A piece of history.1920 

Fate has a funny way of showing itself sometimes…Many months ago Janet Taylor came for a visit to Suffolk; and  as many of us are, was interested in  whatever Brittany items  she had found! The book she let me borrow was Hervé Bourdon’s book on the Epagneul Breton. Hervé Bourdon is from the well known and oldest kennel in France of” the Cornouaille”;The old pictures and the text in this book were fascinating and full of history. But no one can imagine my surprise when I stumbled on my Great grand father’ s name Louis de Lajarrige; I knew my great grand father was a shooting man, that he hunted with Cockers and had a shooting lodge in the Sologne county of France: this is shooting paradise where forest and marshes are in abundance and game plentiful. Researching further I found he actually wrote many books and painted animals and of course dogs; The one mentioned in Hervé Bourdon’ s book was called “Plume et  Poil”” meaning “Feather and fur”

 This sparked me on to find the ancient books on the internet ,and found also where my passion for dogs stemmed from. My great grand father was also a judge of gundog breeds in 1920 and commented on the many attributes of the early gundogs and in his book “ Manuel pratique de l’amateur de Chiens”  which covered all subjects regarding health, , feeding, mating etc…I will mention than , in his opinion, inbreeding though fixing desired traits also made the dog lose its toughness and the blood became stale.” It appeared that the lateral  brother to sister mating was the worst. It gave many discoloured coats and faulty jaws”

Now, for what he had so say about the then early Epagneul Breton also giving extracts from the  expert Mieur de Kermadec:

“The Breton being the dog more and more used by hunters, we are going to speak about him a bit more. Here is a breed of dog whom everyone is talking about. All in good; I mention M R de Kermadec.”There was, in Brittany, a little Epagneul with a roan coat, varying from Orange and white and Liver and White, and also God forgive me, Black and White. This little dog pointed sometimes and was also often  born tailless; he was ignored by the fashionable  hunters but favoured by the passionate of the  woodcock of the lost county of L’ Arrhee and the Black mountain.

“ Few Amateurs knew that this dog, now so popular was shown in France thirty years ago without any success. We will not try to unravel the mystery which developed this modest Brittany dog into a considerably successful dog in the shooting field as well as in competition. The type has, of course, changed, he has become more even and more pleasing to the eye, the coat , previously liver and white or liver roan has become Orange and White. The head, often long, flat with a snip muzzle has become more attractive, more sculpted and more chiselled. But of course, it is his qualities of hunter which are of an exceptional quality in an already very talented dog. The infusion of  English blood ( Setter) has given the Breton  such a powerful nose, that we now see him beat  other Continental breeds renown for their powerful scenting qualities.

In my opinion, I don’ think we must push further the experience and develop him into a “Grande quête” animal, as he must stay a rough shooting dog. It is in the fields with cover, hedges and grassy tracks that we must see the Breton work. I am talking, of course of the well trained dog and not the “ hooligan” who gallops anywhere and everywhere. As soon  as a scent has caught his nose, watch him reduce his gallop, approach carefully, crawl  like a cat, and suddenly freeze in a sometimes weird pose. His excess in being careful can make him    false point . But this defect is overcome with age and experience.

Do not make your Breton retrieve during the first season, or do it occasionally to reward him, or you could spoil the staunchness of his point which he could break. And be careful of the Hares; The Breton is “hot” on fur. he will show this you when he goes off chasing and come back sorry with his tongue hanging out. Sadly! During this coursing to the church spire, all partridges in the area will have taken refuge in quieter places! Be strict, do not tolerate such behaviour.

The work of the little dog in the woods, to be good, must be methodical, the quartering shorter or it will be ineffective. Far from the eye of his master, he will chase the rabbit and finding his old instincts will lose his training discipline carefully administered; The Breton,  more than any other dog, must receive  obedience training at all times. I will not speak here of the work of our little Breton on snipe, but I want to insist in his role of woodcock hunter. I, again, let my friend Mieur Kermadec speak» On woodcock, his triumph, he will look all day with the same passion, even if the game is rare. He will adapt to the difficulties of the ground, hunting wide, doing the borders, as you like; The Flush on order, so necessary to push the bird is his forte .Very keen on finding, he will not give you the disappointment of a lost bird after a difficult and glorious piece of work. Lastly, and above all, he is a dog who never gets discouraged, and God only knows if 7 or 8 hours of work to flush a woodcock is a gruelling thing for a doggy!

Ten or so years ago, whilst I illustrated “ Woodcocks and hunters” I had the honour to accompany His Majesty the Prince Albert of Monaco, the most knowledgeable of birds people, in his walks in the forest of Rambouillet; He was with “ Sam” his favourite Breton, and in him I saw the most accurate and experienced dog I have ever seen in an already long career. Ignoring pheasant , rabbits etc…when Sam was on point, the Prince knew that it was a woodcock. Never did he go wrong.

The Epagneul Breton MUST have a natural bob, which means he must be born tailless. This question has made a lot of ink flow and I will not discuss it. Only will I speak of his qualities as a Hunter.

If its construction is good, his nose perfect, here is the main thing. As for  looks, I will repeat what Kermadec said higher» Constructed in powerful  short coupled athlete for work and nothing than work, we can only dream only of the beauty which gives the harmony of the whole dog. We must accept him as he is “ he is an honest chap, if not a nice looking chap” 

This was the end of a fascinating book which I read with interest and even more so that many of this theories are still applicable to this day. I will go on trying to find out more about this side of my ancestors whose days going shooting with their dogs  were one of their driven passions So much so than after a day’ shoot, the dogs had prime place to dry in front of the fireplace, before the humans! And quite rightly so…

Written by:  Louis de la Jarrige

Patricia Rush's Great Grandfather

was a judge, born 1886 and died 1938, article was written around 1930

Translated By:

Patricia Rush