Brittany: A Comprehensive Guide to Owning and Caring for Your Dog (Comprehensive Owner's Guide) - Hardcover

Beauchamp, Richard G

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1593782853 ISBN 13: 9781593782856

Publisher: Kennel Club Books, 2004

Synopsis

Traces the history of the breed, describes breed standards, discusses care and grooming requirements, and includes information on training.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

This special Rare Breed Edition devoted to the versatile Brittanny is the only book of its kind about this flawless gundog and companion animal. Developed in France from spaniel/setter crosses intended to produce a hunting dog who would be a tractable, loyal and all-round companion, the Britanny is a natural beauty in his handsomely fringed coat; that, along with his affectionate, playful and gregarious personality, have made him a favourite among pet owners who can provide this energetic dog with the necessary activity and attention. This Special Edition, with its specific instructions on rearing, caring for and training the breed, proves to be a welcome addition to the libraries of pet owners and long-time Brittany fanciers alike.
Written by one of the world's most respected dog show judges and authors, Richard Beauchamp, this book provides insightful chapters on breed history, characteristics of the breed and the official breed standard as well as puppy selection, grooming, health care and showing. This book combines the expertise of breed specialists, veterinary surgeons, trainers and behaviourists with a team of experienced book designers, photographers and illustratotrs to create a resourceful and accurate guide for all Britanny owners. Illustrated with over 135 colour photographs, the book proves to be as attractive as it is informative. Innovations of modern science have enabled the publisher to present never-before-seen scanning electron micrograph images produced exclusively for this limited edition series.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

There are far more pure-bred breeds of dog existing throughout the world today than most people will have the opportunity to see in a lifetime. As strikingly dissimilar and diversified as these breeds are, they all trace back to one comon ancestor - Canis lupus - the wolf. Everything dogs are and everything they do was passed down through thousands upon thousands of generations to what is universally considered 'man's best friend'.
Archaeological discoveries lead us to believe that the relationship between man and dog or, as it was in the beginning, man and wolf, was based upon man's struggle to survive in the most inhospitable of times. The wolf's prowess as a hunter was something that early man could not help but observe and there seems to be evidence that man himself may have put some of those techniques to use as well. Then too, the wolf had many social habits similar to man's own and this undoubtedly assisted in creating that first step toward compatibility.
In The Natural Hstory of Dogs, authors Richard and Alice Feinnes classify most dogs as having descended from one of four major groups: the Dingo Group, the Greyhound Group, the Nordic Group and the Mastiff Group. All four trace back to separate and distinct branches of the wolf family.
The Dingo Group traces its origin the Asian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes). Two well-known examples of the Dingo Group are the Basenji and, through the admixture of several European breeds the Rhodesian ridgeback.
The Greyhound Group descends from a coursing-type relative of the Asian wolf. The group includes all those dogs that hunt by sight and are capable of great speed. The Greyhound itself, the Afghan Hound and the Saluki are all examples. They are not true hounds in that they do not hunt by scent.
The Arctic or Nordic Group of dogs is a direct descendant of the rugged Northern wolf (Canis lupus). Included in the many breeds of this group are the Alaskan Malamute, Chow Chow and German Shepherd Dog.
The fourth classificaton, the Mastiff Group, owes its primary heritage to the Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco or laniger). This group encompasses the greatest diversity of breeds and the extreme diversity indicates the descendants are not entirely of pure blood. The specific breeds included have undoubtedly been influenced by descendants of the other three groups. This influence is of consequence in that some Mastiff Group breeds have acquired characteristics that others do not share at all.
Of importance here is the fact that the Mastiff Group is known to include many ofthe scenting breds - breeds which find game by the use of their olfactory senses (their noses) rather than by sight. These breeds include those we now classify as gundogs or sporting dogs as well as the true hounds.
As man became more sophisticated and his lifestyle more complex, he found he could produce dogs which could suit his specific needs from the descendants of the wolf. Often these needs were based upon the manner in which man himself went after game and the terrain in which he was forced to do so.
By this time man had taken control of the individual dogs that mated. Particular characteristics were prized in inbreeding practices employed to perpetuate these characteristics.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kennel Club Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1593782853
• ISBN 13: 9781593782856
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 152