doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun dogs; Braque Francais (French Pointer)

I recently found out my 5 yr old upland lab has arthritis in her back that is starting to limit her abilities and endurance. I can see she has pain at times. I'm working with our vet to begin a therapy of oral supplements/medications and injections. Our hope being that we can prolong my dog's mobility and hunting and give her the best quality of life. Even though I have no prognosis on how limiting this will be to our Lab, it's time to start considering another gun dog as the process can be long.

Being a somewhere between knowing nothing and being a novice, I was reading the online Gun Dog magazine website articles on gun dog breeds. Amarillo Mike's tales of the great Brits he runs has always captured my attention. I'm really considering a pointing breed this time around too.

But I stumbled on an article about French Pointers (Braque Francais) and I'm lured by the description of their demeanor and manners, hunting style/ability, size, and that short hair for the warm weather we live with in the southwest.

Anyone have any experiences around this relatively new to the US breed?

If a breed does its job, is easy to train, etc, it will be a popular breed. Niche breed dogs may work out well, but if I want to tip the odds in my favor, I'm going with a popular breed from a proven kennel.

Yeah - in my experience, there's a reason why rare breeds are rare.

And it's not because they're fantastic at their jobs.

A good, quality English Pointer or English Setter is a better bet.

OWD

Hi Chuck,
Most will suggest dog breeds they own and I'm no different. The best hunting dogs I have had the pleasure of hunting with have been German Shorthairs or English Setters. I would not own a dog with long hair as the time spent combing out dirt and burrs plus the balling up of snow between the toes (in Northeast) is just too much. I want a tough dog that I can hose off and is good around the house. Now that I endorse the German Shorthair I must say some can be kind of crazy so make sure you meet mom and Dad, my two are pretty mellow around the house but very driven in the field.
All that said no matter what breed you choose meet the parents and check out their personality and hunting prowess.Maybe getting a started pup will give you closer to the sure thing nothing worse then getting a new hunting dog that follows you around in the field or can't tell a Quail from a donut. Must of us still fall in love with the mutt and keep it even though it is pretty bad.
Good Luck,
Jeff G.

Oh Yeah if retrieving is wanted pick your pointing dog even more carfully as some don't seem interested at all. Again check out the parents. If you want a great retriever check out the Springer not a pointer but wonderful retrievers. Many GSP's are decent retrievers some English Setters I have seen are not.
IMHO
Jeff
Great genetics and lots of time with birds=good hunters

Jeff,
Thanks. GSPs are a consideration. In reading about these French Pointers, one of the things that seems to differ from the GSP is their great affection for people. Other than that there are more similarities to GSPs than differences, although the frog dog is smaller.

Somewhere in this mess, I have a book about quail hunting by one of my favorite outdoor writers, Charlie Waterman. Can't put my hand on it right now, but I remember his chapter on bird dogs where he said what he liked about pointers and setters; when he got to drathaars, vislas "and other strange dogs", his opinion was 'the less said the better'. I remembered that when I bought my present bird dog Willy, a German Wirehair, but did it anyway...Never Regretted it One Minute!...Geo

Good luck on your French Pointer if that's the way you go. I'm sorry to hear of the problems your lab is having. The arthritis medicine Chondroitin(sp?) kept my old Lab, Suwannee going for a few extra years.

Thanks for the encouraging words for both the lab and a future gun dog, George.

I'm going to see about getting over to some breeders to have a look at these dogs and maybe see a little field work with some pigeons, if possible. Temperment, especially friendlyness and tolerance is very important to me and my wife. Otherwise, I may have to build a kennel big enought for me and a grouchy dog.

Sorry to hear about the arthritis. My pointing lab has experienced the same type of problem. Glucosamine, Chondroitin and doggy aspirin have extended my dogs hunting days. Solid training, diet and a little chemistry can do wonders for your dog.

I prefer a dog that does all of the work, rather than having to jump in and flush the bird myself. I guess the I am lucky, my dog points, flushes on command, and retrieves. The only problem is she does not have the nose of a true pointer.

Good luck with your search and I hope your dog still has some year left.

Chuck, maybe the Bracco Italiano is an option for you. I don't know if there are breeders of the Bracco in the U.S. but I breed them for 25 yaers and I also hunt with them for 25 yaers.
The Bracco is different from all others pointing dogs. He is not a fast working dog like English pointers, setters, horthairs or wirehairs. He works more slowly and what he point is always in reach of your shot. Hey are more intelligent then most of other pointing dogs and easy to learn.
I lost my last Bracco in 2005, due to other living circomstances I not have place enough to keep dogs, but if I live more rural and have the space to keep one you cant count on it that I take again an Italian Bracco. If you want a wirehair version of the Bracco there is the Spinone.
Chuck if you want more info about Bracco's you can ask me, my E-Mail adress in in my profile. B.T.W. I judge them also and I was the first official breeder of Bracco's in Belgium.
I still have contact with a breeder who want only improuve the quality of the "working" Bracco.
Here is his web:
http://www.dicacciola.be/
Greetings from Belgium, Marc.