French Spaniels

[Lizpart]

Can any one tell me anything about the breed? Do they make good working dogs? Not really heard of them before.

[Judy]

Which one? I think there are a few.

[Bogtrotter]

The French spaniel (yes, it is a breed) is a liver and white HPR not dissimilar in appearance to a Large Munsterlander. I met a well known French breeder of the breed at the French Game Fair a few years and was very taken by the breed. For information about the breed have a look here
http://fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/175g07-en.pdf

[trekmoor]

I have never seen this breed "in the flesh." I do know that the French import our cockers and springers .....which makes me wonder if their own dogs are not as good ??? Some of the French people I've spoken to prefer the looks of our show springers to that of our working ones .....which makes me wonder what standards of work the French want from a spaniel !

P.S. ..... ? I think this spaniel is meant to point ?

Wullie

[Naj]

Doubt there are any indigenous flushing breeds in France or the rest of the continent. Traditionally they hunted wild game over their own dogs and so a pointing breed is the obvious answer. That's why their spaniel breeds all point. Come to think of it, we expected our spaniels to point, too, until relatively recently. As I understand it if they want a flushing breed then they'd traditionally use beagle type dogs.

Naj

[Dingle]

There is an article on them in the March copy of The Field.

[munstyman]

The French spaniel (yes, it is a breed) is a liver and white HPR not dissimilar in appearance to a Large Munsterlander. I met a well known French breeder of the breed at the French Game Fair a few years and was very taken by the breed. For information about the breed have a look here
http://fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/175g07-en.pdf

I got all excited, another Munster look-a-like? Had to dust off Craig's book to see what I missed, I'd already found the Blue Picardy and Stabyhoun...
Nah, Kliene at a push, squinty eyes and a few imbibed beveys, but not a LM
It looks like what I would imagine a `working' fit show Springer would look like ( out of coat )

[Dawnrazor]

I've never seen one but you can bet it'll pretty arrogant, won't like to a lot of work, want very long lunch breaks, not take kindly to being told what to do and smell a bit "garlicky".
And you have to shout at them to make them understand you.

[munstyman]

I've never seen one but you can bet it'll pretty arrogant, won't like to a lot of work, want very long lunch breaks, not take kindly to being told what to do and smell a bit "garlicky".

Your probably closer to the truth than you know. I always think that the German breeds are very Germanic, very efficient and serious in their work ethic, and the French breeds have that `arrogance' as you put it, always right and if you ever prove them wrong they sulk for a week. Italian dogs do it in their own time...but in style . English range from true nobility to the eccentric, and the Welsh have very good sheep dogs

[trekmoor]

I'd say that is just about exactly right Peter. My love/hate affair with the Brittany breed is due to the breeds often incredibly strong willingness to work ......but not necessarily for me !
The man who now has my Brit "Libby" phoned yesterday to tell me she is doing really well .....at training him ! She is doing what she often did with me which was to "go missing in action" hundreds of yards away and then in response to many recall whistles , returning close before turning back . She tries her very best to take you back with her to where she had been on point and waiting for you to turn up !

Her new owner says this is a new one to him but a very welcome one !

Wullie