09/27/2024
An ancient French hunting dog, the Braque Du Bourbonnais was already well established in 1580 when it was mentioned in a biological encyclopedia as a skillful quail hunting dog, from Bourbonnais, recognizable for its ticking and short tail. This unique color pattern is perhaps the Bourbonnais defining characteristic, it is not “spotted,” rather the base coat is white, and sprinkled throughout like a dusting of flour, are tiny clusters of pale cream colored hairs.
Braque du Bourbannais can be born tailless (anury), but more often are born with short tails (brachyury). Like the Brittany Spaniel this short tail was seen as a sign of quality and proof of lineage, and long tailed dogs were removed from the breeding program. Eventually long tailed dogs would become accepted, so long as they were docked.
Eager to please and pleasant to be around, the Braque du Bourbannais should have a good off switch in the house. Sensitive in nature the Bourbannais bonds tightly with his master and together they form a working team. Gifted with an excellent nose and deep dedication to the search, the Bourbannais moves at a consistent ground covering gallop that can be sustained all day. A good retriever on land and in the water, retrieving comes naturally and many will do so without specialized training.
All of these qualities make the Bourbannais a successful hunting dog, yet in the mid 1900’s the breed all but disappeared. Part of this was due to the world wars, which negatively affected most dog breeds in Europe. But the other contributing factor was disagreement within the breed club. One group wished to further refine the breed cosmetically by only allowing dogs with the “correct” faded lilac ticking and naturally short tails to be bred. This line of breeding resulted in a loss of hunting instinct while yielding dogs of highly consistent type. The other sect sought to preserve hunting prowess, even with the inclusion of spotted dogs and those with naturally long tails. The fallout became so bad that the original club essentially dissolved, and from 1963 to 1973 not a single Bourbannais was registered with the French stud book.
Fortunately, one Michel Comte would come along, and with the help of several other breed enthusiasts, would recreate this once common hunting dog. Scouring the streets and countryside near Lyon, these men located many “braques de pays” (country braques), who while exhibiting some characteristics of Bourbannais were in fact bastards. Nonetheless these dogs, through careful crossing, were slowly and painstakingly bred back to the standard of the original Bourbonnais (with a balanced emphasis of type and hunting ability). Numerous offspring of these litters were sent out to the local hunters of the surrounding country, to provide Michel Comte with feedback, as he continued his breeding operation. Finally in 1973 years of dedicated effort yielded what Michel felt was a dog worthy of being registered as Bourbannais.
For more information and a more detailed history please visit: https://www.braquedubourbonnais.info/en/index.htm
Photography and Essay by the Breed Photography Project:
www.katherinewinrich.com
