A Grand Griffon Vendéen is a breed of hunting dog originating in France. It existed as early as the 16th Century, and was the first of the Vendée griffons to be bred. It is a descendant of the Canis Segusius used by the Gauls, through the so-called King's whites and the Griffon Fauve de Bretagne, which is also an ancestor of the Basset Fauve de Bretagne.
Hunting dogs existed in France as early at the 16th century.