Meet the Brittany

​​​​We Brittanys were bred to be the most versatile gun dogs around. Our name comes from Brittany, the northwest region of France across the English Channel from Wales. The earliest evidence of my ancestors comes from 17th century paintings and tapestries, but it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that my breed really started to come into its own. While my exact breed ancestry is unknown, my closest ancestors are English Setters, Welsh Springer Spaniels, and French Spaniels.

​​​​The first modern Brittanys were bred in Pontou, France. The English travelled to Pontou to hunt, bringing their furry companions along with them. One of the first modern Brittanys was a cross between a French hunting dog and an English hunting dog. One of the pups from this litter turned out to be one of the most skilled gun dogs anyone had ever seen, and they used him to start my breed! Because we were so skilled, we were very popular with poachers in the region. Although our specialty is birds, we can hunt any kind of small game, and poachers used our skills when sneaking onto other people’s land to hunt.

​​​​We moved from the field to the show ring when dog shows became popular in Europe. We were first recognized as a breed in France in 1907, where we were called Epagneul Breton (French Brittany Spaniel). We came to America in 1931 and were recognized as the Brittany Spaniel by the AKC in 1937. World War II affected our breeding programs in France, so they introduced black-and-white dogs to our stock, but the American Brittany lovers didn’t like that. The American Brittany Club formed in 1942 and wrote their own breed standard, which still applies today (and doesn’t allow the black-and-white coloring). For a long time, American Brittany breeders wanted to drop the “Spaniel” from our name since we are pointing dogs and not spaniels. In 1982, they got their wish, and the AKC changed our name to the Brittany.