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Hunting the French Brittany
We will discuss the "French Brittany" only in the pure sense. We will not discuss dogs bred by breeders that are gigantic dogs that grow beyond the recognized International Standard, have been bred to compete in field trials, have been bred to compete in a show ring, have been bred without attention paid to the close (within shotgun range) standard the parent dogs are to hunt at. Many kennels have chosen their breed stock from our kennel because we produce genetically superior dogs that are bred with the intention that the dog will mature into a biddable dog that fits the complete standard. We will discuss what it is we and other "Purist" committed kennels produce.
The French Brittany puppy will be easier to house train and obedience train that most any other hunting breed. The puppy would grow into a dog that casts windward freely yet remains biddable (easily manageable) for the owner. Range occasionally exceeds shotgun range (40 yards) but the dog checks back willingly, hunting for you rather than blasting ahead without concern of where you are. When the proper breed stock has been used the dog willingly retrieves. Your hunt will be a stop and go affair, not pressing the dog forward. You will find your dogs nose to be second to none. Your hunt will be a country stroll rather than an athletic event. We often head into public land that has been recently hunted by others with dogs and routinely get birds from those areas due to the slower pace not driving especially pheasants away. When these dogs hit scent rather than speeding up they willingly check up. When pheasant hunting this lends itself to roosters running to locations where heavy cover gives them a secure feeling allowing them to hold tight even in the later days of the season. Points on days with favorable breezes can be as far as 20 yards or further from the bird allowing you plenty of time to prepare to flush the bird and fire.
The roughed grouse hunters find the close working and checking back ability of these dogs to be of great benefit in the heavy tree cover preferred by roughed grouse. Wood cock hunters find these dogs point woodcock extremely well. Quail hunters love the superior scenting ability of these dogs as they have tremendous success finding single birds once a covey is broken rather than the difficulty other breeds experience.
A wonderful side of this breed is a house dog that really is a loving part of the family. Allowing the dog to be a part of the family will make a better hunting dog. They desire and more importantly deserve the love and commitment of an owner that allows the dog into the family unit. If you are looking for a dog to put outdoors in a kennel, all day and night, day after day, interacting only to feed and water the dog, you should strongly consider purchasing a different breed. These dogs are called the upfront dogs by my wife because as we travel from field to field to hunt with our pickup, our dogs can be in the front of the truck, being calm and behaving instead of as she says, " bouncing, barking and slobbering all over the back of the other trucks".
If you haven't yet experienced the pleasure a true French Brittany brings into your life, you owe it to yourself to have that experience as soon as possible. Another great thing about the French Brittanies are how biddable they are. We often have hunted as many as four dogs at a time in one field. There is no yelling, hollering, cursing or screaming, only the pleasure of hunting dogs that want to please the hunter. What a wonderful thrill.
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