-coated and smooth-coated dogs are one breed, the Brussels Griffon, shown under one standard and routinely bred to each other. In Europe they are three separate breeds — the red rough Griffon Bruxellois, the rough black or black-and-tan Griffon Belge, and the smooth Petit Brabançon. A breeder selling a “Belgian Griffon” or a “Petit Brabançon” as a separate American breed is selling a European label, not an AKC variety.

12. Claim this page

This page belongs to the breed, and the people who know the breed best are the American Brussels Griffon Association and its members. If you are with the parent club — or you are a breeder, a judge, a handler, or a rescue volunteer who spotted something wrong, missing, or out of date — this page is yours to set straight. Tell us what needs fixing and where the correction is documented, and we will fix it and credit the source. Contact the site through the About page, and mention “Brussels Griffon breed profile.”

Sources