Brittany

Nasty-G

Active member
I'm again thinking seriously of getting a Brittany pup. Have always hunted with flushing dogs, primarily Labs. My 5 yr old is about as good as I can expect, however I still have the pointer itch. How would you suggest finding a foot hunting, biddable, Britt. ? Don't want a high powered field trial line. Thanks much.
 
Nothing a sure thing. When britts were brought to America, the breeding change to bigger and bigger running britts. I am sure some of these bigger britts hunt close. However, the original, smaller French britt might have a greater propensity to hunt close.

I will go with the odds and get a french britt next year.
 
I own both hunt both and enjoy both . Getting a good dog out of good lines is important . Quite a bit of the rest is up to you / training .

I would say my French dogs had a tendency to hunt a bit closer and maybe being on the stronger end of retrieving and they took to the water a bit better .

I would say my American dogs had a bit more endurance , bird finding ability I don't think I can tell any difference . I like the dog that have enough white on them to be seen in cover .

One of the best dogs I have hunted behind was from a dog that had been bred for trials that didn't run big enough for the breeder . She always does a nice job of adjusting to cover .
 
Brittany (American) is a great bird dog. They have hunted upland and waterfowl for me ... My bird dogs have the right range for me, stretching out a bit when cover is thin or bird scent is more scarce. Closing the gap when cover thickens and/or birds are more prevalent.

Brittanys that I have owned have a soft temperament. I can walk up to any of my dogs and pull food from their mouth without resistance or snapping. When you train a Brittany ... you need to keep their softer temperament in mind vs. labs which seem to take stronger reprimand, etc... Physical reprimand is never necessary even if you feel you have to.

This soft temperament is the interaction between you and your Brittany ... it has little to do with their toughness, drive and determination in the field - unless you "ruin it" for them by over or incorrectly reprimanding them.
 
How would you suggest finding a foot hunting, biddable, Britt. ? Don't want a high powered field trial line. Thanks much.

There are plenty of field hunting Brittany breeders in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Send me a private message and I will share more.
 
American Brittany Rescue is a conscientious organization with representatives who check the fosters, the dogs, and the potential adopters.

Their web site usually has images and backgrounds up, separated by State.

Worth a look.

(That's how I got Mick, the Springer I've had for over 6 years. I found him at the Wisconsin site after he had been picked up by the pound in far Southern Illinois and was transported up to Southern Wisconsin. ABR had been contacted and took him in, in spite of his non-brittany lineage.)
 
Depending on what I find out this week about Elle's future I might be bringing this little gal into the fold.

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Just do it! Life is to short to put all your eggs in one basket. We have four in case of mishaps,and rotate so one doesn't run any dog to ragged. Besides its too cute to not get!
 
I've been really happy with my Brittany, Junie. She's my first Brit, just turned 5 this year.

My personal experience has been very positive. She's a real people pleaser in the house, and will suck up to anybody for attention. (The opposite of my wirehair, who is very much a one-man dog.) She's settled into about a 150-200 yd dog, which works pretty well for most of the situations I put her in, and can run all day for days at that distance. I find that towards the end of the day, my friends are often putting up their dogs while Junie has legs to spare.

Compared to the other dogs I've had (small sample size), Junie has been slower to come along with certain things. She really never retrieved until last season, but once she started, she held her own just great and did a really nice job retrieving quail for us last season. A lifetime Brit fanatic told me that's pretty common for them to flip a switch at about 3 years old...

Anyway, that's my personal experience with one member of the Brittany breed. Quality hunters from my experience, and they bring a ton of joy to your home.
 
Love my Brittanys. Hoping my 3 year old will come in to heat soon so I can breed her to my male. Don't know what is going on with her. Really want pups off of him plus I need a couple puppies to start. I have a 14yo, 10yo and 3yo.
 
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