The breeds · gun dog · pointing

AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 95

Brittany.

Pointing dog: 'He works in the same manner as a pointer, but without the great range. He points and holds his game. He retrieves both on land and in water.' Also a NAVHDA-recognized versatile breed..

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.

11.1YRMedian lifespan10.9 to 11.3, measured on real dogs.

19INHeightall 19. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

30–40LBWeight, all linesbreed 35 lb (30 to 40).

2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

19 in (17.5 to 20.5)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

The standard gives a range, not an ideal; center is the midpoint.

Weight

35 lb (30 to 40)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

Center is the midpoint of the standard's range.

Coat

Dense, flat or wavy, never curly; neither wiry nor silky. Some feathering on front and hind legs, too little preferable to too much; long or profuse feathering severely penalized. No undercoat described.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1990

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Derived from the standard's coat: dense, flat or wavy, lightly feathered, no undercoat described — a light single coat of medium length, scored between 'short single' and 'medium double'.

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1990

Derived by rule (coat type → heat tolerance); not measured.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

11.1 years (10.9 to 11.3)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 method (median age at death, registry-linked UK sample). Teng et al. 2022 does not include the Brittany, so no life_expectancy_yr partner.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped to minutes ('more than 2 hours' = 150).

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day (RKC). The parent club: 'a high energy dog who is bred to hunt. He does need lots of exercise or opportunities to hunt to keep him happy.'

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Second sentence from abc_primer.

Energy

5 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC grooming band mapped to the 1–5 scale (3 = more than once a week).

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Pointing dog: 'He works in the same manner as a pointer, but without the great range. He points and holds his game. He retrieves both on land and in water.' Also a NAVHDA-recognized versatile breed.

Breed clubAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

NAVHDA recognition from navhda_breeds.

Primary game

Upland birds: 'used primarily on upland game in the United States.' The ABC runs regional classics on quail, pheasant, prairie chicken, chukar, and grouse/woodcock.

Breed clubAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

The club names no single primary bird; the list is the club's own championship series.

Also used on

'Used on both fur and feather in France.'

Breed clubAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

Single club source for this row.

Range

Close to medium: 'without the great range' of a pointer; 'with his shorter range, is becoming more popular as hunting becomes limited to smaller fields with more fences.' AKC Gun Dog stakes require 'a range suitable for a handler on foot'; All-Age stakes ask the dog to 'range well out'.

Breed clubAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

Range in the breed varies by stake and line; the club's description is the resting value.

Field trial standard

AKC pointing-breed field trials, run in braces. Gun Dog: hunt for the handler on foot, point staunchly, steady to wing and shot, honor the bracemate's point; a dog that does not point cannot be placed. All-Age: same bird work at greater range and independence. A Brittany FC must include a 3-point-or-better major in an Open stake held by a Brittany club. Dual Champion = CH + FC; over 500 Brittany Duals by 2006, the most of any AKC sporting breed.

Breed clubAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

Water work

'He retrieves both on land and in water.' AKC pointing-breed field trials have no water series; NAVHDA tests (the breed is recognized) include water work.

Breed clubAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

NAVHDA recognition from navhda_breeds.

Cold water

2 of 5 · Derived: the club says the breed 'retrieves both on land and in water' and 'has enough coat to protect him from the briars but not enough to catch burrs', with no undercoat in the standard — a water-capable dog, not a late-season water dog.

DerivedAmerican Brittany Club, 2018

Derived from coat (akc_std) and the club's description of water work; not measured.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

13.8% · 23,813 hip evaluations, all data through the Oct 5 2026 read: 85.1% normal (10.9% excellent, 59.5% good, 14.6% fair), 13.8% dysplastic (8.2% mild, 5.0% moderate, 0.6% severe).

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's public breed statistics. Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock and voluntary submission; OFA notes abnormal results are under-submitted. Read directly from OFA's statistics service, not from a secondary.

Elbow dysplasia

2.2% · 3,328 elbow evaluations, all data through the Oct 5 2026 read: 97.5% normal, 2.2% abnormal (1.8% grade I, 0.3% grade II, 0.1% grade III).

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Same OFA caveats as hips.

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 4; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

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.

USHip evaluation and ophthalmologist evaluation (AKC national breed club recommendations)OFA / ACVO · American Kennel Club, Sporting Group health testing requirements (CHIC)
USOne of: cardiac evaluation, elbow dysplasia, patellar luxation, or thyroid evaluation from an approved laboratory (submitted to OFA)OFA · American Brittany Club, Inc., ABC Breeder Recommendations for Health Checks (the CHIC recommendation for Brittanys)
USEye exam by a boarded ACVO ophthalmologist, each year from 2 to 8 years of ageACVO / OFA eye registry · American Brittany Club, Inc., ABC Breeder Recommendations for Health Checks (the CHIC recommendation for Brittanys)
USHip evaluationOFA or PennHIP · American Brittany Club, Inc., ABC Breeder Recommendations for Health Checks (the CHIC recommendation for Brittanys)
USHip certification (OFA, GDC or PennHIP) on at least both sire and dam, preferably three generationsOFA / PennHIP · American Brittany Club, Breeders Code of Ethics, adopted November 30 1996

UKHip scoringBVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme · The Royal Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z: Brittany (gundog group) — exercise, grooming, size, health schemes

No KENAI kennel lists the Brittany yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Brittany against your own answers.

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. 9 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Brittany Spaniel, American Brittany

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your brittany, on the record.

Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.

Get the app