Q: Do French Brittany's make good family companions?

A:  Epagneul Bretons (French Brittanys) make EXCELLENT family pets.  They are extremely "people-oriented" and are happiest when they are an active member of the family.

Q. My pups parents were both X-Rayed, does this mean that my dog will not have hip problems?

 A. There are a number systems worldwide that evaluate hip X-Rays.  Domestically there is OFA (www.offa.org) and PennHip(www.pennhip.org).  They are two completely different methods that are used to determine the likelihood of a dog to develop Degenerative Joint Disease.  The OFA makes the following statement concerning Hip Dysplasia:  "No one can predict when or even if a dysplastic dog will start showing clinical signs of lameness due to pain. There are multiple environmental factors such as caloric intake, level of exercise, and weather that can affect the severity of clinical signs and phenotypic expression (radiographic changes). There is no rhyme or reason to the severity of radiographic changes correlated with the clinical findings. There are a number of dysplastic dogs with severe arthritis that run, jump, and play as if nothing is wrong and some dogs with barely any arthritic radiographic changes that are severely lame."

Q. Which sex makes a better hunting dog, a male or a female?

A. Both sexes make excellent hunting dogs.  Things you may want to consider, however, are (1) do you plan on breeding your dog?  (2) If you purchase a female do you intend to have her spayed?  If you don't have her spayed you MUST have the facilities to protect her from any unplanned breeding with the neighbor's dog or stray (this requires SECURE fencing and confinement for at least 3 weeks or more twice a year.)  Don't forget — she will come into heat every six months — guaranteed that one time will be in the midst of hunting season, thereby putting her out of commission for almost a month of the season.

If you are thinking about breeding your female please consider the following:

• Is your female a "breeding quality dog?"  Does she meet all the following MINIMUM requirements?

        (1) Has she been "confirmed" in accordance with the breed standard (i.e. has NO disqualifying faults);

        (2) Has she been proven in the field?

        (3) Has she been certified by either OFA or PennHip with hips rated "Fair" or better? 

• You must ONLY breed to a UKC registered Epagneul Breton NEVER to an American Brittany and never breed your female before two years of age or at least her third heat cycle.

• It takes two to breed.  Do you have access to a "breeding quality" male (i.e. also meets the above  requirements) or are you prepared to buy a second dog?  Males should not be bred until two years of age or a preliminary hip x-ray has been done and meets the above standard of "B" or better.  If you elect to buy your own "stud dog" — what if at 18 months you have his hips x-rayed and they come back "mild" or worse?  Are you prepared to replace him with another dog and wait another two years?

• You need to carefully consider the pedigree of BOTH dogs before breeding.  You must avoid the possibility of "in breeding" and risking accentuating any negative recessive genes.  Know what each dog's bloodlines have produced.

• If there is not a breeding quality male in your immediate area you will have to ship your female to the male to be bred.  This can be expensive (at least $400 for round trip transportation, plus pick/up and delivery fees, and boarding for the time the female is at the kennel). This can also be very complicated in that many airlines have very strict regulations about transporting live animals. Many airlines do not even accept live animals.  Outside temperatures at ALL LEGS OF THE FLIGHT must be within the prescribed range (highs AND lows) or the airlines will not accept the dog.  Timing is absolutely critical.  If your timing is "off" you will have gone through the whole process (and cost) for nothing, only to have to repeat the process 6 months later. 

• Many breeders do not breed to "outside" dogs."

You should carefully consider the reason you want to breed your female.

• Is it because you want to "recoup" the cost of your dog?  First of all - review the above paragraph regarding the cost to transport your female to a male to be bred.  Also you will have to pay a Stud Fee which can be the equivalent of the cost of what THAT breeder sells their puppies for (regardless of what you intend to ask for your puppies) or MORE.  Add to that (1) Veterinary costs.  (a) Any puppies born with long tails will require that the tail be docked.  (b) The mother may require additional veterinary care.  Consider the possible cost associated with a difficult birth or "C" section. (c) Vaccination and veterinary care of the puppies at appropriate intervals, etc.  (d) Care and feeding of the puppies until they are ready to go to their new homes. (2) Advertising costs.  In order to "recoup your cost" you will have to market the puppies.  Even if you think you can depend on "local" advertising that can be expensive and is not always reliable.  If you go "national" either through national publications such as "Gun Dog," "Pointing Dog Journal," etc .those ads can be VERY expensive; or through internet advertising - that can cost $200 or more.  If you do sell your puppies to a national market, before you can ship the dog you will have to obtain a health certificate (which YOU should be responsible for) before the puppy can be shipped.  Then you will have to make all the arrangements to ship the puppy to the prospective buyer including physically transporting the puppy to the airport.  This could mean driving several hundred miles to a major airport (3) Pitfalls.  (a) What if the litter produces a small number of puppies?  (You very likely would go "in the hole" with only two or three puppies produced.)  If you do "get lucky" and get a litter of 6 or 7 puppies, are you prepared to feed and care for them for 8-12 weeks (or longer) depending on how successful your "marketing plan" is.  (b) Do you have the facilities to keep that many dogs safe and secure?  (c) What if you don't sell all the puppies — are you prepared to keep them?  (d) Are you prepared to guarantee your puppies against genetic defects?  That means are you prepared to refund a buyers money — or repeat the entire process in order to be able to "replace" a puppy should a problem arise?

• You want your children to experience "the miracle of birth".  (See the above paragraph.)  Also, what if everything doesn't go by the book — are you prepared for your children to also experience the loss of a puppy or even worse — the loss of the female if things REALLY go bad.

This may appear to be a harsh statement, but one that every "Breeder" has considered and accepted before ever going into the business of breeding dogs.  It is the rare breeder who has never had anything go wrong, but they are prepared to deal with the up's and down's of the trade.  Obviously there are rewards (and certainly not just monetary) to producing quality dogs or we wouldn't do it.  We just would like each and every client who thinks they would like to breed their dog to consider ALL the ramifications. 

Your motivation for breeding your female should ONLY be to PRODUCE BETTER DOGS AND IMPROVE THE BREED.  It can NEVER be about the money.

Q: Where should I keep my French Brittany, in the house or in a kennel? 

A: French Brittanys do not make good kennel dogs.  They are very people-oriented and require interaction with their family.  This is not to say that he can't stay in a kennel while you are away from home (far safer than letting him run free) but he will not thrive if left for extended periods with no attention.  They learn far more quickly when socialized and are an active member of the family.

Q: I like to hunt ducks and geese, is a French Brittany the right dog for me?

A:  The French Brittany can do the job for the occasional water-fowler — but Geese would be asking a bit much.  Keep in mind that a wounded goose (who is REALLY irritated) can cause serious harm to, or even drown, a small dog like a Breton.  So if waterfowl is your primary game bird — I strongly recommend one of the breeds developed for that purpose like a German Wirehair or Pudelpointer — a dog that can handle the cold water and the larger birds.  If you like a "mixed bag" and occasionally like to pick up a few ducks here and there, your Breton can also be trained for that type of work as well.