Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Brittany Breed Overview
- History of the Brittany Breed. Where Brittanys came from
- What the Brittany Looks Like
- How Much is the Brittany Puppy?
- Best Brittany Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Brittany
- Brittany Growth
- What Colors do Brittanys Have?
- The Temperament of the Brittany
- How Long Brittanys Live
- Brittany Litter Size
- How Fast Brittanys Can Run
- Good Names for Brittanys
- How Intelligent are Brittanys?
- How Popular are Brittanys with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Brittanys and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Brittany
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Brittanys
- Other Things to Know About Brittanys
Brittany Breed Overview
The Brittany is a medium-sized dog.
The adult Brittany stands 1 foot, 5 inches to 1 foot, 8 inches tall at the s.
The Brittany belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Brittany, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game. Some sporting dog breeds such as Retrievers, which were built for swimming, were bred to hunt waterfowl in water.
Whereas sporting dog breeds like setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds were bred to hunt quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest on grasslands.
Many Sporting Group breeds have thick, water-repellent coats that protect them from harsh hunting conditions.
The fact that the Brittany belongs to the Sporting Dogs group is one of the reasons why Brittanys have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Brittany is generally described as:
- Adaptable
- Agile
- Attentive
- Happy
- Intelligent
- Quick
History of the Brittany Breed. Where Brittanys came from
Although tapestries and paintings depicting a Brittany-like dog first appeared in the 17th century, some claim that the Brittany was developed around 150 AD.
Reverend Davies described a small hunting dog with a bobtail who could point and retrieve in 1850.
The breed was developed for hunting purposes in the small town of Pontou, Brittany.
These French dogs were valued for their adaptability and ability to work in a variety of environments.
Further crossbreeding is thought to have occurred around 1900, though stories differ.
Some believe an orange and white setter was bred with a French breed, while others believe the native spaniels were bred with English pointers owned by vacationing Englanders.
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What the Brittany Looks Like
The Brittany is a medium-sized, leggy, square-proportioned dog.
In this breed, muscular, sloping shoulders meet a medium length neck, which leads to a short, straight back.
The triangular ears are set high on the head and have short, dense hair.
The medium-length muzzle tapers to well-open nostrils in tans and pinks.
The teeth fit together perfectly in a scissor bite.
The strong feet of this breed have thick pads and arched toes.
The tail can bob naturally or be docked to about four inches.
Brittanys are typically bicolor, either orange and white or liver (reddish-brown) and white.
Tricolor coats are available, resulting in a liver and white dog with orange face and tail markings.
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How Much is the Brittany Puppy?
The average price of a Brittany puppy is $1080. The price of a Brittany puppy ranges from $800 to $1200.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Brittany. These factors include what health records the Brittany puppy has, the lineage of the Brittany puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Brittany based on the many factors that determine the price of the Brittany puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Brittany puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Brittany breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Brittany Breeders
We have researched reputable Brittany breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Brittany breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Bent River Bretons
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Chelsea Morris
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Karen Hanson- Labyrinth Brittanys
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Shane Smith
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Ally Hoeffling
Puppy Price: $00
Adopting or Rescuing the Brittany
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Brittanys included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Brittany named Gus that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Brittanys like Gus on pefinder.com.
Lightning is the name of another Brittany (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Brittanys that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Brittany Growth
New Brittany owners need to know about the growth of their Brittanys. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Brittany will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Brittany early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Brittany puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Brittany at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Brittany
What Colors do Brittanys Have?
Brittanys come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- White / Cream
- Bicolor
- Red / Chestnut / Orange
- Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
- Apricot / Beige
- Brown / Chocolate
- Merle (Red)
- Black
The Temperament of the Brittany
The temperament of the Brittany based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Brittany for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Brittany here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Energy Level | 80.0 percent |
| Prey Drive | 73.2 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 6.9 percent |
| Excitability | 52.3 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 49.1 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 40.9 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 29.9 percent |
| Stubbornness | 28.8 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 28.5 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 25.7 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 22.5 percent |
| Stranger Directed Fear | 15.3 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 15.3 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 15.0 percent |
How Long Brittanys Live
The lifespan of the Brittany is typically from 10 to 13 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Brittany. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 28 pet Brittanys lived.
From the study, it was found that Brittanys have an average lifespan of 12.8 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Brittanys to live as long as 16.0 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Brittany to live long.
Brittanys live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Brittany to improve your Brittany`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Brittany live long.
Brittany Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 53 different Brittany birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Brittanys can have is 6 puppies. Also, the Brittany can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 10 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Brittany will have depends on factors such as the age of the Brittany, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Brittany will have and how the litter size of the Brittany compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Brittanys Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 119 different Brittanys, the average speed of the Brittany is 24.4 mph (39.2 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Brittany ran in a race is 32.36 mph (52.1 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Brittany is 7.0 mph (11.3 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Brittany compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Brittanys
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Brittany ranked by popularity:
- Jace
- Buddy
- Max
- Hunter
- Tucker
- Finn
- Jake
- Scout
- Buster
- Woody
How Intelligent are Brittanys?
| Brittany | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 19 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 5 To 15 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Brittany has an obedience intelligence rank of 19 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Brittanys in the `Excellent Working Dogs` category.
This means that Brittanys tend to learn new commands after 5 to 15 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | 11 |
| English Springer Spaniel | 13 |
| German Shorthaired Pointer | 17 |
| Pomeranian | 23 |
| Irish Water Spaniel | 24 |
| Chesapeake Bay Retriever | 27 |
| Bichon Frise | 45 |
| Chinese Shar-Pei | 51 |
| Rhodesian Ridgeback | 52 |
| Ibizan Hound | 53 |
| Akita | 54 |
| Skye Terrier | 55 |
| French Bulldog | 58 |
| Italian Greyhound | 60 |
| Dandie Dinmont Terrier | 62 |
| Great Pyrenees | 64 |
| Saint Bernard | 65 |
| Bull Terrier | 66 |
| Bullmastiff | 69 |
| Bloodhound | 74 |
How Popular are Brittanys with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Brittany.
The popularity of the Brittany averaged over the years is Number 26 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Brittanys and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Brittany is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Brittany puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Brittany breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Brittanys for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Brittanys here.
How to Take Care of Brittany
To take good care of your Brittany, you need to make sure that you groom your Brittany regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Brittany regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Brittany`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Brittany daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Brittany.
Also, you need to feed your Brittany high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Brittany from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Brittany and how much food to feed the Brittany at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Brittany has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Brittany needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Brittanys
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Brittany.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Brittany:
- Aussiedoodle (77 percent match with Brittany). Learn more about the Aussiedoodle here.
- English Setter (77 percent match with Brittany). Learn more about the English Setter here.
- Flat-Coated Retriever (77 percent match with Brittany). Learn more about the Flat-Coated Retriever here.
Other Things to Know About Brittanys
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Brittany that you need to know about the Brittany breed: