The breeds · gun dog · versatile
AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 179
Braque du Bourbonnais.
Pointing dog (FCI 179 utilization clause): 'a pleasant companion of the hunter' known since 1598; 'when hunting, his passion and intelligence allow him to easily adapt to the most varied terrains and game. When searching, he naturally carries the head high to find the scent, proving his aptitude for useful and precise pointing'; in North America registered and tested as a versatile dog through NAVHDA.
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Center is the midpoint of the FCI range (51.5 cm). UKC: 19 to 21.5 inches. The AKC page gives 19 to 22.5 inches for the breed as a whole.
Weight
Center is the midpoint (19 kg). See the male note.
Coat
fci_179; UKC and the French club's description carry the same text. No undercoat is described. The tail is naturally short or absent in many dogs (the 1991 standard: absent or naturally short, 15 cm maximum).
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the FCI coat description (short dense = 4).
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
The AKC band is a 1 to 5 score, not a minutes figure, so exercise_need_min is omitted rather than mapped. The working standard describes 'an energetic gallop' sustained on easy ground, alternating with a fast trot in cover. Single registry page behind the band.
Energy
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming load
Periodic brushing read as the weekly-brush band = 2 on the 1 to 5 scale. AKC page text, not an RKC band (the breed is not KC-recognized). Single source behind this value.
Grooming
AKC breed page.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
fci_179 behaviour clause and history; UKC: 'a passionate and intelligent hunter, suitable to a variety of game and terrain'. The versatile reading is NAVHDA's (navhda_breeds). Aldrovandi's 1598 Natural History described it as a dog 'skilful at hunting quail' (bdb_std91).
Primary game
fci_179 (varied game), bdb_std91 (quail, 1598) and navhda_breeds. No club page opened names a single primary species.
Range
No published range figure; the characterization rests on the 1985 working standard. Fewer than three sources behind this value.
Search pattern
bdb_work, French text paraphrased. The club notes the working standard was to be completed as selection evolved. Single source behind this value.
Field trial standard
navhda_tests, navhda_breeds, ukc_bdb and cbb_hd. No North American registry gates breeding for this breed; the French club's grid and hip rule are the breeding standards. The club's working standard (bdb_work) sets how a Bourbonnais should be judged in the field: 'a continental dog, it must remain one and be judged as such'.
Water work
navhda_tests and bdb_work. Fewer than three sources behind this value.
Cold water
Derived from coat (fci_179) and the NAVHDA test content (navhda_tests). The French working standard describes field work (search, point, retrieve) and says nothing of water.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Most common disorders
cbb_hd and bdb_std91. No prevalence survey, VetCompass paper, UK Kennel Club data or OFA row exists for the breed; the AKC page says only that 'most Bourbonnais Pointing Dogs are healthy dogs'. Not a disorder ranking. Fewer than three independent sources behind this value.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
- FRHip dysplasia X-ray read by the SCC's official reader (identified film, SCC form signed by owner and vet, read in Langon); A or B reading required for cotation grades 2 to 6 and for the Trialer, Champion de Conformit√© au Standard, Champion de Travail and Champion de France Jeune titlesSCC / Club du Braque du Bourbonnais (FCI A to E grades) · Club Officiel du Braque du Bourbonnais (CBB, France), Dysplasie: nouveau protocole (hip X-ray protocol under the SCC; A or B reading required for cotation grades 2 to 6 and for the Trialer, conformation champion, working champion and young champion titles)
- FRDNA tests (club page 'Tests ADN') and the cotation grid (grille de cotation) for breeding gradesSCC / Club du Braque du Bourbonnais · Club Officiel du Braque du Bourbonnais (CBB, France, affiliated to the Société Centrale Canine), Standard (FCI 179 French text, 29.03.2006)
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Bourbonnais Pointing Dog (FCI English title), Bourbonnais Pointer, BdB
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour braque du bourbonnais, on the record.
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