# Brittany Spaniels?



## nate_dogg (May 16, 2007)

Has anybody hunted with brittany spaniels for upland birds?

Any breeders near Fargo?

Thanks.


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

I have a brittany. A person really needs to do their homework on this breed. They are an extremely active dog, has one of the strongets desires to hunt, and needs to be with an active family.

My brittany needs 4-6 miles every day or she will drive you nuts pacing in the house. I tried fencing in the backyard, but her pacing ruined the grass and I spent $300 trying to get my yard back in shape.

Runs in the morning and evening are a must for this breed.

Having said that, you will not find a better dog IMHO. They have great hunting drive and will work harder for you than any other dog you will own. Nose and retrieving are very sound.

I have hunted in -9 degree weather with -20 windchills and she never batted an eye in hunting during those days.

I also own a yellow lab so training is quite different amongst the two.


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## nate_dogg (May 16, 2007)

i have done some research on the breed and some of the breeders claim that their dogs are active outside but fairly mellow inside.

I am assuming the dogs are well excercised if they are mellow inside.

How are they with young kids? I have 2 daughters, 1 is 3 yrs and 1 is 9 months. We started looking at the brittanys because they are smaller and wouldn't knock them over as easily.

my plan is to ride bike in the morning before work and walks with the family after.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

few good bird dogs are Mellow when young, exercise is a must.

Never ever ever ever leave small infants in the presence of dogs, the twitchy movments of infants can trigger prey drive reactions in dogs. I don't care how friendly the dog is you just never know and the risk is not worth even a small percentage chance.

Brittanies in my opinion are more likely to bite than any other pointer breed although the likleyhood is small. Spaniels in general are very protective especially females. IF your neighbors kids start wrestling with your neighbors kids they are more likely to misinterpret the situation and protect your kid.

Female dogs of all breeds tend to be more this way and much more territorial in my experience so with kids I would recommend you get a male dog.

I've trained about 25 of them over the years and liked them all but they tend to be sulky if you get rough with them and wilt under training techniques that a shorthair or lab would bounce back from immediately so you need to be a easy going soft spoken person to have a good training relationship with brittianies.

SO in my opinion I would reccomend you not get a brittany with little kids like you have. A shorthair or setter would be a better choice, more even tempered and more likely to put up with a kids abuse.

All hunting dogs will knock a little kid down so you will need to segregate the kids and dogs and supervise the situation carefully, until the kids are much older realistically your dogs will be dead before the kids will be old enough to not have a good risk of being knocked down.

And before anyone blasts me about how wonderful their britannies are I am speaking in generalities, I like brits and would get one in a heartbeat but not if I had kids that young. They are excellent bird dogs.

You need to look at lines closely in order to get a line of even tempered lower key dogs, the variance between lines within a breed can be great.

I am a shorthair fan and have owned several brits but think you would be best served with a english setter if you make it clear to the various breeders what you want.


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## Springerguy (Sep 10, 2003)

I have a brittany and a springer spaniel - since the dogs are in the house we tend to stick with the smaller breeds although our brittany is over 50 pds. Both of them are high energy dogs but they seem to do fine in the house. We don't run or walk our dogs but do give them time to run in the yard. I keep electronic collars on the dogs at all times - they have beepers so we can keep them in check just by beeping the dogs. The point is that you need to give them some time to let off some energy. I would say that our brit is the gentle giant - not that we'd ever let the dogs around small kids without supervision, but he hasn't shown any aggressiveness. As far as hunting, the best breed of hunting dog is the one you own - at least that's been my experience. I love watching the acrobatic and dynamic performance of a springer quartering in the field.....and I love watching the "catlike" movement of the brittany as he goes on point. And I would agree that spaniels are very protective...especially springer spaniels.


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

I am with Bobm on this one. With two small kids, I wouldn't go with the Brittany.

Get a lab.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

I have a 14 month old Britt. that I wouldn't trade for the world. Every thing Bob and Live2hunt have said are right on. Although I believe that through nurture you will have no problems with your kids. I have all kinds of people tell me I was nuts for getting one (seeing as I live in a apartment), but I have proven them all wrong. Through a soft hand but stern voice ( and a shock collar of course)he is as gentle as lamb. He loves people and kids. The other day I was outside with him and he saw a 3-5 yr old child, walking by are side walk with her parents. He sat there until the young girl made her way up to him. When she got to him (while he was on his yard leash) he laid on his back and licked her feet/hands till she was done with him. My point is, just like anything else, you can make any dog a lamb. It just depends on how much time YOU put into the dog. Hutch knows I am the dominate male in the famliy and has learned to respect that. With one hand of sterness he get 10 hands of love. 
Let it also be known that Hutch get's walked every morning (well at least as much as I can ) and every night. During the day he stays with my GF parents ( who are retired) so he has constant stimulation. Running is a must. He is great in the apart. and great in the car! 
They are more work than a lab, but I believe they are twice the dog. That comes from someone who has only had labs growing up!

Have fun and good luck choosing........that's the funnest part!


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

Springerguy said:


> I have a brittany and a springer spaniel - since the dogs are in the house we tend to stick with the smaller breeds although our brittany is over 50 pds. Both of them are high energy dogs but they seem to do fine in the house. We don't run or walk our dogs but do give them time to run in the yard. I keep electronic collars on the dogs at all times - they have beepers so we can keep them in check just by beeping the dogs. The point is that you need to give them some time to let off some energy. I would say that our brit is the gentle giant - not that we'd ever let the dogs around small kids without supervision, but he hasn't shown any aggressiveness. As far as hunting, the best breed of hunting dog is the one you own - at least that's been my experience. I love watching the acrobatic and dynamic performance of a springer quartering in the field.....and I love watching the "catlike" movement of the brittany as he goes on point. And I would agree that spaniels are very protective...especially springer spaniels.


First of all, I wouldn't own a dog that reqired an electronic collar on it at all times. I'm sorry and don't mean to offend you, but that's nuts......

Secondly, I don't know what lines the springers you are referring to are from, but I've had Springers (Field-bred) for nearly 20 years (I currently have 4) and they have all been about the furthest thing from being "very protective" that I can imagine. Some of the Springers from Show lines can have nasty temperaments....downright aggressive and very protective.....I've seen more than one like that, but they are so different from Field-Bred Springers they really should be registered as a separate breed (in my opinion).

Dogs can vary quite a bit even from littermate to littermate as far as energy level and temperament go. Temperament is part genetics and part environmental (how a dog is raised and treated is extremely important, obviously). I had a litter of Springers several years back. I kept a male and a friend took a male. The male I kept was just a wonderful house dog....very mannerly and calm. He'd come in and say "hey" to everyone and then usually curl up on the dog bed next to my chair and go to sleep. My friend's pup was just the opposite....he was wired all the time. I found that somewhat odd until I stopped by to visit one day....the guy's kids would not leave the dog alone. They would intentionally get the dog wound up.. They'd throw balls for it in the house, get the dog to chase them around the house, etc. Well....Duh....the dog was being rewarded for being hyper....not too hard to figure that one out.

One more thing.....when picking a dog breed that will be easy to have in the house, size really isn't much of a factor to consider. I small dog such as a Brittney, Springer, or whatever that might have a high energy level is far more difficult to have in the house than a big dog that is layed back and easy going. My Chessies are great housedogs (other than their shedding!). Their temperament and energy level is a much bigger factor than size. Also, "housetraining" doesn't mean just teaching a dog to "do it's duty" outdoors. Housetraining mean teaching a dog how you expect it to behave when it's in the house. Teaching a dog something as simple as to lay down on command will go a long, long ways toward having a housedog that is not bouncing off the walls.


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

Ah, yes the school of common sense. Good post!


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## pack999 (Jun 9, 2006)

I know a guy who lives back and forth from Mason City to Minneapolis that has brittany spaniels. About every other summer he has a litter that sells. They are good hunting dogs. I don't know much about dog breeding but he has paperwork on the dogs. I figure that must mean they are good. He usually asks between $200-$400 per puppy.


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## Springerguy (Sep 10, 2003)

Stonebroke,

You probably have a good point about the springers. Our first springer came from a backyard breeder and had the features of the show springers. She was overly protective of the kids and didn't have the best of temperments, nevermind the $$ we spent in medical bills. The springer we picked up to replace her after she died a year and half ago is a pure bred field springer from a breeder with a good reputation for raising springers. This springer doesn't have the same characteristics of the other dog and has an excellent disposition. I had not heard there was a temperment difference between the two types of springers which is why we were more selective in selecting a springer the second time around. I would agree that the show and field are very different dogs and don't doubt your statement that the shows are more tempermental.

As far as keeping an ecollar on outside, I thought it was a bit much but the guy that trained our brittany and worked with me as well highly recommended always having an ecollar on the dog when not on a leash. It works well for us with the two dogs. It's not like they're running around like maniacs, but we can give them some freedome outside without being on a leash. I suppose we could take the collars off without that much risk since I can't remember the last night they were corrected but they don't seem to mind the collars. There's a fair number of folks around here that use the invisible fences and I guess this is the cheap way of accomplishing the same.

The brit we have doesn't seem to have any aggressive characteristics - lots of energy but a really solid family dog and has been an outstanding hunting dog. We picked him up from Double D Brittanies out of Monticello, can't remember if it was $500 or $600. The waiting list can be up to a year for one of their dogs.


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## Springer (Dec 21, 2004)

In the last ten years I have had 2 springers, a lab, a GSP, and a Gordon Setter. I also have 4 kids ranging from 4 to 17.

Of all the dogs I would have to say that the tail of the lab was the hardest on the kids. He just wagged that thing and anything that it hit fell over or broke.

I wouldn't worry about the kids too much they can take a few bumps from the pup and keep going. They will let you know if they are hurt and will either let the dog know or you will be able to let the dog know.

As far as being hyper I really can say that they all have been very energetic puppies. The first springer that I owned was the worst as far as hyper and was always running. He would get out of the yard and be gone, little kids and neighbor kids don't always shut the gate.
He did take off and caught his demise as he was hit by a car when a little over a year old.

After him I took down the fence and taught the new pup to stay in the yard and not run off, but the breeder said that this one would be calmer and better suited for my family life.

A good breeder should be able to match the temperament of the new dog to what you are looking for.

:2cents:


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## nate_dogg (May 16, 2007)

Does anybody else have a Brit from Double D's? I think this is the breeder I will end up going with. Just wondering if anybody else has had any experience with them.

Thanks


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## Springerguy (Sep 10, 2003)

I don't know anyone else you could contact but it you contact Don he'll probably have references. They also have a website - just google double D brits. I can tell you that we are really pleased with the brittany we have from the kennel. Although we also have a springer I would guess our future dogs will probably be brits. Jake was trained by Wings/Whistles out of Watertown - a 2 week puppy course and than 6 weeks of some basic training - heel, whoa, here. He's been a solid hunting dog from the beginning but really raised the bar last year - his 3rd season of hunting. We hunt with a small group and I'm usually the only one with dogs....it almost got to the point that we had to draw straws deciding who would hunt behind Jake. Not to dismiss our springer - it was her first year out and is also turning into an excellent hunting dog. Although we never had the dog formally trained to retrieve he retrieves to hand - all seemed to come along naturally. No health problems to this point. Just know that they are very high energy dogs the first year or two - at age 4 he's pretty laid back around the house but we have him outside often to blow off steam.


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## tallgrasser (Nov 18, 2005)

Look at the NSTRA website NSTRA.org in the classified section there are several breeders of fine dogs (Brittanies) and many have proven themselves as excellent bird dogs. I was at a Brit Field trial a couple weeks ago in Rogers MN and some of those dogs can really move out.

Also look at these websites

http://www.gundogsonline.com

http://www.gundogcentral.com

http://wwwgundogforum.com There's classified section in there where people sell their dogs.


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