Jackson, (left) American Britt, 1995 - 2005 and Ben (right) French Britt: DOB, 1997 Photo: circa 1999

Much has been written about the similarities and differences between the American Brittany and the French Brittany.  I have a unique opportunity to compare the two since I own Jackson, a 3 year old liver and white American Brittany, and Ben, a two year old orange and white French Brittany. Both dogs are AKC papered and Ben is also registered with the French Brittany Dog Club. I hunt both dogs in high desert Arizona on Gambel’s and scaled quail.  When Ben’s hair is longer and darker, breeders refer to his color as mahogany rather than orange. See photo.

The first unique anatomical feature you will notice about Ben is his black nose, black lips, and dark eyes.  Ben’s brother, a black and white roan littermate, is owned by my father in Payson, Az.  The two brothers have very different coloration except for the characteristic black nose and lips.  The Fr. Britts are smaller, shorter, more delicate dogs.  Am. Britts tend to have longer legs and want to range farther – most attribute this to breeders who want to select taller, bigger dogs to compete in field trials with other breeds.  I have noticed this tendency in my two also.  Ben “checks back” with me much more often than my Am. Britt.  Many breeds can be trained to hunt closer, but my Fr. Britt seems to stay somewhat closer just by nature.

One big difference became obvious quickly after buying Ben.  French Britts mature much more slowly than the Americans.  Many Fr. Britt  handlers do not take Fr. Britts into the field until they are at least 2 years old.  I took Ben out on live, wild birds at age one just to tag along and have fun.  He chased butterflies, pointed grasshoppers, and just loved being a puppy.  Just by instinct Ben was steady on point by the end of that 97-98 quail season. I never did train Ben with live birds.   Ben’s mother, Abby, owned by Jimmy Ridge of Hugo, OK, (and perhaps THE finest Brittany I have ever seen) was trained with the force-fetch method.  She will retrieve anything from sticks to rocks to birds on command. Ben has always been “delicate”, and sometimes less than enthusiastic, about retrieving.  A small squirt of water as a field reward at the end of successful retrieve has been a good help and positive reinforcement. Ben’s brother has been a super retriever from the start, so I may be seeing an “individual” difference.  Regardless, with Fr. Britts have patience and go slowly during all training expectations.

I can’t say enough about the smelling ability of my Fr. Britt.   Especially on days when we have the birds scattered and sticking, he’s the best.  As you can tell, the little black nosed beauties have won my heart.  My dad now owns one year old Tess (from a Tennessee Fr. Britt breeder). Next March Ben and Tess will team up for our first litter of French Britts, Arizona style.

For more information about French Brittanys see Club de l’Epagneul Breton at:
http://www.french-brittany.org

B. Corley, Globe, Az.