Complete Dog Book

Chapter 1 Brittany Named for the French province in which it originated, the brittany was first registered by the American Kennel Club as the Brittany Spaniel in 1934. Although called a spaniel, by its manner of working game the Brittany belongs with the pointing breeds. In appearance, the breed is smaller than the setters but leggier than the spaniels, having a short tail and characteristic high ear-set. On September 1, 1982, the breed's official AKC name became Brittany, to more correctly identify their hunting style. Though it is generally conceded that the basic stock for all bird dogs is the same, most of the facts concerning the development and spread of the various breeds are lost in antiquity. The first accurate records to pinpoint the actual Brittany-type dog are seventeenth-century paintings and tapestries. The frequency with which these appear suggests this type of dog was fairly common. Paintings by Jean-Baptiste Oudry (16861755) show a liver-and-white dog pointing partridge. This same type of dog is common in Flemish paintings from the school of Jan Steen. Still other artists show this type of bird dog, so it would appear that it was common throughout the northern coast of France and in Holland. Still, there is nothing written before 1850 that can be unequivocally interpreted as a reference to the Brittany. In that year, the English clergyman Reverend Davies wrote of hunting in Carhaix with small, bobtailed dogs. They were not as smooth as the Pointer, but worked well in the brush. They pointed, retrieved game well, and were particularly popular with poachers, as the nature of that occupation required that the dogs be easy to handle. The description fits the Brittany to perfection. It was speculated, and in at least one case confirmed, that around 1900 some native spaniels of Brittany were mated with English pointing dogs, whose owners vacationed in France, for woodcock shooting. These matings intensified the pointing qualities of the breed while the basic features remained essentially Breton. The Brittany was an all-purpose dog, a family pet, and a guard dog as well as a hunting dog for the thrifty French peasant. This certainly influenced its shape, size, and disposition. The climate, the nature of the terrain hunted, the manner of hunting, and even its popularity with poachers all had an effect on the type of coat, keenness of nose, and retrieving ability that was developed over the years. Legend has it that the first tailless ancestor of the modern Brittany emerged in the mid-1800s at Pontou, a little town in the valley of Douron. It resulted from a cross between a white-and-mahogany bitch owned by a hunter in the region and a lemon-and-white dog brought to Brittany for woodcock shooting by an English sportsman. Of two tailless puppies in this litter, one proved outstanding. His work in the field has been described as wonderful, and he became a popular stud. All of his litters produced puppies either without tails or with short stubs. The Brittany became a recognized breed in 1907, when Boy, an orange-and-white, was registered in France as the first l'epagneul Breton queue courte naturelle. This name was soon shortened to l'epagneul Breton, or Brittany Spaniel. Before 1907, Brittanys had competed in classes for Miscellaneous French spaniels. In the same year, an outline for the first breed standard was written. This early standard required that the tail be short at birth and that, in order to discourage further crossbreeding, black and white be disqualified. The requirement for the natural bobtail was soon dropped. The breed was introduced in the United States in 1931 and was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1934. The first standard was a direct translation from the French and not particularly comprehensible. The first major accomplishment of the American Brittany Club aAmerican Kennel Club is the author of 'Complete Dog Book ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780345476265 and ISBN 0345476263.