We breed and Rescue Brittany
What You Can Expect From Us
Litter Update
Step 1: Application for Brittany
At Prairie Peak and Sensation Kennels, we are breeding famous bloodlines of Maverick Brittanys. They are a medium sized hunting dog that points and retrieves primarily upland game but will hunt anything they can get to. They do not do as well as the Small Munsterlander at waterfowl. They are orange and white with a medium to short soft coat with furnishings behind their legs and ears. Our females are mid to upper 30’s lbs and the males are upper 30’s to lower 40’s lbs approximately. Our Brittanys are mild tempered and do great with small kids and in an in-home lifestyle. They need 30 minutes of running exercise 4 time a week minimun.
The Brittany, or Bretagne, is named for the French province in which it originated. The breed is known to be seen in paintings as early as the 17th century, but the first known documentation of a Brittany was said to be recorded by a man named Reverend Davies in 1850. His recount is one of a small “bobtailed” dog that was excellent at pointing and retrieving.
The modern Brittany is said to have descended from English Setters during this same time period. The first Brittany was shown at the Paris Dog Show in 1900 and later recognized as a breed by France in 1907. By 1931, the breed had made its way to the United States and was recognized shortly thereafter by the American Kennel Club.
In 1934, the Brittany was acknowledged as a part of the “Sporting Group”. From 1934-1982 the breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club as the Brittany Spaniel. But, eventually in 1982, Brittany Spaniel had been changed to simply just Brittany, with the word “Spaniel” being completely dropped from the breed’s name.
A Brittany is typically a small and muscular dog but with longer legs than most spaniels. The American Kennel Club recognizes the breed as a medium sized dog that stands at about 20 inches at the shoulder and weighs between 30-45 pounds. They come in a variety of colors with any combination of liver, white and orange, including roan however Prairie Peak will only every have orange and white coloring mix.
The Brittany is very high energy and intelligent dog that requires both mental and physical stimulation on a regular basis. They are eager, passionate and agile in the field and make for superior bird hunting dogs. The Brittany is also generally a happy dog with a willingness to please.
Preferred Homes
We prefer to place our puppies in hunting homes and will only consider a non-hunting home if the puppy will regularly participate in activities that utilize his/her natural talents, such as hunt testing (e.g. NAVHDA, VHDF, UKC, AKC), tracking, retrieving, or search and rescue. Although Britts are good house dogs, they were bred to work and need a “job” for good health and happiness. Most importantly, Britts require regular, off-lead exercise. If you cannot take your Britt somewhere to run off-lead for at least 30 minutes, 4 days per week (approximately every other day) – at a minimum, this is not the breed for you.
We also prefer our puppies to go to homes where they will spend daily, quality time with their owners. Britts require a lot of human interaction and will become confused if regularly left alone for long periods of time. If your Britt will be left alone for several hours a day, such as while you are at work, we would like you to utilize an outdoor kennel for them.
Even if your Britt will be in the house with another dog, spending 8-12 hours per day, 5 days a week inside does not provide enough mental and sensual stimulation for an intelligent hunting dog. Outside, your dog will be able to see and smell the many things going on around him and you will come home to a much calmer and happier dog.
Male/Females Differences
We charge the same price for either sex, as they are equally good hunters and family companions. It is absolutely untrue that females are better hunters, are easier to train, or are better with children. Actually, Brittany males tend to do better with young children and are often easier to train than are females. Males are easy-going, openly affectionate, patient, wanting to please, sensitive yet confident, and loyal. Since they are a little bigger than females, they tend to handle a youngster’s rough housing in stride. Therefore, if you have young children, we recommend you select a male puppy. Brittany males have a temperament similar to Lab and Golden Retriever females. Female Brittanys are also very affectionate and love people of all ages, but they tend to be more aloof and more difficult to train due to stubbornness and sometimes developmental timidness at an early age.
If you have other dogs who will be sharing your home with your new Britt, you should give serious consideration to which sex is likely to get along the best with your current canine family member(s). If you have a neutered male, regardless of breed or size, it makes no difference what sex your new puppy is. They will get along fine. If you have an intact male, he will get along equally well with a neutered male or spayed female Britt. Two intact males can get along fine sharing a home/kennel, unless/until an intact female comes along. Then they may fight. It generally is best if the intact males are not close in age. An intact male and an intact female will, of course, get along well. However, the intact male may experience medical problems if not bred.
Therefore, if you do not plan to frequently breed your male, you should have him neutered if he will be in constant contact with an intact female. Even spayed females can be very dominant. If you already have a dominant female ‘ruling the roost’ at home, she will get along best with a male (intact or neutered). Two females (spayed or intact) can get along fine sharing a home/kennel, but you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that one of them may some day challenge for dominance. It’s important you as the owner, learn how to be properly dominant in the home so you can avoid having any issues between the other lower members of your family “Pack”. At Prairie Peak Kennels, we are professional dog trainers and we can help you with this!
Choosing Your Puppy
No matter how much we’d like there to be some scientific method of choosing the best puppy from a litter, there really isn’t one. What constitutes the “best” puppy is extremely subjective and what becomes of a puppy is very much in the hands of its owner. So long as you are buying a properly socialized, healthy puppy from a sound breeding by a reputable breeder, it won’t matter which puppy you choose. You could close your eyes, reach in and take home whichever puppy you happened to grab and you’d have the raw material for a great hunting and family companion.
It is possible to predict a bit about a puppy’s future personality based on the puppy’s size relative to his siblings. The biggest puppy will most likely be laid back and easy-going. This is because he never had to scrap with his siblings for anything. He will normally be very patient with young children. You should take the introduction of new things, such as gunfire, slowly and carefully when training this puppy. This puppy will also need frequent off-lead outings in order to build the boldness needed to become an excellent hunter.
If you do not have the time to take your puppy on frequent off-lead adventures, do not choose the biggest puppy in the litter. On the flip-side, the smallest puppy will most likely be outgoing, fearless and energetic. This is because she always had to scrap with her siblings for everything. You should be firm, consistent and patient when training this puppy, as it may be difficult to hold her attention.
Because we are human and are programmed to prefer things we find attractive, you should pick a puppy you like the looks of. If you really like how your dog looks, it will make your bond much stronger than if you dislike or are indifferent to how he looks. If you think your dog is gorgeous, you will be proud to show him off. You might even overlook some of his bad behaviors. If you think your dog is ugly, he will never become your “once in a lifetime” dog, no matter how intelligent, talented and well-behaved he is. This is not to say you should choose your favorite-colored puppy from a breeder and/or litter that is other than your first choice. Choose your breeder, then your pairing from that breeder and then choose your puppy. All Small Munsterlander puppies are born brown/white. The roan coloring develops over time, but it is possible to tell if a puppy will be brown/white or roan shortly after birth.
Naming Your Puppy
