Brittany Dog & Puppies

 

Epagneul Breton - Brittany Spaniel

Breed Origins: France ( 1800s )
Breed usage: Hunting Dog: Dog - Pointing and Retrieving
Dog Weight: 30-40 Pounds
Dog Height: 18 to 20.5 inches to the shoulder
Cost of Puppies: From $500 US Dollars

 

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Information, Facts & Origins of the Brittany Dog
The Brittany comes from France and is a dog of medium size. It was bred originally to hunt small game and for falconry. It's origins can be dated back to the 1800's and it is classified as one of the Sporting Dogs Group which we go on to describe in detail below. The hunting format used by Setters and Spaniels was to find and drive birds into nets. As a pet the Brittany is affectionate, kind, and loves to be part of the family. There is an extremely distinctive characteristic of this dog. At some point during the early breeding process a tail less dog was born. This was seized upon as a distinctive feature and even today some Brittany's are born tail less or stub-tailed. Name Facts and Dog Names:The Brittany Spaniel is most often mis-spelt as Britney Spaniel although Brittny Spaniel and Britany Spaniel is also used. The word Spaniel is often mis-spelt as Spanial.

Brittany Dog Names

Information, Facts & History of the Brittany Dog
The Brittany is also referred to as the Brittany Spaniel or Epagneul Breton. Its name refers to a Breton as one from Bretagne or Brittany a province in France. The French word Epagneul is given to those dogs which point or set their quarry. This breed was created through the cross-breeding of French and English dogs. English noblemen and wealthy land gentry travelled to Brittany to socialise and join in hunting parties with the French. They took with them their own dogs - Pointers and Setters. Due to quarantine restrictions the English left their dogs in France and these, and the Braque a French pointer, mated with local dogs - predominantly the Spaniel. These matings produced this breed and featured the various range of colourings that are prevalent in this breed today. This hybrid dog had extremely useful hunting traits - they could both point and retrieve and had an excellent scenting ability. The Brittany was originally quite a small dog but this changed in the 1900's when small English Setters were mated with the Brittany producing taller “setterised” examples of the breed. The first Brittany was registered in France in 1907. This breed came to America in the 1920's and was AKC (American Kennel Club) (American Kennel Club) recognized in 1925. 

 

Description of the Brittany Dog and Puppies - Coat and Colours info
The Brittany's coat comes in a range of the following colours:
Orange/White, Liver/White, Black/White, Tricolour or Roan in any of colour combination. The coat is dense but consists of fine hairs.

Description of the Brittany Dog and Puppies - Comparative Sizing Pictures & info
The pictures above allow for a useful sizing perspective between an average man (Five feet ten inches) or an average sized woman (Five feet six inches) in comparison to the average sized Brittany dog which we have detailed above. These pictures are extremely important as they provide an immediate and accurate visual representation of the height of an average Brittany Spaniel compared to the height of a male or female - essential information but unique to this site. Use the pictures to help to estimate the size of this breed of dog to each the various growing stages of children. Use the pictures to provide a guideline to the adult size of Brittany Puppies. The pictures will also prove to be invaluable when comparing the sizes and heights of other dog breeds. The dimensions will vary according to the sex of the dog or puppy. Girl dogs, or bitches, are on average, 2 inches smaller than boy dogs. Another useful piece of information when considering puppies.

 

Dog photograph

 

Information on Grooming and Care of the Brittany Dog Breed
The Brittany Spaniel requires a minimum amount of grooming. Regardless of the breeds, a certain amount of grooming and care is necessary to keep dogs and puppies looking at their best. Grooming consists of not only brushing out the coat and bathing but also giving attention to the eyes, teeth, ears, feet and nails. A regular routine also ensures that any potential health problems are identified as quickly as possible, especially important in puppies and older dogs.

Information on the Temperament and Character of the Brittany Dog Breed
The Brittany Spaniel is a very sociable breed, enjoying the company of other dogs and humans, they are playful, inquisitive, intelligent, affectionate, gentle, and sensitive. Although the Brittany Spanial was developed as an active hunting dog it is also obedient. This dog makes a good house pet providing it is given lots of exercise and attention.

Living conditions and Exercise Requirements of the Brittany Dog Breed
The Brittany dogs and puppies are not well suited to living in the town because it requires a substantial amount of exercise. It is well suited to living in the country and even outdoors in kennels. If the Brittany is not given sufficient exercise, it can become destructive.

Brittany Puppies info
The following considerations should be taken into account when choosing Brittany puppies:

  • Budget - Purchasing, training, equipment, medication and feeding costs of the breed
  • Convenience and Grooming time e.g. long or short hair
  • Personal situation - time available and medical conditions such as allergies, asthma or back pain
  • Exercising requirements for the Brittany Spanial breed
  • Living Conditions for the breed - suitability for puppies
  • Family - child suitability

Children and Puppies!
The pictures above allow for a useful comparison of sizes providing an accurate portrait of the size of an average Brittany - essential information and unique to this site. It should also be noted that the pictures feature adults. The size of puppies are naturally considerably smaller and the full grown size of the animal can easily be forgotten when confronted with cute puppies! The slogan " A dog isn't just for Christmas - it's for life!" was necessitated by well meaning people buying puppies at the Christmas, unaware of the puppies growth rate. The pictures provided make it extremely clear exactly how small puppies will develop and whether it will suit the life and living conditions of the family.

Age comparison between the Brittany Dog Breed and a Human
Age comparisons between dogs and humans are always a matter of debate - we hope that the following information clarifies the situation. After the first year of life, a dog is equivalent to sixteen human years. After two years, they are equivalent to a 24 year old, at three years a 30 year old, and each year after, add 5 human years to determine a dog's age.

Life Expectancy of the Brittany Dog Breed
The life expectancy for this particular breed is between 12 – 14 years.

Sporting Dog (Gundog) Breed Information
Dogs in the Sporting group, which are referred to in England as Gundogs, which include the Brittany, can be divided into three main categories - Retrievers, Pointers and Setters.  These dogs were bred primarily to work with people to hunt game birds. Some of these dogs work in water whilst other dogs are more suited to  work on land and many of the dogs in the Sporting dog category are comfortable and capable of working in either land or water environments. Sporting dogs, including the Brittany, are particularly suited to wood and field activities. The Retriever, Pointer and Setter dogs and their main functionalities are as follows: 

  • The Retriever dog - Retriever dogs find and return killed game to the hunter. Some Retrievers are especially equipped, for instance with a water-repellent coat and webbed feet, for retrieving downed waterfowl.
  • The Pointer dog - Pointer dogs stand in front of their quarry, with their nose and body rigidly still , thus directing (or pointing) the hunter to its location.
  • The Setter dog - Setter dogs were originally trained to set, or crouch, in front of game preventing the escape of the quarry. The hunter would make the capture with a net. 

Sporting Dogs hunt by air scent, as opposed to ground scent used by the dogs categorised as being in the Hound category. Characteristics and features of Sporting Dogs have been introduced and strengthened by breeding with animals who already demonstrated the desired traits. Breeding for appearance was only introduced in the 19th Century. Before this time dogs and puppies were bred to increase useful abilities and traits helpful for the duties they were intended for. Thus, the various Sporting breeds, or Gundogs, including the Brittany Spaniel, were initially introduced to help man according to his specific requirements such as:

 
  • Hunting game birds
  • Hunting waterfowl
  • Retrieving game that had been shot and wounded
  • Pointing to game to allow the hunter to catch or shoot the quarry
  • Startling, or flushing, birds from their cover

In this day and age only a few Brittanys might undertake these tasks, but nevertheless, they still harbour the skills and characteristics that made the original Brittany breeding program successful.

 

It is said that they are perhaps the most intelligent of the breeds, resulting in their wide variety of uses and their ease of training. These dogs like to be around people and are active and alert and require regular, invigorating exercise and lots of attention. 

 

Brittany Dog Breed

Examples of other Breeds within the Sporting Dog Group 
The Sporting group includes the Brittany and all of the following breeds:
Pointers, German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointers, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Curly-Coated Retrievers, Flat-Coated Retriever, Labrador Retrievers, English Setters, Gordon Setter, Irish Setter, American Water Spaniels, Clumber Spaniel, Cocker Spaniels, English Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, Field Spaniels, Irish Water Spaniels, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Spinone Italiano, Sussex Spaniels, Welsh Springer Spaniels, Vizslas, Weimaraners and Wirehaired Pointing Griffons. The Brittany Spaniel is most often mis-spelt as Britney Spaniel although Brittny Spaniel and Britany Spaniel is also used. The word Spaniel is often mis-spelt as Spanial. Pictures and information about all of the above Sporting breeds, together with all other dog groups, may be found on this website via the following links:

 

Dog Breeds - ABC List

Dog Names & Breeds Site Index Sporting Dog Breeds
Facts - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials - Origins - History - Description - Coat and Colours - Height - Size - Grooming - Temperament - Character - Living conditions - Exercise Requirements - Life Expectancy - Information - Facts - Origins - Info - Pups - Pictures - Photo - Information - Health - Care - Puppies - Breeds - Info - Pictures - Puppys - Photo - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials - Pic - Information - Picture - Piture - Care - Pup - Picture - Puppies - Breeds - Facts - Origins - History - Description - Coat and Colours - Height - Size - Grooming - Temperament - Character - Living conditions - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials -  Exercise Requirements - Life Expectancy - Facts - Origins - History - Description - Coat and Colours - Height - Size - Grooming - Temperament - Character - Living conditions - Exercise Requirements - Life Expectancy - Information - Facts - Origins - Info - Information - Facts - Origins - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials - Info - Pictures - Puppys - Information - Health - Care - Pictures - Photos - Pics - Puppies - Breeds - Pictures - Picture - Piture - Information - Health - Care - Picture - Puppies - Breeds - Pups - Pictures - Photo - Picture - Piture - Information - Health - Puppys - Care - Pictures - Puppies - Breeds - Info - Pictures - Picture - Piture - Puppys - Pups - Pictures - Photo - Information - Health - Care - Puppies - Breeds - Info - Pictures - Puppys - Photo - Pic - Information - Facts - Origins - History - Description - Coat and Colours - Height - Size - Grooming - Temperament - Character - Living conditions - Exercise Requirements - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials - Life Expectancy - Information - Facts - Origins - Info - Picture - Piture - Care - Pup - Picture - Puppies - Breeds - Pictures - Puppys - Information - Health - Care - Pictures - Photos - Facts - Origins - History - Description - Coat and Colours - Height - Size - Grooming - Temperament - Character - Living conditions - Exercise Requirements - Life Expectancy - Information - Facts - Origins - Info - Pics - Puppies - Breeds - Pictures - Picture - Piture - Information - Health - Care - Picture - Puppies - Breeds - Pups - Pictures - Photo - Picture - Piture - Information - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials - Health - Puppys - Care - Pictures - Puppies - Breeds - Info - Pictures - Picture - Piture - Facts - Origins - History - Description - Coat and Colours - Height - Size - Grooming - Temperament - Character - Living conditions - Exercise Requirements - Life Expectancy - Information - Facts - Origins - Info - Britney Spaniel - Brittny Spaniel - Britany Spaniel - Spanial - Spanials - Puppys - Written By Linda Alchin