The Brittany Spaniel or Breton Spaniel () is a French

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

gun dog Gun dogs (gundogs) or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the wing (in flight). The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and s ...

spaniel A spaniel is a Dog type, type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century, spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retriev ...

type, bred primarily for bird

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. It developed between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in north-west France, and was officially recognized early in the twentieth. The breed has developed differently in the United States, where it may be referred to as the 'American Brittany'.

History

The name "Brittany" is taken from the

region in northwestern France where the dog originated. Images of orange and white Brittany-like dogs hunting and retrieving game were first seen on tapestries and paintings from the 17th century. The first written and verifiable record of Brittanys comes from a hunting description written by Reverend Davies in 1850. He described hunting with small "bobtailed" dogs who pointed and were excellent retrievers. It was around the same time that the modern Brittany is rumored to have been bred by mating with English Setters. The Brittany was first recognized as a

in 1907 when an orange and white male named Boy was registered in France. As a result, the first standards were outlined in the same year. America recognized the Brittany in 1931 and the breed was approved by the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

in 1934. In 1982 the "Spaniel" was officially dropped from the name.

Description

An orange and white American Brittany

Appearance

The Brittany is a dog with a spaniel-type head, a bob-tail, and cobby appearance. Most Brittanys are born with long tails, subsequently docked to a length of , however sometimes they are born with short tails. The breed's coat color is varied: an orange and white coat or liver and white are most common in the American Brittany; other colors include orange roan and liver roan, all of which are acceptable in the show ring. The American Brittany Standard specifies an acceptable tri-color of liver, orange, and white with very specific color placement. French Brittanys also come in white and black.

Size

Brittanys are medium-sized dogs, with American lines ( at the withers according to an AKC standard adopted in 1990 tending to be larger and have a blockier head than French (), and females at the lower end. A properly constructed and healthy Brittany maintains a weight between , depending upon height. Generally, Brittanys are smaller than setters but leggier than spaniels.

Types

Many breeders differentiate between "American" Brittanys and "French"-style dogs. Although generally recognized as subsets of the same breed, there are recognizable differences between the two. The "American Brittany" has been bred to be typically larger than the "French Brittany".

Temperament

The Brittany was originally bred as a hunting dog and noted for being easy to train and sweet-natured. The breed is generally more sensitive to correction than other hunters, and harsh corrections are often unnecessary.

Health

A 2015 French study found an average life expectancy of 12.6 years. mean=11.34 ± 4.28 median =12.58 A 2024 UK study found an average life expectancy of 11.1 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds. A North American study looking at over a million dogs found the Brittany to be predisposed to hip dysplasia with 4.22% of Brittanys having hip dysplasia compared to 3.52% overall. Another North American study looking at over 250,000 elbow records found the Brittany to have the 14th lowest rate of elbow dysplasia out of 60 breeds with 1.7% of Brittanys having elbow dysplasia. A North American study found the Brittany to have a higher incidence of

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

than other dogs with 0.95% of Brittanys having glaucoma compared to 0.89% overall.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brittany (Dog) FCI breeds Gundogs Pointers Dog breeds originating in France