Braque du Bourbonnais

Braque du Bourbonnais is a talented gun dog with a rustic appearance. They are affectionate, adaptable and gentle.

Daily Care

Grooming Tips

The Braque du Bourbonnais has a fine, dense, short coat. It is a little coarser, and sometimes longer, on the back. On the head and ears, the hair is finer and shorter.
Beyond periodic brushing, the occasional bath will keep yourBraque du Bourbonnais clean and looking his best. The breed’s strong, fast-growing nails should be trimmed regularly with a nail clipper or grinder to avoid overgrowth, splitting and cracking.
Ears should be checked regularly to avoid a buildup of wax and debris, which can result in infection. Teeth should be brushed regularly.

Exercise Tips

As a hunting breed, the Braque du Bourbonnais has fairly high needs for exercise. This dog requires a long daily walk and would appreciate some active play time or free time in a fenced yard.
Exercise can also come in the form of indoor activities, like hide-and-seek, chasing a ball rolled along the floor, or learning new tricks.
Certain outdoor activities like swimming, hiking, and retrieving balls or flying discs can provide a good outlet for expending energy.

Feeding Tips

The Braque du Bourbonnais should be offered a diet formulated for dogs of its size. Because the dog is a hunting breed, however, it may benefit more from a formula designed for active breeds. This formula is more likely to meet the higher energy requirements of this breed.

Health Tips

For the most part, the Braque du Bourbonnais is a healthy breed not prone to major health problems.
There is some concern regarding congenital conditions, however, since much of the breeding stock used by Michel Comte was inbred to produce the desired characteristics.
Some of the health problems to which this breed is prone to includehip dysplasia, pulmonic stenosis of the heart, and entropion/ectropion.

Trainability

The Braque du Bourbonnais is an intelligent breed that typically responds well to training. Because this dog is fairly active it requires a good bit of daily exercise to prevent the development of problem behaviors.
As is true for all breeds, it is recommended that you start puppies with socialization and training as early as possible. This breed responds well to positive reinforcement training methods.

History

The Braque du Bourbonnais is an ancient breed. The breed was described in French literature as early as the late 1500s. Even then, the breed was known for its keen hunting instincts.
Since the early 1970s, Bourbonnais breeders have substantially and rapidly improved the breed’s conformation and field performance.
The first breed standard was published in the club’s first bulletin in 1930. Although the organization and these breeders made considerable progress, their efforts were again nearly wiped out by World War II.
A second Club du Braque du Bourbonnais was created in 1982 by Michel Comte, with official recognition by the Society Centrale Canine (SCC), the French affiliate of the FCI, in 1985.
The new breed standard was fully recognized by the SCC and FCI in 1991. The standard was then translated and published on the FCI website in 1998.