I've heard they are inclined to retrieve - is this inclination more pronounced than with American brits? How big are your dogs? I wouldn't mind a smaller dog but would wonder how well a 30lb dog would handle retrieving roosters. Maybe not an issue? 30-35 lbs would be a pretty portable.
French Brittany Thoughts?
- Thread starter BirddogGSP
- Start date
dustin mudd
Active member
Abbey road …. I have hunted with a lot of Brittany and French Brittany owners. I sought advice from a 30 year dog training pro in my quest between Brittany and French Brittany. I have friends whose Brittany’s were terrible on retriever work. I believe based on his comments that those Brittany owners did very little-retrieve training The friends who had Brittany’s did no reinforcement during those critical first few months getting pups wound up about retrieving. It’s not necessarily the dogs fault , all will if exposed and excited will be naturally inclined to so some retrieving, if they have sufficient bird drive and exposed in a positive environment. Some will excel over others based on desire and reinforcement. I did go with French Brittany…. I think The breeding has been more about gun dog work. Vs some Brittany breeders have trialing aspirations, which is less focused on the retriever aspects. My two cent’s.
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Dakotazeb
Well-known member
I don't care if you have an American Brittany, a French Brittany, a GSP or some other breed of hunting dog the retrieve is in the breeding. I've run American Brittanys in NSTRA trials for 13+ years. The retrieve in NSTRA is important and a big part of the score. These dogs all had a natural retrieve. May have needed a little tweaking on the delivery. On the last hunt of this fall my grandson winged a rooster that glided down about 150 yds. out in a bean stubble field and took off running. My Britt was off at the shot and that rooster didn't make it another 50 yds. before she had him and was running back with that live rooster to deliver to me. Love moments like that!
I'm with you DZeb! I prioritize bird finding/pointing and retrieving equally. There are quite a few pointing dog guys that are heavy on the former and indifferent on the latter. Not me. The Germans refer to the retrieve as 'the second hunt' and prioritize game recovery above all else. Wild birds are precious and it's a darn shame to lose one unnecessarily. It still happens, but good dogs with an inclination and tenacity to retrieve minimize this as we all know. Do you folks take britts through FF? As a softer breed is this harder or easier?
Dakotazeb
Well-known member
My females have been in the 33-40 lb. range. My first American Brittany was a male that weighed in the upper 40's. I think most well bred field American Brittanys will be in the 35-42 lb. range. But with any breed you have exceptions. I know of some excellent American Brittanys in NSTRA that are under 30 lb. One around 25 lb. that is a champion dog. On the other end I know of males that have been close to 60 lbs. You really need to see the dam and sire, and even the grandparents to get a better idea of what size a pup may end up being.
BRITTMAN
Well-known member
Most of my Brittany females have been in the 33 - 38 pound range. The lightest dog at 33 pounds. When she was in her prime she covered a lot of ground with ease ... I hunt her sparingly as she approaches 13 years of age because her lungs do not seem to match her desire. At 33 pounds she is small, but retrieves pheasants with ease.
My current male (only 2nd male I have owned) is 40 - 42 pounds. You can tell that he has testosterone - his muscles are absolutely ripped and he moves through cover with both strength and ease. He pointed naturally (all my Brittanys did). He will whoa just about anywhere on my command if chose to say it.
All my dogs retrieve naturally - on warm days they may find the bird carry it towards me and then wait for me to get to them. Fine with me.
The dog in my avatar was a very good retriever when I hunted waterfowl more. She had 30 - 40 retrieve mornings in the field and sometimes a dozen or more if over water. Can't push Brittanys in cold water, but again that avatar photo was a 28F degree morning in a snow-covered field.
Brittany temperament is indeed soft ... I do not see that as detriment - just something you work with rather than force through. By the way soft temperament is between dog and owner (handler). It does not translate to any soft behavior in the field, quite the contrary actually.
My current male (only 2nd male I have owned) is 40 - 42 pounds. You can tell that he has testosterone - his muscles are absolutely ripped and he moves through cover with both strength and ease. He pointed naturally (all my Brittanys did). He will whoa just about anywhere on my command if chose to say it.
All my dogs retrieve naturally - on warm days they may find the bird carry it towards me and then wait for me to get to them. Fine with me.
The dog in my avatar was a very good retriever when I hunted waterfowl more. She had 30 - 40 retrieve mornings in the field and sometimes a dozen or more if over water. Can't push Brittanys in cold water, but again that avatar photo was a 28F degree morning in a snow-covered field.
Brittany temperament is indeed soft ... I do not see that as detriment - just something you work with rather than force through. By the way soft temperament is between dog and owner (handler). It does not translate to any soft behavior in the field, quite the contrary actually.