| What's a Brittany |
 |
 |
| Mabrouk du Bois de Vauchelles |
| Ch. Alar's Rocketeer's-a head study |
| Brittanys- Named after the French province where it originated is a compact, closely knit dog of medium size, between 13.5 to 18 kg, and from 47 to 50 cm at the shoulder. He is a leggy dog that can cover ground with agility. He is strong, vigorous, energetic and quick in movement. His small size suits him for apartment living and makes him easy to carry in a car due to his compactness. But being a gundog regular exercise is a must. He has a typical friendly disposition, is very willing to please his master and does well with children. He absorbs training more easily than some of the other pointing breeds, and these qualities and natural ability of the Brittany sells him as a breed to many neophytes in the field of hunting as he seems to know better what to do than his masters (almost all the time) in the field. However, he should not be taken as a guard dog as Brittanys loves everybody including intruders or your enemies. He gains his admirers from his beauty, companionship and excellent working abilities. Brittanys, with his shorter range, is becoming more popular as hunting becomes limited to smaller fields and more fences. His exceptional nose, which guarantees that he will pass up few birds, also helps account for his popularity. |
| Brittanys can be either orange and white, liver and white, black and white, tri-cloured with either clear or roan patterns depending whether you are referring to the American or the European standard. Its tail, which can be either natural, docked or tailess but anything above 10 cm is a disqualification from the breed's standard. He has enough coat to protect himself from the briars but not enough to catch burrs to any great extend when working the fields. He is not a heavily coated dog, slightly wavy with no noticeable undercoat, but is lightly fringed and feathered around the ear, front and hind legs. He tends to clean himself and the wonder of it is that he does not smell like most dogs do. He is noted for an exceptionally keen nose and a very biddable disposition. They live for more than 10 years on the average and will have puppies ranging between 6-10 from each litter. Many of the countries' top dog have been house pets as well as field winners and of cause a fine specimen in the show ring. |
| There has been much debate as to which standard should be choosen to represent Brittanys in present times. While the two standards cover essentially the same points, words and interpretations between the two can be very different depending on who is doing the reading; and, keep in mind the American standard forbids Black pigmentation. It is obvious that the European dog and the American dog have become very separate in goals and objectives that like the English & American Cockers have become different breeds, so will the Epagneul Breton and Brittany. Whether this is good or bad I cannot say but many adhere to these traditions when methodology is very different in this case where the two strains have evolved under different developmental ideals. Personally I feel that both strains should be kept separate but should have the chance to compete on equal basis in ANY show rings. |
 |
 |
 |