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Epagneul Breton (French Brittany)

The breeds · gun dog · pointing

UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 95

Epagneul Breton (French Brittany).

'Versatile pointing dog, for any game on any terrain, precocious in revealing its hunting passion. Remarkable in its searching for game, its gaits, its scenting ability, its ranging in the field, its spontaneity and duration of pointing, its retrieving and its aptitude for training' (FCI 95); the smallest of the pointing breeds, and numerically the first French pointing 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.
20 / 19INHeightdogs 19.5, bitches 19.1. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day (RKC band for the Brittany, the UK name for FCI 95). 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

dogs 19.5 in (18.9 to 20.1) · bitches 19.1 in (18.5 to 19.7)

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 95, 2003

Center is the midpoint of the FCI ideal band (48.5 cm). UKC and CEB-US print the same figures. The FCI PDF itself misprints the female 50 cm maximum as 20.1 in; 19.7 in is the correct conversion and is what UKC prints.

Coat

Fine but not silky, lying flat on the body or with a hint of a wave, never curly; short on the head and the front of the limbs, with abundant feathering on the back of the limbs diminishing toward the wrist or hock. Colours: white and orange, white and black, white and liver, piebald or roan, and tricolour with tan spotting; a narrow blaze desirable; a self-coloured coat not allowed. 'Not heavy enough on the body' is a fault

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 95, 2003

FCI 95 names no undercoat. The CEB-US and UKC standard add sable as a disqualification. Black and white is a Breton colour that the AKC Brittany standard disqualifies, one of the visible differences between the two rows. RKC coat length: medium.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · 4 of 5: fine, flat-lying coat of light to medium length with feathering and no undercoat described

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 95, 2003

Derived from the FCI coat description; scored with the brittany entry (same standard family, light single coat) rather than as a medium double coat.

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

SHARED FCI-95 FIGURE. The UK Kennel Club registers the FCI standard 95 breed as 'Brittany' and its breed page says 'In France the breed carries the name Epagneul Breton'. UKC/FCI-registered Bretons are not separately identifiable in the UK data, and the UK population may include dogs of American Brittany lineage, so this is the best available measurement for the FCI-95 population as registered in the UK, not a CEB-US-specific one. The same row is shown on the brittany entry. Teng et al. 2022 does not include the breed under any name.

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 (RKC band for the Brittany, the UK name for FCI 95)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-95 band; see median_lifespan_yr note. FCI 95 asks for a dog 'full of energy'; CEB-US home page (ceb_home): 'energetic and endurant, able to hunt vigorously alongside bigger sporting breeds'. This is a UK figure for the shared FCI 95 standard population registered as 'Brittany', not a figure for UKC/CEB-US-registered dogs.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-95 band (RKC lists the breed as Brittany). This is a UK figure for the shared FCI 95 standard population registered as 'Brittany', not a figure for UKC/CEB-US-registered dogs.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC band for the Brittany, the UK name for FCI 95)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-95 band; 'More than once a week' = 3 on the 1 to 5 scale. This is a UK figure for the shared FCI 95 standard population registered as 'Brittany', not a figure for UKC/CEB-US-registered dogs.

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-95 band. This is a UK figure for the shared FCI 95 standard population registered as 'Brittany', not a figure for UKC/CEB-US-registered dogs.

The work

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

Role

'Versatile pointing dog, for any game on any terrain, precocious in revealing its hunting passion. Remarkable in its searching for game, its gaits, its scenting ability, its ranging in the field, its spontaneity and duration of pointing, its retrieving and its aptitude for training' (FCI 95); the smallest of the pointing breeds, and numerically the first French pointing breed

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 95, 2003

FCI 95 behaviour/temperament clause and historical summary; UKC reproduces the same text. CEB-US: 'a bird dog first and foremost'.

Primary game

Upland birds: 'all species of upland birds are enjoyed equally by an Epagneul Breton. Grouse, quail and pheasant along with waterfowl'

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

The club names no single primary bird. The French club's field-trial challenges run on woodcock (bécasses), snipe (bécassines), partridge (perdrix), mountain game and natural game (cebfr_std site navigation, Challenges section).

Also used on

Waterfowl: 'willing to retrieve both ducks and geese on land or in water' and can be taught to sit quietly in a blind, with the club's caution that the coat needs help to stay warm

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

Range

Medium: 'a mid range hunting dog, expanding the search from 30 to 200 yards depending on cover', closer in heavy cover and woods, farther in open fields; 'do not expect them to hunt within shotgun range'

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

The club's own description; the CEB-US home page (ceb_home) separately calls the breed 'close-working in hunting style, instinctively quartering'. Single club source behind this value.

Search pattern

'A quartering dog, working back and forth in front of you at a breton gallop, this depending on wind direction. EBs are air scenting dogs and should work with their heads held high'; naturally adjusts to cover and changes direction with the handler

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

FCI 95: 'the canter is the most common gait in the field, the strides are rapid and of medium length' (collected canter). Single club source behind this value.

Field trial standard

UKC is the US club's primary registry and testing venue (CEB-US and regional club field trials: liberated and wild-bird open braces and solo, gun solo, TAN and WRT water retrieving titles; conformation shows judged by international judges). NAVHDA recognized the breed separately from the Brittany in 2025: Natural Ability (to 16 months: field search, tracking, pointing, water entry, physical evaluation), Utility (field, duck search and water retrieves, steadiness, obedience) and the Invitational for the Versatile Champion title. In France the CEB runs the TAN (Test d'Aptitudes Naturelles, dogs 6 to 36 months: search instinct, a point on feathered game out of sight of the game, and no fear at one or more shots) and SCC field trials under the CUNCA

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US), 2025

ceb_navhda, ceb_home (the trial formats are read from the club's event listings), navhda_tests and cebfr_tan. Unlike the German-registry rows, the Breton's tests are titles and breeding-grade inputs, not a registry gate on breeding; the French cotation grid and the CEB-US hip policy are the breeding standards.

Water work

Retrieves from water (ducks and geese) and earns the UKC WRT water retrieving title; NAVHDA water entry at Natural Ability and duck search at Utility; not a cold-water specialist by coat

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

ceb_hunting, ceb_std (WRT titles on the champions list) and navhda_tests.

Cold water

2 of 5 · 2 of 5: 'they do not have hollow fur like labs so they will need help to stay warm' (CEB-US); willing to retrieve ducks and geese on land or in water with a fine coat and no undercoat

DerivedClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

Derived from the FCI coat description (fci_95) and the club's own caution on cold water (ceb_hunting).

Test results

70% · NAVHDA Invitational only: at least 14 Epagneul Bretons invited, ten earned the Versatile Champion title, 'a remarkable 70% pass rate' as the club quotes NAVHDA (statistic attributed to Jake Bartells and NAVHDA, July 2025); dogs ran under the Brittany label before 2025

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US), 2025

A club-quoted figure for the Invitational alone (n about 14), not a Natural Ability or Utility pass rate by breed, which NAVHDA does not publish. Tested dogs skew to serious handlers. Single source behind this value.

How common the problems are

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

Hip dysplasia

18% · 18.0% dysplastic of 449 OFA hip evaluations on record under the Epagneul Breton breed code (OFA data service, retrieved Oct 5 2026); 80.6% normal (7.1% excellent, 55.9% good, 17.6% fair); 14.7% mild, 2.9% moderate, 0.4% severe; OFA rank 65

Breed clubOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

This row's OWN population: OFA approved a separate Epagneul Breton breed code in 2006 (ceb_hip) and the CEB-US hip policy sends breeding stock to OFA or PennHIP, so this is not the AKC Brittany's table (which reads 13.8% of 23,813 and is shown only on the brittany entry). Labelled breed_club rather than measured because 449 evaluations is well short of the thousands of evaluations behind a measured registry figure. Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock and owners may withhold poor results; a registry figure, not a population prevalence.

Most common disorders

Hip dysplasia is the one condition the US club screens for ('the only genetic issue that we are able to test for at this time'); the club calls the breed 'relatively healthy in comparison to most other breeds' and is working with genetic testing companies to identify others. The French club runs the SCC hip-screening scheme and, since 2024, requires colour-locus DNA tests (A63 fawn charbonné, A65 dilution) for its grade-4 breeding rating

Breed clubClub de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US)

ceb_health, ceb_hip, cebfr_hd and cebfr_cotation. No prevalence survey or VetCompass paper exists under the Breton name; OFA's eye registry holds only 57 Breton evaluations (93.0% normal) and is too small to rank disorders. Not a disorder ranking.

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.

No KENAI kennel lists the Epagneul Breton (French 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.

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

Also called
French Brittany, Épagneul Breton, Brittany Spaniel (French)

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Your epagneul breton (french brittany), on the record.

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