# Ruffed Grouse & Woodcock French Brittany



## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

I recently retired and was fortunate to move back to northern Wisconsin. This gives me time and opportunity to get a dog, train it and spend time hunting ruffled grouse and woodcock. 

I researched breeds and a French Brittany is a good fit in terms of a house pet for our family, a good dog for a newbie trainer (aka me) as well as a dog that does well hunting ruffled grouse and woodcock. I am focusing my search on a French Brittany as opposed to an American Brittany, as they tend to be a closer working dog and meet my particular needs.

For all you ruffled grouse and woodcock hunters. Do you own a French Brittany that as one breeder put it is a once in a life time dog or do you know someone who does? If so, which breeder did you get the pup from and how did you go about selecting the pup? 

I am more than willing to travel and pay a fair price for a pup. Any assistance you can give is appreciated!

Bill

PS  I did search the site for information on French Brittanys. Saw a lot of good information but did not see information that addressed my specific request. If I missed it, I apologize.


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## BIGSP (Sep 16, 2004)

What the fruck is a ruffled grouse?


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## [email protected] (Jan 10, 2006)

Bill, welcome to the site, hopefully someone will be able to help you out with your search, lots of knowledgeable people on here that spend a bit of time in the woods and should be able to point you in the right direction.


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## BIGSP (Sep 16, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> Bill, welcome to the site, hopefully someone will be able to help you out with your search, lots of knowledgeable people on here that spend a bit of time in the woods and should be able to point you in the right direction.



Sorry, my lack of sleep has gone to my head. I don't anyone who has French Brittany's but, I am sure someone can lead you in the right direction.


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## 2ESRGR8 (Dec 16, 2004)

You may want to try the Wisconsin board or the Upland Journal.
On UJ there is a guy goes by Phred, he has FB's and he's from Wisconsin. I bet he can give you some direction.


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## i missed again (Sep 7, 2008)

You may not want to limit your search to just french brits I have a American brit and she hunts close in cover. there are a lot of guys on this site that hunt and breed American brits and seem more than willing to help. They can shed moor light on how close they hunt. This is my first brit great dog and am considering one moor


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## JTC (Jun 22, 2006)

You ever watch American GunDog? Harley Jackson just bought an FB about a year ago. Looks to be a great hunting dog on TV. You might want to try emailing him to see where he got his.

Just sayin
Jim


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## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

BIGSP said:


> Sorry, my lack of sleep has gone to my head. I don't anyone who has French Brittany's but, I am sure someone can lead you in the right direction.


Been there before. Not a problem. At first I thought it might be part of a hazing ritual 

Bill


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## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

2ESRGR8 said:


> You may want to try the Wisconsin board or the Upland Journal.
> On UJ there is a guy goes by Phred, he has FB's and he's from Wisconsin. I bet he can give you some direction.


Thanks for pointing to me to some more great resources.

Bill


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## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

i missed again said:


> You may not want to limit your search to just french brits I have a American brit and she hunts close in cover. there are a lot of guys on this site that hunt and breed American brits and seem more than willing to help. They can shed moor light on how close they hunt. This is my first brit great dog and am considering one moor


I am gonna try to track down a French Brit first but I am sure there I could find an American Brit's that would be a great fit also,


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## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

JTC said:


> You ever watch American GunDog? Harley Jackson just bought an FB about a year ago. Looks to be a great hunting dog on TV. You might want to try emailing him to see where he got his.
> 
> Just sayin
> Jim


I have not seen that show yet. Thanks for the lead.

Bill


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## Firemedic (Apr 5, 2005)

Bill, send BONZ 54 (member here) a private message, I know he has/has had a few.


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## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

BillB719 said:


> Been there before. Not a problem. At first I thought it might be part of a hazing ritual
> 
> Bill





BIGSP said:


> What the fruck is a ruffled grouse?



Did not even realize I had a typo in the title till now and someone had to point it out!  

Good point.. I have no idea what a Ruffed Grouse is!

I really was not drinking or otherwise impaired. 

Bill


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## Art Heitzler (Feb 27, 2009)

I have owned three French Brittanies, all neutered males. They were purchased from Plum Creek Kennels in South Dakota, run by Bill and Kathy Dillon. I am purchasing another dog from a premier kennel in France (Kerveillant) for competing and breeding if the dog is excellent. I would definitely recommend this breed as pets and excellent foot hunter bird dogs. If one is looking for a dog to compete in US field trials, these dogs aren't bred for this type of range. In the US, dogs need to get out farther with the open spaces that many of the trials take place in, and often handlers are on horseback. In Europe, the dogs are competing with handlers on foot, and the areas are often not as expansive as in the US. Another kennel in the US which has a good reputation is Rolling Red Prairie Kennel owned by RL Dalrymple. I have a good friend who has purchased excellent dogs from RL. I have hunted pheasant and sharp-tails in the Dakotas, grouse and woodcock in the upper midwest, bobwhite quail in Kansas, Mearn's quail in Arizona, and ptarmigan in Alaska with these dogs and they have done well on all of them. Their coat isn't for cold water retrieving, but they do fine in Wisconsin cold weather upland bird hunting conditions. They are good at retrieving, and I have also "force broke" them for reliable retrieving. Another quality that I prefer in the French Brittany as opposed to the excellent American Brittany, is acceptable breed standard coat color. The French Brittany can be orange/white, black/white, liver/white, or tricolor with varying amounts of ticking. E-mail me if you need more info @ [email protected].


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## Swamphound (Oct 9, 2001)

Check out this site, I have talked to them a few times and it sounds like they run a great program. great-lakes-ebs.com/


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## mcanes1 (Jan 22, 2003)

BIGSP said:


> What the fruck is a ruffled grouse?


Now be nice to the newbie, Besides isn't "Ruffled" the term us grouse hunters use when we miss any easy shot.

By the way Bill, welcome to the site. And good luck with your search.


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## BillB719 (Feb 2, 2009)

Yeah I can't believe that I made that mistake... Oh well... :lol: Old enough to know it is best to laugh at yourself when you earned it! I have learned quite a bit about Britt's/dog's from people on this bulletin board. One was even nice enough to spend a 1/2 hour with me on the phone answering questions and sharing information. 

After more research I found a local breeder who's dogs have a temperament that fit our home life and who's hunting style should fit well in the coverts of northern Wisconsin. I would share who it was but based on my previous posts people might hold it against the breeder!


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## midwestfisherman (Apr 19, 2001)

Vance Butler of Modaka Kennels ran two french brittanys this weekend at the cover dog trial in Gladwin. You may want to contact him.


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