Braque du Bourbonnais

Pointing dogs of Bourbonnais type were described in French hunting literature well before the breed had a formal standard, and the short-tailed, ticked braque of central France was a recognisable regional type by the nineteenth century. A breed club was formed and a standard drawn up in the 1920s, at a time when French sportsmen were organising many of their local gundog varieties into registered breeds.

The two world wars were close to fatal. Fashion also worked against the breed: some breeders became fixated on the naturally short tail and on colour, and selected for cosmetic detail at the expense of working ability and numbers. The result was stark. Between 1963 and 1973 not a single Braque du Bourbonnais was registered in the Livre des Origines Francais, the French national studbook, and the breed effectively ceased to exist on paper.

The revival is credited largely to Michel Comte, who from about 1970 travelled the Bourbonnais countryside looking for farm and hunting dogs that still carried the old type. He began registering dogs in the mid 1970s, and the Club du Braque du Bourbonnais was re-established in 1981 with a deliberate policy of judging dogs on hunting performance first. The first dogs reached the United States in 1988, and North America now holds the second-largest population of the breed after France. The FCI places it in Group 7, the pointing dogs, in the continental section.

This is a medium-sized, close-coupled gundog, noticeably sturdier and more thickset than a Brittany but shorter in the leg than the big French braques. Males generally stand about 20 to 22 inches at the shoulder and females about 19 to 22 inches, with weights usually falling between roughly 35 and 55 pounds. The build is described in the standard as almost cobby: a broad, deep chest, a strong loin and heavy bone for the size, giving the impression of power rather than elegance.

The coat is short, fine and close, sometimes a little longer and coarser along the back. Colour is the breed's signature. Only two are recognised, and both are described in French with unusually poetic names. Liver ticking on white produces the shade called lie de vin, wine dregs, sometimes translated as faded lilac. Fawn ticking produces fleur de peche, peach blossom. In both cases the ticking should be dense enough that the dog reads as a solid colour at a distance, with larger patches acceptable but not required.

The head is rounded, with a broad skull, well-developed cheeks and a squarish muzzle, and the expression is soft and attentive. The tail is the other calling card: many puppies are born with a natural bobtail or with no tail at all, a dominant trait shared with the Brittany, although normal-length tails also occur and are not a fault under the standard.

The Braque du Bourbonnais is a sensitive, affectionate dog that bonds hard to its household. It is not a kennel breed in temperament; it wants company, and it can become anxious and destructive if left alone for long stretches every day. With children it is generally patient and tolerant, and it usually settles well with other dogs, though its hunting drive means small pets and poultry are a poor mix.

With strangers the breed tends to be polite rather than effusive. Most dogs are moderately reserved on first meeting and warm up quickly once the family relaxes. That watchfulness makes them reasonable alarm dogs, but they have no guarding instinct worth the name and no aggression: this is a breed selected for a soft, biddable disposition.

The sensitivity cuts both ways. A Bourbonnais reads tone of voice acutely and shuts down under heavy-handed correction, so it responds far better to praise, food and repetition than to pressure. Owners who enjoy a dog that watches their face and tries to work out what they want will get on very well. Owners who want a dog that shrugs off shouting will find this one takes it to heart.

The breed's job is versatile pointing work for the walking hunter. It quarters ground methodically at a moderate range, points with authority in a classical high posture, and retrieves reliably from land and water. Its coat is short but its skin is thick, and it is used on woodcock and pheasant in cover as well as on partridge in open country. French field trials remain the main proving ground, and the club's insistence on trial results has kept working ability in the breed through its recovery.

Outside hunting, the same qualities suit it to tracking, scent work, agility and long-distance hiking and running. It is a genuine dual-purpose dog: fit for a full day in the field and calm enough indoors to be a normal family pet the rest of the week, provided the exercise is actually delivered.