Brittany

The Brittany comes from the centre of Brittany in north-west France, and is probably one of the oldest of the spaniel-type breeds. It was refined at the start of the twentieth century through deliberate outcrossing and selection. A draft standard was written in Nantes in 1907 and adopted at Loudéac in June 1908 by a club named, tellingly, for the naturally short-tailed dog.

Despite the name, it does not work like a spaniel. It is a pointing breed, a dog that finds game, freezes on it, and holds. The standard describes a versatile pointing dog for any game on any terrain, precocious in revealing its hunting passion. That last phrase matters: Brittany puppies often start pointing absurdly young.

Physically it is built square, length from shoulder point to buttock equals height at the withers, on a solid frame that is compact without being heavy. Short-coupled, cobby, and energetic, with a spaniel-type head and a bright, intelligent expression.

Coat is medium length. Orange and white or liver and white are the most common, with roan and tricolour also seen. A medium silky coat, which is surprisingly easy to manage.

Brittanys are generally more sensitive than GSPs. Well handled, that makes them exceptionally trainable. They read you, they want to get it right, and they pick things up fast. Handled heavily, the same sensitivity shuts a dog down. If you are the sort of person who raises their voice when frustrated, this is not your breed.

They are affectionate, want to be with their people, and settle well indoors once properly exercised. Like the GSP, they do better in a two-dog household if the house is empty during the day.

Everything on our before you buy page about exercise, crate training, destruction when bored and prey drive around chooks and small animals applies here too. The scale is smaller. The requirement is not.

Max came from Kirinbell Brittanys, a small family kennel on the rural edge of the Hills district in Sydney, run by Samantha Ibbott-Cordi. Kirinbell has without question been the most successful Breeder of Brittany’s in Australia.

What we looked for in that program was the same thing we look for in our own: dogs that are structurally sound, of good temperament, and genuinely versatile, competitive in the ring, capable in the field, and civil on the lounge. Their dogs compete across obedience, rally, agility, field and retrieving, tracking, scent work and lure coursing. That breadth is not decoration; it is evidence the dogs can actually do things.

We name the source because you should be able to trace a dog backwards. Any breeder who is vague about where their foundation stock came from is telling you something.