Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Bring back the braque
We have enthusiastically embraced German breeds but why are the superb French gundogs not nearly so popular, asks David Tomlinson
ONE OF THE mysteries of the gundog scene is why we have so many German shooting dogs in the UK, but so few from France. No Europeans are more passionate about shooting than the French, though their approach to la chasse is very different to ours. There are a few English-style driven shoots but most of the shooting is walked-up, takes place on a Sunday morning, and concludes with an excellent lunch.
That may be simplifying things a little, but it is true that shooting in France is a great deal less formal than it is in this country. I can’t, for example, imagine a French chasseur turning up for a day’s sport wearing a collar and tie. A dog will accompany most chasseurs, but compared with the UK not many of the dogs have been trained to a high standard, and they tend to work more on instinct than what they have been taught.
I once went on a French shoot hoping to photograph the dogs retrieving, but as far as I could gather none of the ones that were out that day had been trained to retrieve. Certainly, none showed any inclination to do so.
The only French gundog we are really familiar with in this country is the Brittany, which is also by far the most numerous shooting dog in France. But it has never really caught on in this country and the annual number of UK puppy registrations shows a steady decline. In 2008,
158 puppies were registered, but that number fell to 73 last year.
The Korthals griffon may have Dutch ancestry, but it was the French who took this dog to heart, so it is generally regarded as a French breed. It looks much like a German wirehaired pointer or even an Italian spinone and works in a similar way; a powerful but versatile HPR with a thick wiry coat that makes it ideal for hunting in thick cover.
Handling
I’ve seen these dogs in action in field trials in France. Almost all were impressive hunters, but their retrieving skills weren’t so good. This is more likely a reflection of how they are taught and what their handlers want from their dogs, rather than any lack of ability.
Several other French gundogs have a toehold in the UK. The French spaniel, or épagneul Français, looks like a big, long-legged springer. It is an ancient pointing breed that reached its peak of popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was used to find game — larks, partridges or quail — that was netted by the hunter. Its similarity to the English springer cannot be a coincidence and I’m sure that the two breeds share a common ancestry centuries back.
Nicole and Marc Brule-walker were the first to import these dogs into the
“The Korthals griffons were all impressive hunters but their retrieving wasn’t so good”