Our Philosophy

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Broughton Kennels is dedicated to the versatile Epagneul Breton.

Our purpose is to improve the breed, which conforms to the FCI standard and the development of their function.

The ideal Breton is a healthy dog which can dominate in the field and yet can win in shows of beauty, they fit into the family unit and train in the field with ease.
Our goal is the pursuit of this uniquely beautiful breed, who are companion hunters, and are able and willing to please.
We use the field, primarily through practical hunting but also through field trials, to evaluate the success of our breeding program. Unlike breeders who produce Bretons to be pets for the general public, we focus on producing dogs with the working abilities unique to the Breton as a hunting dog. We do this because it is these natural abilities that create the breed's ideal temperament and structure. Remaining true to the breed's original purpose will help us ensure we are breeding sound, healthy, athletic dogs with excellent conformation.

Breeding Criteria

Health. The foundation of every decision we make is health; only prototype dogs reproduce, whose pedigree is filled with dogs who have proven themselves. Our reproducers are screened and certified to insure the offspring they produce live long healthy lives. In our experience more potential reproducers have failed our screenings than have passed.

Temperament. We look for a true Breton temperament. We take a broad view of his/her disposition, looking beyond simple friendliness to dogs and people. We are specifically looking for self-confident dogs who take life in stride, who are stable when faced with most circumstances, and who are comfortable with their position in the world. After confidence, we are looking for intelligent, eager, active, bidable dogs whose greatest desire is to work side-by-side with their human partner. The final component of temperament we demand, is friendliness and reliability. We expect our dogs to accept polite dogs and people of all ages.

Conformation and Working Ability. After the foundation of health and temperament, we look for sires that complement our dams by building on their strengths and correcting their weaknesses. We use dogs that have both exceptional structure and hunting desire, these dogs are rare and must meet our criteria for health, temperament, and working ability. We look beyond the dog itself, and analyze the strengths of its fore fathers/mothers.

Breeding Goal

Our ideal Epagneul Breton is an excellent specimen of the race regarding height, weight, and bone structure. A dog that possesses a lovely disposition, correct head with a pleasant expression, who is athletic, muscular, confident and is distinctly identifiable as an Epagneul Breton de Broughton.
We do not breed for color, instead we accept any color that meets the French standard. We very much believe health, temperament, working ability, and conformation is FAR more important than it's color.
The Epagneul Breton is a moderate energy dog that has the ability to hunt wild game for a full day in the field but settles well in the house afterwards.

Loves the family's children and tolerates dog-appropriate handling by them.
Gets along well with other dogs but who is still confident.
It is healthy and sound, with no chronic illnesses of any kind.
Lives a long and healthy life as a beloved member of the family.
All of this means that our dogs fit well into active homes where they will have serious jobs and regular training and exercise. We seek hunting or competition performance homes for the vast majority of our puppies. A few pups each year may go to non-working pet homes but these are not your typical pet homes where the dog gets 15 minutes of walking a few times a day. Rather, they are homes where the dog is a respected working companion rather than a pet, homes where the dog participates in many if not most of the families activities, where training and working with the dog is a priority. Our dogs are not appropriate for parents seeking primarily to teach their children about responsibility or those desiring to quiet their children's pleas for a dog.

We follow the Code of Ethics set fourth by the AKC,UKC, and the associations in which we belong. We seek to treat our buyers fairly and to use our interactions as a means to educate them and the general public about dog behavior, the responsibilities of dog ownership, and good breeding practices.

We are devoted to our own continuing education, as breeders, trainers, exhibitors, and owners. We do this through veterinary science, animal behavior, seminars, veterinarians, professional dog trainers, handlers, and other members of the dog world. We also put into practice what we have learned by training and exhibiting our own dogs.

Thank you again for your interest in our breeding program. We are happy to discuss it with you in greater detail at any time. Since we offer only a limited number of puppies each year, we do recommend reserving a puppy in advance of the actual whelping. If you are still interested in Epagneul Breton de Broughton, please read carefully through our website and then contact us via phone or e-mail.