About the breed

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History

The Braque d'Auvergne is a gundog originating from the Auvergne area of France. There is a theory that Napoleon, having tricked his way on to the island of Malta, turned his troops against the knights of St John and banished them from the island. Some of the knights returned to France, taking with them a type of black and white pointing dog.

We do know the breed was established before the start of the 18th century, but faced extinction in the 1940's during WW II when many dogs were lost. Luckily, around 20 Braque D'Auvergne were located and these were the dogs that were used to rebuild the breed and numbers.

They are a relatively rare breed in the UK, with few of the general public having even heard of the breed but numbers are slowly increasing. The Kennel Club officially recognised the breed and registered them on to the Import breed register in 2016. 2017 saw the release of an interim breed standard which enabled the breed to take part in breed showing.

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Characteristics

The Braque d'Auvergne is a HPR breed, they are a tireless and natural hunter that work closely with you. A sociable, loving and gentle breed, they can be sensitive and don't respond well to harsh handling. They are an intelligent breed that are not suited to everyone but would equally make a good working gundog or a companion for an active family. An early foundation of training is essential and it helps that they have a want to please attitude.

Physically they are heavier in body than some of the other pointing breeds and have an almost hound like head with low set ears. They come in two colour patterns, black and white ticked or black and white roaned (Charbonne) Height for males is 57-63cms and bitches 53-59cms.

Health

They are a healthy breed in general. Care should be taken to avoid both Entropion and Ectropion and as a minimum, both parents of a litter should be hip scored.