The Brittany Spaniel or Breton Spaniel (French: Épagneul Breton) is a French breed of gun dog of spaniel type, bred primarily for bird hunting. In the United States it may be called simply Brittany.
It developed between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries in Brittany in north-west France, and was officially recognised early in the twentieth. It is one of five French breeds of spaniel, the others being the Épagneul Bleu de Picardie, the Épagneul de Pont-Audemer, the Épagneul Français and the Épagneul Picard.
The Brittany Spaniel originated in the Brittany region of north-western France, for which it is named. Scenes of orange-and-white dogs of similar type hunting and retrieving game appear in tapestries and paintings from the seventeenth century. The earliest written description of such dogs is that of Reverend Davies in 1850, where he described hunting with small "bobtailed" dogs who pointed and were excellent retrievers. It was around the same time that the modern breed to have been bred by mating with English Setters.
The Breton was first recognised as a breed in 1907 when an orange-and-white dog named Boy was registered in France. As a result, the first standards were outlined in the same year. It was approved by the American Kennel Club in 1934; in 1982 the "Spaniel" was officially dropped from the name.
The Brittany Spaniel or Breton Spaniel is a French breed of gun dog of spaniel type, bred primarily for bird hunting. In the United States it may be called simply Brittany.
Liver-and-white
Black-and-white roan
Orange-and-white