L`Epagneul Breton interest group
Spokesperson for the group
Cecilie Jansson
2429 Tørberget
Norway
Telefon 62453122
Telefon privat 45256111
E-post cejanso@start.no
Also suported by: Anne Massie (Scottland) - Pierre Willems (France) - Jean Louvet (International jugde and a membert of CEB`s Comittee, France) Greg Connolly ( America)
Carsten Hinnerup (Danmark) P.h Lereshce (Former president CsEB Switzerland)
April 22, 2003
With this statement, we wish to throw light on a problem and explain our opinion about this important issue.
This will be sent to CEB, AKC, FCI, NBK, and other Brittany clubs.
We know that in America they have bred a relative to L`Epagneul breton, called from now on the AB .
This relative was originated by using Brittanys which are big ranging, In field trials dogs is open spoken of now , that they also have breeded in pointerlines.
Exept from that AB is breeded purebred from original stock imported from France. But then breeded again out from species with those qualitys who was wanted. And then created a relative to EB.
The reason the Americans have done this is because they need gundogs which have a larger range, since they hunt a lot with horses and out on the prairie - and for that reason they need big running and faster dogs.
The answer for those who still wanted a Brittany, was to adjust them to their use.
L`Epagneul Breton (from now called EB), has been bred to be the opposite, to keep in good contact with the hunter.
They are very particular when they seek through an area and hunt closer than many of the British races do.
The Brittany is known as a Continental Gundog and was bred to hunt the birds species which are indigenous to the Continent, such as pheasant, fieldhen, quail, partridge. But because of their qualities are also very suitable for forest hunting after capercaillie and wood grouse, in areas of dense forest consisting of thornbushes and thicket which is the habitation of these birds.
It is possible for Brittanys to be used in these surroundings since they keep in such good contact. But they have also shown themselves to be very good grouse hunters and can cope at speed on our high mountain areas in Norway too.
One of the advantages of using a Brittany up in the mountains is exactly that they keep in such good contact, you dont need to run miles, to get by your dog when it stands for birds.
Regarding another matter, after research of the British type of gundog , it shows that many of them run past a minimum 40 - 60% of all birds in the area.
I have myself done some amateur research on this. I hunt my self with, of course, with L`Epagneul Breton, but we also have English
Pointers, and even if they are very good dogs, the Breton finds birds in a smaller area, and do not run over the game so much.
So for me it proved that the Brittany found more birds in a smaller area than pointers did.
This is one of the reasons why the Breton has become so popular with us in Norway.
This is now in danger of being bred out by mixing AB to EB because a group of people are putting the importance of winning high mountain trials higher than the attributes of the breed L`Epagneul Breton. Since these trials are judged similarly to the British gundog trials, using a form of hunting which is not adapted to the Brittany. Even if here its just som information to the jugdes is al that realy needs. So they better can understand how the EB hunts.
In Norway our lines are now in danger of becoming a mix of AB and EB. As much as 70% of our litters are now born with this mixed blood.
Even our board of Norwegian Breton club will not admit that it is two different races. This we find peculiar since even the Americans operate with AB and EB separately.
And how can this be kept on, since FCI has a rule that says not to mix dogs with different standard, shortly told. And that is logic, since they cant be the same.
It has been discussed for a long time in America whether the two breeds should be split, and most of the breeders are now saying that they now have the AB as they would like them. And they have openly admitted that they have been mixing pointers in with them.
Last time it was brought up in the board of AKC, they were unfortunately persuaded not to split the two breeds yet , and that among others things also from a group from our own board in NBK.
For the breeders what it will mean is that they can no longer mix EB and AB, and for us in Norway that will be important for some breeders who have mixed them regularly. If this separation comes, it will not be allowed to breed with dogs who have more than 1\32 mixed blood in them.
This will, of course, be very unfortunate for all those who are now sitting with these mixed-blood dogs. But we cannot wait any longer, since the longer it is left before separating the breeding programmes the more there will just mixed dogs, and in the end we will be sitting with such a small breeding pool that we will have to start all over again.
This is probable not so far away. The reason the breeders use to mix the breeds was that as long as they bred more effective hunting dogs for this type of trial and terrain and better angle on their back legs, then its just an improvement of L`Epagneul Breton.
This argument is easy to refute. Firstly, the Brittany is a brilliant hunting dog with it's origins as they are meant to be. Since Norwegian jugdes are more familiar with the british races they easlily compere EB with them. But that does not show every side about the hunting quality of L`Epagneul breton. More our overdriving attitude to a race who has been in existence for hundreds of years.
Then there is the Dysplasia problem. To use an example from the American statistics is irrelevant and misleading since they are not obliged to publish displasia results if they do not wish to show that they have bred or own high scores or unscorable dogs. Thus their breeding programme is protected but the buying public are not.
What will happen is that larger breeders, who may have in fact a considerable income from this, won't want to advertise themselves as breeding dysplastic dogs and the results are not reported. Most of them I dont think breed any more from dogs with displasia but we do not legislate for this at present.
On the other hand, we have now for 30 years bred with displasia free dogs. And the displasia is no less after that.
Maybe the time is now to look in different directions.
Just a small comparison - the Iclandic horse grows slowly and they are not broken in before they are 5. The Breton grows also slowly and are not finished before 3. Can it be that we start training them all too soon? In horses it can show that they get calcifications and that can be compared to dysplasia.
So maybe in the first year we should be more taking consideration of husbandry of our dogs. So this argument they have to still use AB in the breed here is no longer a tenable one.
The only thing they now are doing is to ruin our breeding pool for L`Epagneul Breton.
I think one really bad thing about this mixed breeding they are keeping on with is that they also hoodwink new puppy
buyers. Those who don't know about this. Since the Club does not inform the general public about this, they think its just one breed.
So the advisers in the Club don't inform people about this. What about these people, they maybe put down a lot of time, effort and expense in training, exhibitions, trials, and think that maybe they would like one litter, to keep one from the dog they love.
Then if the separation comes , they suddently will be aware that they can't breed with their dog.
We now think that the time is right to breed AB\AB and EB\EB, this will be much more orderly for every party concerned.
But those who wanted the AB are not stopped from owning and breeding them if that is the breed they wish to have. In some ways we can actually say that they who from the beginning wanted L`Epagneul breton with more qualities from AB, now they can have all of the qualites by just retaining AB bloodlines.
It's not necessary to mix them anymore, since the Americans are satisfied with what they now have.
We thank you for taking the trouble to read this long explanation, but we felt it had to be thorough, and even now more could be said.
We also hope that you consider giving us your signature to support this. We just want to keep L`Epagneul Breton
in its original form as in the country of origin, France, and with the respect for those long established and very experienced French breeders who have bred them for hundreds of years.
The signature list will just be used as proof that all the undersigned now think the time is to a tidy up these two breeds for the benefit of both of them and all their afficionados. It will be sent to the CEB, AKC (American kennel club), FCI (main organisation to many International Kennel Clubs), DBK (Danish breton club), SBK (Swedish breton club), ABK (American Breton club), UKC(United Kennel Club), BCGB, and any other relevant Breton clubs and associations.
As it is today maybe Norway is in the most danger. So we will ask for your support, before maybe this spreads further afield.
As the rules are today its not difficult to see what can happen if there is a dog similarly accoladed as for example
Ska de saint Tugen or Poker des Pignettes. Then it could be tempting for others to mix these to their AB bitches.
We hope you now would give you support to keep L`Epagneul Breton as it originally has a claim to be - purely French. It is modelled after a French Cob Horse - a statue can be seen in the village of Callac where the EB originated. Let us keep our breed looking like that cob.
Please attach your name to the end of the mail before forwarding it.
Your signature does not commit you to anything, but is just as a support to our work for L`Epagneul Breton
Thank you for your support.
Kindest regards
Please add your own name here