Hunting with a brittany dog

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Bob Peters

Well-known member
I've done it just a couple times. Do they always run big? As in setting off and hunting really far out? Or do they stay in gun range like a flusher should? If they do run big, do they bump a lot of birds? My buddy got a new pup last year, and she'll be 14 months or so once upland seasons start. We've got a few hunting trips planned already, so that's why I'm asking how a brittany hunts, works cover, etc.
 
Like about all the breeds nowadays, depends on the breeder. I'll look at the pedigree. If they have more than a couple champions in the lineage it's a red flag to me that they could run big. If they have none, I'm in for a look see. It's the same old story when competition enters the equation. A guy researches and decides he wants a pup from Sir Galahad the great, ninety-seven-time world champ (for bragging rights I guess). Then winds up with a dog they can't handle. He would have been a lot better off if he would have got a dog from a local hunter, breeding the best gun dog he has to his buddy's good dog, because he needs a pup, not for the bread. I've seen it a million times. All the Brits I've been around run close to medium. I'll also say that at 14 months you probably don't know if that's going to be her natural range or not. A lot of times a dog settles down when they figure out that these trips out in the weeds are not going to be there last.
 
I've had Brittanys for nearly 30 years. How big a Brittany runs is really not any different than most pointing dog breeds. It depends largely on the breeding and training. If you get a dog who's breeding is from field trial dogs you will generally get a bigger running dog. Especially one that is out of all age horseback trial breeding like my current Brittany. But there a lot of Brittanys out there that are more medium ranging dogs. Most dogs are going to bump some birds, especially when they are younger and less experienced. At 14 months your buddies dog will be quite young and unexperienced. Her first season will be mainly a learning experience. Don't expect too much from her this first year.
 
Dakotazeb said:
I've had Brittanys for nearly 30 years. How big a Brittany runs is really not any different than most pointing dog breeds. It depends largely on the breeding and training. If you get a dog who's breeding is from field trial dogs you will generally get a bigger running dog. Especially one that is out of all age horseback trial breeding like my current Brittany. But there a lot of Brittanys out there that are more medium ranging dogs. Most dogs are going to bump some birds, especially when they are younger and less experienced. At 14 months your buddies dog will be quite young and unexperienced. Her first season will be mainly a learning experience. Don't expect too much from her this first year.
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I agree with Zeb. Genetics plays a role for sure. Some dogs, including Brits, are just naturally faster, bolder and have more energy. I've had some dogs that will check to see where I am more often than others - it was just in their DNA.
Training and experience are a big part of how a bird dog behaves in the field. 14 months old is young. My experience says that dogs are a lot like humans, some learn quicker than others.
Hope you have a great trip!
 
Brittanys as a breed can be anything from close to very far ranging. So as others say, it's up to the breeding/pedigree. Bumping birds is about training and experience of the dog. Which a new puppy will be bumping birds pretty often while it learns. If you are only used to flushing dogs, this can be extremely frustrating if you are looking for a dog to hunt well instead of the training process.
 
I've hunted them for 30 years. They point and hold so I let them pretty much range as far as I can see them. If a point is distant, it is held until I walk it up. Keeping a pointing dog within gun range has never made sense to me. If you want a dog always within gun range, maybe a flusher is your kind of dog. If you're a club/bird ranch hunter, a flusher might be the way to go. But if you hunt wild birds which are getting more and more scarce, better get a ranging pointer type. My dogs have needed little training. The main things I teach are whoa and hand signals for silent hunting. My current dog is a rescue who bumped her first point but never again after I said whoa a few times. Brittanys love people and one that is bonded to the hunter will try to please the hunter afield by obedience to commands and signals. Key words for Brittanys: Biddable and loving. Wonderful companions.
 
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My cousin has a Brit from well bred lines. He will generally let him range out to 100 yards or so, but he can keep him closer if he wants. IMO, he keeps him too close at times, but I would never bad mouth another persons dog or how he hunts the dog. I've only hunted with him a handful of times, but I can't recall ever seeing him bust a bird. Seems to be a very biddable dog. When I hunt with my cousin and Finn goes on point, I just signal my dog/dogs to sit until the bird is flushed.

I can remember the first time I hunted behind a pointing dog, 20 some years ago. At that time I had only hunted behind labs. This dog was a big, confident, big running GSP. What an eye opener that was, watching that dog a few hundred yards out working the wind. I never passed up an opportunity to hunt behind him.
 
birddude said:
That's the difference between a big running Britt and a big running pointer. A big running Britt will come back when called, a big running pointer will just smirk as he's going over the hill..:)
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Dude, So true. I've seen it many times. I've seen a few other breeds that will do the same.
 
Bob Peters said:
How do brittany dogs do in warmer weather. Should she have a short haircut in early season?
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if heat is a concern, better not to hunt the dog regardless of breed or coat. i've also heard that coat length is not a significant factor due to coat density closer to the skin. but i'm no expert.
 
Bob Peters said:
How do brittany dogs do in warmer weather. Should she have a short haircut in early season?
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They do as well as any other dog in warm weather. My last two Britts have been predominately white in color and that reflects some sun and heat. They have also had short flat coats that never need trimming. Coats have a lot to do with the breeding.
 
A half mile is 880 yards or almost 9 football fields. Seems excessive for most Brittany bird dogs.

My dogs adapt pretty well to the cover and conditions (weather). Normal range is about 25 yards - 100 yards ... with most of the time spent about 60 - 75 yards out ... the coverage is pretty extensive left and right too ... not just out in front. They all have figured out how to pin runners too ... not always, but often enough to help fill the bag.

In short grass prairie, they may stretch out quite a bit pushing towards 150-200 yards but that is the exception.

All my Brittanys have set these ranges mostly on their own. I may work with them a bit on range, but I have now trained my 6 Britts on my own and do not use electric collars in training or hunting. Same for my brother's dogs.

My one Britt that ran far "bigger" than the rest will be approaching 14 years of age this fall. She still tries to run big, but her breathing can't keep up ... so she is mostly retired with a few 20-minute hunts in spots I know are compact and holding birds.
 
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I have never shaved my Britts. On hotter days - hunt early and hunt late. Keep walks short. Watch the water intake.

My dogs travel in the cab with us so they cool down or warm up as needed between places.
 
DD74 said:
I have a Brittany that ranges nearly a half mile, she was professionally trained and I run a tracking collar on her. You walk half the distance and will find twice the birds in my opinion and that’s important as I’m in my late sixties.
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Wow, My experience most wild birds will not hold long enough to get a shot after walking a half mile to a point.
 
BRITTMAN said:
A half mile is 880 yards or almost 9 football fields. Seems excessive for most Brittany bird dogs.

My dogs adapt pretty well to the cover and conditions (weather). Normal range is about 25 yards - 100 yards ... with most of the time spent about 60 - 75 yards out ... the coverage is pretty extensive left and right too ... not just out in front. They all have figured out how to pin runners too ... not always, but often enough to help fill the bag.

In short grass prairie, they may stretch out quite a bit pushing towards 150-200 yards but that is the exception.

All my Brittanys have set these ranges mostly on their own. I may work with them a bit on range, but I have now trained my 6 Britts on my own and do not use electric collars in training or hunting. Same for my brother's dogs.

My one Britt that ran far "bigger" than the rest will be approaching 14 years of age this fall. She still tries to run big, but her breathing can't keep up ... so she is mostly retired with a few 20-minute hunts in spots I know are compact and holding birds.
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I sure understand your skepticism, I’ve hunted Brittanys all my life and this is by far the widest running of them all.
 
Me too. I have run Britts since the 70's. If had a Brit that ran that big, he or she would be wearing a check cord to slow them down.
 
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