Brittany Spaniel

fiestaman · 06-09-2008 10:01pm #1

hey lads, need some info on brittany spaniel. was thinking of getting one but was woundering should i hold off till feb/mar when long evenings come in again. also we have a boxer already as the house pet so would it be a good idea to mix them...would they get on. boxer can roam the whole house,half acre site. can brittany be left out with him during the day or would he have to be kenneled, to be honest i dont want to kennel him,dont think its fair. would you class them good dogs or are springer/cocker just as good, i like the idea they can point,i think theres noting better than a dog on point.

whitser · 08-09-2008 8:18am

talk to mallards on here, he keeps brittanys.

ballistic · 08-09-2008 11:00pm

I have one. Great dog points well and retrieves in water and on land. A real character a bit mad. He also has a natural talent for following a blood trail so a great dog to follow a deer that has run. Overall I couldnt ask for a whole lot more in a dog. He had a little bit of a thing for sheep but the temporary use of a training collar has permanently fixed that problem. He is also a little shy of heavy cover. Im sure that he is not indicative of the species as a whole he is pure bred but not registered i knew both parents.

Hezz700 · 10-09-2008 8:14am

I have a 4 yr old Brittany bitch, same as Ballistic said, points and retreives well. Very steady when pointing and will not budge until told to do so. Mine has absolutly no fear of cover so much so that she has gotten a few nasty gashs over the years barraling head long through hedges and scrub. I have to keep her in a run since she will hunt non stop once she is out and about. Great dog.

foxhunter · 10-09-2008 8:26am

fiestaman wrote: »

hey lads, need some info on brittany spaniel. was thinking of getting one but was woundering should i hold off till feb/mar when long evenings come in again. also we have a boxer already as the house pet so would it be a good idea to mix them...would they get on. boxer can roam the whole house,half acre site. can brittany be left out with him during the day or would he have to be kenneled, to be honest i dont want to kennel him,dont think its fair. would you class them good dogs or are springer/cocker just as good, i like the idea they can point,i think theres noting better than a dog on point.

I have no experience of the breed myself because i use a german pointer but i do know that the boxer breed are very territorial and don't really get on with other dogs.

Lee Green · 10-09-2008 9:33am

My pointer sally died last year of old age best dog I ever had. The Irish water spaniel was mentioned to me as a dog well worth having a look at but I know nothing about them, from what I have read they sound like
they would make a good companion and hunting dog.

Lee Green · 10-09-2008 10:27am

Picture of the Irish water spaniel.

fiestaman · 10-09-2008 10:45am

Hezz700 wrote: »

I have a 4 yr old Brittany bitch, same as Ballistic said, points and retreives well. Very steady when pointing and will not budge until told to do so. Mine has absolutly no fear of cover so much so that she has gotten a few nasty gashs over the years barraling head long through hedges and scrub. I have to keep her in a run since she will hunt non stop once she is out and about. Great dog.

Maybe brittany might not suit if you are saying you have to kennel him all the time or he will want to hunt when left to roam the yard and might try to break out and stray off.

Honey-ec · 10-09-2008 10:52am

foxhunter wrote: »

I have no experience of the breed myself because i use a german pointer but i do know that the boxer breed are very territorial and don't really get on with other dogs.

Sorry, but I just have to say that Boxers get on extremely well with other dogs. They are territorial to the extent that they have a strong guarding instinct and tend not to like strangers approaching their home, but other than that, they are extremely sociable.

I have three Boxers and have never had a problem socialising them with other dogs (or introducing either of the two more recent additions to the original dog). One of them is ever so slightly lead-aggressive but once she is off the lead, she is absolutely fine with other dogs. We also have a friend with a Rottweiler and JRT who stays over every few months with her dogs, and they all get on fine.

As for Brittany spaniels, the only one I've any experience with belongs to the guy who runs Falconry Ireland (whose name escapes me right now) and she's a beaut. She is allowed free reign of his garden and doesn't seem to stray at all.

fiestaman · 10-09-2008 10:56am

Honey-ec wrote: »

Sorry, but I just have to say that Boxers get on extremely well with other dogs. They are territorial to the extent that they have a strong guarding instinct and tend not to like strangers approaching their home, but other than that, they are extremely sociable.

I have three Boxers and have never had a problem socialising them with other dogs (or introducing either of the two more recent additions to the original dog). One of them is ever so slightly lead-aggressive but once she is off the lead, she is absolutely fine with other dogs. We also have a friend with a Rottweiler and JRT who stays over every few months with her dogs, and they all get on fine.

As for Brittany spaniels, the only one I've any experience with belongs to the guy who runs Falconry Ireland (whose name escapes me right now) and she's a beaut. She is allowed free reign of his garden and doesn't seem to stray at all.

That sounds good to me, our boxer is fine to but was just woundering when you broght a dog home to stay would it be different. i like that he has hers free runnig, might give it a second thought.

whitser · 11-09-2008 10:29am

article in this weeks countrymans weekly about the brittanys.

Double Barrel · 13-09-2008 11:45pm

FiestaM,

Two French Brittany Spaniels and an English Setter working Partridge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d73DEuRNTCY&feature=related

kerryman12 · 14-09-2008 11:49am

Lovely to watch that, they are in no rush to give back the bird though

Mellor · 14-09-2008 8:08pm

whitser wrote: »

article in this weeks countrymans weekly about the brittanys.

Any online link?

I got my first britney this summer, had a Gordon setter previously and wanted a small dog this time. First impressions are great. Very easily trained, without even trying to teach him, he has picked up sit, stay, bed etc
Was out in the field for the first time last week and was very active, smelling around etc, hopefully can get him gun broken soon, and might get a day or two at the end of this season

mallards · 15-09-2008 4:16pm

The guys are right, I have 4 of them and they are great little hunters with a fantastic nose. You shouldn't have a problem with them mixing with the boxer. They can be territorial in their own right so plenty of socialisation when young is the key.
I found them to be very clever dogs so make sure the area he will run in is secure or you have one of those electronic fence things.
You are right to wait until next spring you will only get him out with you proper for the last week or so of the season but whats the rush, do it right the first time and you will have a dog to be proud of for life.

All the best,

Mallards

Git101 · 22-10-2008 9:08pm

I dont know if this is any help but i just read a good little article on www.woodlandsfalconry.com its on the blog there about brittanies, also check out the article where he is hunting with a brittany and a female sparrowhawk. He also has brittany pups available at the moment according to the blog. I know he is in County Carlow. Have fun!

Da Frog · 23-10-2008 8:53pm

I have nothing but praise about brittany spaniel and you can trust me: I am from Brittany ! They are the most passionate breed of gundog i have ever seen along with springer spaniels. they are a pocket size dog that point, retrieve, range cleverly. They have a total dedication to their master. In France they have long been the most used gun dog. the "Breton" was the typical farm yard dog around brittany that has been then selected to a certain standard to create a pure breed. The brittany still competes with honours with all both british and continental breeds in field trials. they produce Crack dogs again and again. The only thing to do with them is to canalize their passion for the hunt. They can be slightly hard headed but you got to love them. they will never let you down for a day out shooting on land and water.

people in recent years tended to prefer the english setter because of their wider range of action. i would certainly recommand the brittany in Ireland becasue they are more solid dogs. they are tougher for sure, they retrieve better and they are easier to train.

I shot over brittanies for years and if i had to give you an advise : you can get one, you won't be disappointed.

After some research i now have a crunch on the little munsterlander spaniel which comes down from brittany's bloodline. I have been told great things about them. I don't know if you can get one in Ireland though.

http://chien.com/CFEML/index1.html

Sorry for the french page but i couldn't find anything in english about them. Basically you have the short version on the left and the big version in the middle. they are apparently famous to have very little training to do with them.

I know a good few breeders in France for the Brittany if you are interested, but the laws are a bit stricts for importing...

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Brittany Spaniel

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