Brittanys

[*blackrose]

So....tell me about them!

What is their basic temperament like? How does their temperament compare to the various spaniel breeds (Springer, field bred Cocker, Field)? Any weird quirks that the breed tends to have? Things to be wary of in certain lines?

Obviously they're an active breed, but do they (tend to) have a good off switch? Do they (tend to) stray far off leash, or stick close? Wasn't sure what their natural hunting desire lead them to do.

I've seen various coats on dogs - I'm assuming the thinner, less feathery coat is the more "correct" one? Do they have any major size variation? How common are liver patched dogs vs red patched? (I like darker colors. )

 

[Elrohwen]

Take what I say with a grain of salt because the ones I have known well were kind of random pet bred and not really field bred. They were super sweet dogs with great off switches, but then they were older.

I have heard from others that their dogs did not have off switches at all, at least as younger dogs. I met someone who was impressed with Watson's manners because their Britt was terrible in public at over a year. I consider Wayson a wild child but I guess their Britt was worse. We were going to get a Britt but I was scared off by descriptions of off the wall energy and no off switch. Lots of breeders hint and keep dogs in kennels, which is fine, but I don't want a pet dog whose parents were so nuts they couldn't be in the house.

Temperament wise they should be more similar to pointers overall since they aren't really spaniels. To me, they seem less wiggly and happy than spaniels. More serious and intense like a GSP.

As far as coat goes, even BIS winning brittanies have light feathering so that is the norm. You may be seeing spayed/neutered dogs with fluffier coats. It's common for dogs with a flat spaniel coat to get fluffy and less sleek after neutering. IME liver is uncommon. I wanted liver and almost couldn't find anyone in my area breeding liver dogs. Among hunting bred dogs it was pretty much all orange and white, and even with show people (who often hunt as well) it was less than 30% liver. Funny since I ended up with a red dog anyway, but I prefer the darker red with black nose on the Welshies vs the more orange coat and pink nose on britts.

 

[BostonBanker]

I have heard from others that their dogs did not have off switches at all, at least as younger dogs.

I had a total of 3 in classes back when I was teaching, and they were possibly the most off the wall dogs I've ever known. Incapable of not moving or thinking things through for even a half a second. I wanted to staple them to the wall to just get them to stop moving for a half a second.

To be fair, I have zero idea how they were bred (one was a competing conformation dog though) or how well they were exercised/trained outside of class. But even thinking about trying to work with them now stresses me out!

 

[Elrohwen]

I should add that when I say they are more serious and intense than spaniels, I don't mean more focused. Just more serious in their spazziness.

 

[*blackrose]

Most of my experience has been negative (insane neurotic spaz), but one boy at work has made me change my mind. His energy level is HIGH and when we're outside he's a ball of non-moving energy, but he focuses very well when asked. Reminded me of Abrams energy level, honestly. High, but not...not able to settle high.

He's just overall a very well put together, handsome dog and it's made me curious, especially since I'm pretty sure our next dog will need to be latge small-medium sized.

 

[Psyfalcon]

Best hunting dogs in NJ. Close enough working that they're not crossing streets.

Some are certainly better than others. One female in particular might have been the most thinking dog I've ever seen. She was at least half French line though.

Way saner than most of the GSPs I've met. I'm sure you can find someone breeding them for Texas quail or something, those are probably a whole different problem.

Pretty spaniel like besides the pointing. The can be off the wall when not working, but so can Labs, GSPs and Springers. I don't think they'll ever focus like a Lab though. Their job was never sitting still while not scaring ducks.

 

[Paviche]

I've known Brittanys on either end of the spectrum. Rowan is absolutely perfect in my eyes, but he's totally random bred. No idea on his lineage other than he comes from totally untitled parents.

When I do get a Brittany from a breeder, which I'm sure will happen although likely later rather than sooner, I will be very picky about who I get a dog from. I will want to actually spend time around the parents to get a gauge on their energy before I commit. Rowan's foster mom has/had two Brittanys that were pretty much perfect... they were also incredibly old. Roxie (last I saw her) was 14, and Theo was 15. At one point in time I went up to a show and helped a breeder with her dogs ringside, and they were, IMO, what people talk about when they talk about Brittanys being crazy. They wouldn't really settle and they just had kind of this nervous energy that I don't care for. I've met other Brittanys at various events that didn't have that trait. That's the kind I like.

I feel like they're a little less... silly? than a lot of spaniels. They're pointers and tend to be more in line with other pointers, although I personally find them easier than GSPs or Weims. I've found them to be very similar to the Vizslas that I've known. Very, very sweet, SMART, but can be easily bored. Rowan definitely has problems with separation anxiety and from what I've seen, it's not uncommon in the breed. They're very friendly and very into their people.

I think that you can condition an off switch in them. It's not a theory I've tested personally yet, but I suspect some of the craziness might come from dogs being over-exercised. You know, Brittanys are super high energy, so they need tons and tons of exercise, and then... they never learn to settle without tons of stimulation. Obviously the flip side is that an under-exercised dog will be kind of nutty too, but Rowan adapted to my life pretty easily.

He is... awful off-leash, honestly. They were bred to be wide-ranging hunting dogs. I think with a lot of work you could get one relatively reliable, I've known some Brittanys that got off-leash time. I think working on it early would be beneficial, too. They don't tend to naturally stick close, unfortunately.

I see a decent number of liver Brittanys, but I think the orange dogs tend to be a lot more common. I see more liver Brittanys from show/dual breeders than strictly field breeders.

 

[GaelicBlues]

I live in New Zealand and the French style of Brittany is more common here (but still rare) as the latest imports have all been European dogs. The older lines here are mixed American/French and I have only met a couple of full American dogs. They look a bit different (my French girl is small and black with roan) and they work a bit different but they seem to have a lot in common in their personalities. She is our first Brittany, had her from a pup and she is now 3.

Scout when working (she hunts and does field trials with my husband) is a very full on dog. She is very fast and she ranges far. She comes from strong working lines. If you want to go on a nice offlead walk she also considers that hunting. I am a long time Border Collie owner so for a while I was scared I would lose her BUT: she keeps an eye on me, and she has an excellent recall, unless she is on point, then you just go up to her. I run her with reasonable success in agility as well but she sometimes likes to make up her way of doing things (she is a crowd pleaser). I have certain places I walk her where she can run a fair way safely. I would not let her off lead in an unfenced suburban park, I would worry about traffic. I hate walking her onlead because she pulls unless reminded every second not to.

At home she is very very lazy and likes her comforts. She just kind of lies around, preferably under a blanket, or lots of blankets or upside down in the sun. She is entire and stays home for the whole 3 weeks she on heat and just lazes. She certainly isn't bouncing off any walls. On a usual day she gets free running for an hour in the morning and some training or another walk later on. If she doesn't get a walk for a couple of days she doesn't seem to mind. My collies would not go more than a day before they became annoying.

She is very sweet and adores her family. I would be more careful with my next one that she learnt to be left alone more as a puppy as Scout is rarely alone and hates it when she is. She has busted out of a couple of crates and chewed things up.

Because I am not a hunter, I would have a Brittany for myself because there are many things I love about her, but go for less working lines. She is too scary to walk for the average person haha. We look after her younger sister when her owners are away and they are very very similar. But at least when you walk them they hang out together, if they went in different directions it would be impossible.

 

[*blackrose]

They definitely sound interesting, although it sounds like with the wide variety of energy levels/ability to settle in various lines, choosing a breeder very carefully is important.

The long ranging while off leash isn't a *huge* deal, so long as they're able to recall appropriately. Cynder will stray pretty far in a wooded setting - to where we can't see her - but she recalls back extremely reliably. (Although as I cannot whistle and that is what she's been trained to recall to, I don't let her offleash in that kimd of setting. No need to tempt my luck and loose DH's dog. Lol) I'm almost wondering if the none Lab/GSD portion of Cynder is at least part Brittany.

 

[SpaceMutt]

I'm coming at it from the daycare perspective, so take that for what it's worth.

The Brittanys at work are some of the craziest mofos around. They are sweet with people but have zero ability to settle, unless they are absolutely ancient. It might be the lines being produced in the area, who knows, but every one that comes through thedoor winds up outdoing all the herders and even most of the young wild labs and pits in terms of energy level. The pointers (English and GSP) are much more laid back if that tells you anything.


They have also, for whatever reason, tended to be very grumbly, talky dogs. Groaning in complaint if someone won't play with them, growling constantly during play, whining at the door, etc.