ORIGIN : France.
UTILIZATION : Gundog.
F.C.I. CLASSIFICATION : Group 7 Pointing dogs
Section 1.2. Continental Pointing Dogs-Spaniel type
With working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The Brittany Spaniel originates from the centre of Brittany. However its ancestors are probably the Oysel Dogs known in the Middle Age and described by Gaston Febus. It is no doubt one of the most ancient breeds of pointing dogs in France. The selection has made of him the firm pointing dog which we know today.
The first project of the standard was established on the 3rd September 1907 and adopted on the 7th June 1908, modified in March 1923, corrected again in 1933, then in 1956.
Standard still valid ever since.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Small dog, elegant and strapping, very vigorous, having substance without heaviness, lively, with an intelligent expression, presenting the appearance of a small cob full of energy.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : Length of body = height at the withers (dog should fit into a square). Chest descending fully to elbow level.
Ideal proportions of the head : skull : muzzle = 3 : 2 - i.e. about 12 cm : 8 cm.
BEHAVIOUR-CHARACTER : Balance - frankness - gentleness. Keen hunter. Sociable with his like - Ideal companion.
HEAD
CRANIAL REGION : Skull rounded, seen either from the front as in profile. Seen from above, the lateral sides (walls) are also rounded. Cranial-facial axes (head planes) parallel or just very slightly divergent. Width of skull taken at level of zygomatic arches : about 11 to 12 cm.
Stop : Depression quite perceptible although gently sloping.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Of the darkest colour of the coat, according to the dog being White-Orange, White and Liver or White and Black. Nostrils well open.
Muzzle : Straight, shorter than the long axis of the skull.
Lips : Fine, rather tight, edge to edge. On the side the upper lip overlaps very slightly the lower lip.
Teeth : Complete. Scissor bite.
Superciliary arches : Forming a gentle curve.
Eyes : Rather round shaped. Horizontally placed. Colour in harmony with the nose and the coat. Intelligent, lively expression.
Ears : Set high, triangular shape, slightly rounded at the tip, well furnished with wavy hair, carried flat against the cheek. If one stretches it forward against the cheek, the cartilage must not go beyond the junction of foreface and stop.
NECK : Medium length, well set inter shoulders. Skin fine, supple and quite loose but not forming folds.
BODY :
Topline : Straight and firm.
Back : Short and straight.
Loin : Short, broad and solid, length about 8 to 10 cm.
Rump : Very slightly sloping.
Hips : Lower than the withers, slightly prominent. The points of the hips are level with the back.
Chest : Broad, ribs well sprung, well developed towards the rear. Chest well let down to elbow level.
Belly and Underline : Normally raised, without excess, neither too tuked up nor drooping.
Tail : Straight or hanging. Length of 10 cm maximum. Often a little twisted and with a tuft of hair at the tip. Certain subjects are born without a tail.
QUARTERS
FOREQUARTERS : Upright, in the axis of the body.
Shoulder : Oblique and muscular.
Upper arm : Muscular and bony.
Elbow : Close to body - neither in or out.
Forearm : Strong, lean although well muscled, straight, vertical.
Pastern : Slightly oblique.
Feet : Lean and tight. A little hair between the toes.
HINDQUARTERS : Seen from behind, perfectly upright. In profile, the point of the buttock and of the hock are more or less on the same vertical.
Thigh : Broad and well let down.
Hockjoint : Not too angulated.
Hock : Well upright.
Feet : Tight toes, a little hair between the toes. No dewclaws.
MOVEMENT : Easy, lively, denoting the little cob full of energy. When hunting, the preferred gait is the gallop; quick strides, with relatively short extension.
COAT
HAIR : On the body, fine without excess, rather flat or very slightly wavy. Forelegs slightly fringed and wavy. Hindquarters well fringed up to mid-thigh.
COLOUR : White and Orange. White and Liver. White and Black.
Tricolour : White, Orange and Black. White, Orange and Liver or roan pattern with one or the other of those colours.
SIZE : Minimum : 47 cm - Maximum 50 cm with a tolerance of 1 cm more or less.
Ideal for a male : 48 to 50 cm
Idaal for a female : 47 to 49 cm.
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
- Skull : Square, ogival (pointed arch), narrow, too round, stop too marked.
- Nose : Tight.
- Muzzle : Spnipy, square outline in front.
- Lips : Thick, too loose, corner of lips too apparent.
- Eyes : Light, protruding, obliquely placed.
- Ears : Low set, drooping, big and frizzy, too long, twisted, white or with a white patch.
- Neck : Too thin, too short.
- Back : Long, saddle back, roach back.
- Loin : Long, narrow and weak.
- Rump : Too narrow, too sloping, to steep.
- Chest : Narrow, not deep enough, flat rib, ogival-shaped forming a keel sternum, too short.
- Flanks : Fleshy and drooping.
- Tail : Too long, short hair, carried vertically, low set in relation to the topline.
- Forequarters : Pasterns too slanting, loose elbows, toes turning in or out.
- Feet : Big, long, too round, splayed.
- Skin : Thick and too loose, forming folds.
IMPORTANT FAULTS :
- Skull : Superciliary arches too prominent.
- Eyes : Too light, vicious expression or that of a bird of prey, squint convergent or divergent.
- Muzzle : Very short. Cranial-facial axes too divergent.
- Neck : Dewlap.
- Hair : Frizzy or silky or too abundant. Short hair. Insufficient or too abundant fringes, too long.
ELIMINATING FAULTS : Lack of type (insufficient ethnic character, which means the animal on the whole does not resemble sufficiently anymore his like of the same breed.)
- Size beyond the limits of the standard.
- Convergence of the cranial-facial axes.
- White patch on one ear.
- Eye situated in a white patch.
- Eyes very light or of two different colours.
- Pink on eyelids.
- Excessive pink on the nose.
- Over- or undershot mouth.
- The PC1 (=1st premolar) considered as being unimportant, all dogs with more than 2 PC2 (2nd premolar) missing shall be eliminated as well as a dog with one missing tooth other than the pre-carnassial teeth (Pre-carnassials = PM1, PM2, PM3 of the upper jaw and PM1, PM2,PM3 and PM4 of the lower jaw.)
- Coat not conforming to the standard and in particular an uni-coloured coat.
- Timid character.
- Aggressiveness.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.