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Photo Courtesy of J&M
Brittanys
General Appearance
A compact, closely knit dog of medium size, a leggy dog having the appearance,
as well as the agility, of a great ground coverer. Strong, vigorous, energetic
and quick of movement. Ruggedness, without clumsiness, is a characteristic of
the breed. He can be tailless or has a tail docked to approximately four inches.
Size, Proportion, Substance
Height--17½ to 20½ inches, measured from the ground to the highest point of the
shoulders. Any Brittany measuring under 17½ inches or over 20½ inches shall be
disqualified from dog show competition.
Weight-- Should weigh between 30 and 40 pounds
Proportion-- So leggy is he that his height at the shoulders is the same as the
length of his body.
Body Length--Approximately the same as the height when measured at the
shoulders. Body length is measured from the point of the forecast to the rear of
the rump. A long body should be heavily penalized.
Substance--Not too light in bone, yet never heavy-boned and cumbersome.
Head
Expression--Alert and eager, but with the soft expression of a bird dog.
Eyes--Well set in head. Well protected from briars by a heavy, expressive
eyebrow. A prominent full or popeye should be penalized. It is a serious fault
in a dog that must face briars. Skull well chiseled under the eyes, so that the
lower lid is not pulled back to form a pocket or haw that would catch seeds,
dirt and weed dust. Preference should be for the darker colored eyes, though
lighter shades of amber should not be penalized. Light and mean-looking eyes
should be heavily penalized.
Ears--Set high, above the level of the eyes. Short and triangular, rather than
pendulous, reaching about half the length of the muzzle. Should lie flat and
close to the head, with dense, but relatively short hair, and with little
fringe.
Skull--Medium length, rounded, very slightly wedge-shaped, but evenly made.
Width, not quite as wide as the length and never so broad as to appear coarse,
or so narrow as to appear racy. Well defined, but gently sloping stop. Median
line rather indistinct. The occiput only apparent to the touch. Lateral walls
well rounded. The Brittany should never be "apple-headed" and he should never
have an indented stop.
Muzzle--Medium length, about two thirds the length of the skull, measuring the
muzzle from the tip to the stop, and the skull from the occiput to the stop.
Muzzle should taper gradually in both horizontal and vertical dimensions as it
approaches the nostrils. Neither a Roman nose nor a dish-face is desirable.
Never broad, heavy or snippy.
Nose--Nostrils well open to permit deep breathing of air and adequate scenting.
Tight nostrils should be penalized. Never shiny. Color: fawn, tan, shades of
brown or deep pink. A black nose is a disqualification. A two-tone or butterfly
nose should be penalized.
Lips--Tight, the upper lip overlapping the lower jaw just to cover the lower
lip. Lips dry, so that feathers will not stick. Drooling to be heavily
penalized. Flews to be penalized.
Bite--A true scissors bite. Overshot or undershot jaw to be heavily penalized.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck--Medium length. Free from throatiness, though not a serious fault unless
accompanied by dewlaps, strong without giving the impression of being over
muscled. Well set into sloping shoulders. Never concave or ewe-necked.
Topline--Slight slope from the highest point of the shoulders to the root of the
tail.
Chest--Deep, reaching the level of the elbow. Neither so wide nor so rounded as
to disturb the placement of the shoulders and elbows. Ribs well sprung. Adequate
heart room provided by depth as well as width. Narrow or slab-sided chests are a
fault.
Back--Short and straight. Never hollow, saddle, sway or roach backed. Slight
drop from the hips to the root of the tail.
Flanks--Rounded. Fairly full. Not extremely tucked up, or flabby and falling.
Loins short and strong. Distance from last rib to upper thigh short, about three
to four finger widths. Narrow and weak loins are a fault. In motion, the loin
should not sway sideways, giving a zig-zag motion to the back, wasting energy.
Tail--Tailless to approximately four inches, natural or docked. The tail not to
be so long as to affect the overall balance of the dog. Set on high, actually an
extension of the spine at about the same level. Any tail substantially more than
four inches shall be severely penalized.
Forequarters
Shoulders--Shoulder blades should not protrude too much, not too wide apart,
with perhaps two thumbs' width between. Sloping and muscular. Blade and upper
arm should form nearly a ninety degree angle. Straight shoulders are a fault. At
the shoulders, the Brittany is slightly higher than at the rump.
Front Legs--Viewed from the front, perpendicular, but not set too wide. Elbows
and feet turning neither in nor out. Pasterns slightly sloped. Down in pasterns
is a serious fault. Leg bones clean, graceful, but not too fine. Extremely heavy
bone is as much a fault as spindly legs. One must look for substance and
suppleness. Height at elbows should approximately equal distance from elbow to
withers.
Feet--Should be strong, proportionately smaller than the spaniels', with close
fitting, well arched toes and thick pads. The Brittany is "not up on his toes."
Toes not heavily feathered. Flat feet, splayed feet, paper feet, etc., are to be
heavily penalized. An ideal foot is halfway between the hare and the cat foot.
Dewclaws may be removed.
Hindquarters
Broad strong and muscular, with powerful thighs and well bent stifles, giving
the angulation necessary for powerful drive.
Hind Legs--Stifles well bent. The stifle should not be so angulated as to place
the hock joint far out behind the dog. A Brittany should not be condemned for
straight stifle until the judge has checked the dog in motion from the side. The
stifle joint should not turn out making a cowhock. Thighs well feathered but not
profusely, halfway to the hock. Hocks, that is, the back pasterns, should be
moderately short, pointing neither in nor out, perpendicular when viewed from
the side. They should be firm when shaken by the judge.
Feet Same as front feet.
Coat
Dense, flat or wavy, never curly. Texture neither wiry nor silky. Ears should
carry little fringe. The front and hind legs should have some feathering, but
too little is definitely preferable to too much. Dogs with long or profuse
feathering or furnishings shall be so severely penalized as to effectively
eliminate them from competition.
Skin-- Fine and fairly loose. A loose skin rolls with briars and sticks, thus
diminishing punctures or tearing. A skin so loose as to form pouches is
undesirable.
Color
Orange and white or liver and white in either clear or roan patterns. Some
ticking is desirable. The orange or liver is found in the standard parti-color
or piebald patterns. Washed out colors are not desirable. Tri-colors are allowed
but not preferred. A tri-color is a liver and white dog with classic orange
markings on eyebrows, muzzle and cheeks, inside the ears and under the tail,
freckles on the lower legs are orange. Anything exceeding the limits of these
markings shall be severely penalized. Black is a disqualification.
Gait
When at a trot the Brittany's hind foot should step into or beyond the print
left by the front foot. Clean movement, coming and going, is very important, but
most important is side gait, which is smooth, efficient and ground covering.
Temperament
A happy, alert dog, neither mean nor shy.
Disqualifications
Any Brittany measuring under 17½ inches or over 20½ inches
A black nose
Black in the coat
Approved April 10, 1990
Effective May 31, 1990
Click here for the Breeder Code of Ethics
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