FCI-Standard N° 179 / 07. 08. 1998 / GB BOURBONNAIS POINTING DOG (Braque du Bourbonnais) TRANSLATION : Mrs.Peggy Davis. ORIGIN : France (Province of Bourbonnais). DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 07.01.1991. UTILIZATION : Pointing dog. CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. :Group 7 Pointing Dogs. Section 1.1 Continental Pointing Dogs, type « Braque ». With working trial. BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The Bourbonnais Pointing Dog is already known in 1598 as a dog « skilful at hunting quail (ALDROVANDI’S Natural History, National Library). He is described by the ancient authors as a pleasant companion of the hunter, of rustic and healthy appearance, born with a short tail, showing a white coat with widespread pale brown or fawn fine ticking. The breeders have for a long time wanted to impose an original coat of « faded lilac » and also of being born with a natural short tail. Such a strict selection, on secondary points, cannot be imposed on a breed with a reduced gene pool, and in addition submitted to working trials. The result of that reverse selection ended in a total disaffection of the breeders : between 1963 and 1973 there were no registrations with L.O.F. In 1970, under the influence and impetus of Michel COMTE, a team of breeders gave themselves the task of helping towards the survival of the Bourbonnais Pointing Dog. Today, thanks to a careful and effective selection, they have succeeded; and thanks to the experience in the past, it will hereafter be possible to avoid the former errors. GENERAL APPEARANCE : Short-haired « Braque » type Pointing Dog, of medium size, medium proportions, muscular, giving the impression of strength and power, yet with a certain elegance; the bitch is slightly less stocky and a bit more elegant. IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS : Length of body equal or slightly superior to the height at withers. Depth of chest equal or slightly superior to half the height at the withers. Length of muzzle equal or slightly less than that of the skull. BEHAVIOUR /TEMPERAMENT : At home, kind and affectionate. When hunting full of passion, cautiousness, balance and cooperative intelligence; remarkable ease of adaptation to the most varied terrains and game; if necessary, aptitude to tracking, but usually testing the air by carrying the head reasonably high. Aptitude to point, useful and precise. HEAD CRANIAL REGION : Skull : Rounded in every direction, with lateral sides rounded, with parietal bones and zygomatic arches well developed. The axes of the skull and muzzle are parallel, or slightly divergent towards the front. Stop : Slightly marked. FACIAL REGION : Nose : Big, seen in profile projects sometimes beyond the perpendicularity of the lips; of the same colour as the coat; nostrils well open. Muzzle : Strong and wide at its base, truncated cone in shape; a little less wide in the bitches. Bridge of nose : Straight or very slightly convex (Roman nose). Lips : Upper lips hiding lower lips, not too thick, not making too much of a fold at the corners of the mouth. Jaws/Teeth : Jaws solid, with a complete dentition and a scissor bite; pincer bite tolerated. Eyes : Big, hazel or dark amber according to the colour of the coat. Intelligent gaze, soft and expressive. Ears : Set at eye line level or slightly above. May extend slightly below the throat in their natural position; only slightly curled, falling naturally along the cheek. NECK : Not too long, still with good reach of neck although muscled, solidly set into the shoulders; a slight dewlap is tolerated. BODY : Topline : Well sustained. Withers : Muscular and protruding. Back : Noticeably horizontal, short, solid, wide and muscular. Loin : Slight convexity at loin level. Short, solid, wide and muscular, very firm; loin a little longer in the bitch. Croup : Rounded, moderately oblique, with powerful muscles. Chest : Wide, long and deep, reaching or extending slightly below the level of the elbow; well-sprung ribs, well rounded. Underline : Slightly raised towards the back; flanks are flat and slightly raised. TAIL : Set rather low; in principle the Bourbonnais Pointing Dog must have the tail naturally short. The tail must therefore be either absent or naturally short with a maximum of 15 cm length. LIMBS FOREQUARTERS : Seen as a whole : Straight, well constructed and muscular, well upright. Shoulders : Oblique, strong, long with a solid and apparent musculature. Upper arm : Rather long, parallel to the vertical median plane of the body. Elbows : Neither out from nor too close to the thoracic side. Forearm : Well upright, solid, muscular. Pasterns : Very sligthly sloping seen in profile, supple. Front feet : Lean pads, toes tight and arched, nails strong. HINDQUARTERS : Seen as a whole : Good bone structure, muscular masses very apparent; seen from behind, the limbs are upright; in stationary profile, a vertical line from the point of the buttock falls in front of the point of the hock. Upper thigh : Long, well let down, muscular. Lower thigh : Muscular, noticeably of the same length as the thigh, set well along the axis of the body. Stifle : Well angulated. Hock joint : Well let down, lean, broad seen in profile. Metatarsus : Almost vertical. Hind feet : Same qualities as the front feet. GAIT / MOVEMENT : Strides of average amplitude; when hunting, the movement is a sustained gallop, balanced and supple. SKIN : Not too fine. COAT HAIR : Fine, short and dense; a little coarser and sometimes a little longer on the back. COLOUR : · Chesnut-brown coat with spotting, strongly to moderately ticked, hairs closely mixed. The whole effect can show a colour like « wine dregs » or « faded lilac ». · Fawn coat, with spotting, strongly to moderately ticked, hairs closely mixed. The whole effect can produce the shade of « peach blossom ». The coloured spots on the head, symmetrical or not, are tolerated on condition that they are not predominant and that both eyes are not included in the same spot. SIZE AND WEIGHT : Height at the withers : Dogs 51-57 cm, bitches 48-55 cm. A tolerance of plus or minus 1 cm is allowed in an otherwise typical subject. Weight : Dogs 18 to 25 kg, bitches 16 to 22 kg. FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree. FAULTS IN GENERAL APPEARANCE · Frame too big or too small. · On the whole towards the rangy or stocky type. · Too close to the ground or too short (vertical rectangle). · General aspect coarse or too elegant. HEAD · Head : Too small, too heavy, long or narrow; lateral sides flat; carnio-facial lines slightly converging. · Stop : Too accentuated. · Nose : Black, partially depigmented; nostrils not open enough. · Muzzle : Pointed and narrow, lacking substance. · Nasal bridge : Too short or too long, convex (Roman nose), concave. · Lips : Too pendulous, forming too much of a fold at the corners. · Slightly over-or undershot mouth. · Absence of more than two premolars or more than one molar on each side. · Eyes : Too small, light, haw too apparent; protruding or too deep set; expression mean, timid or haggard. Traces of depigmentation on eyelids. · Ears : Long, set too low, too curled. NECK · Slender, long, too much dewlap. BODY · Upper line : Raising towards the croup. · Back : Hollow. · Croup : Flat. · Chest : Not enough let down, narrow or shallow. · Ribs : Flat. · Flanks : Hollow or too tucked up. TAIL · Longer than 15 cm. LIMBS · Slender, light boned; turning in or outwards. · Elbows : Too tight or too loose. · Thighs : With no muscle, too flat, resulting in narrow hindquarters. · Hocks : Straight, cow-hocks or spread-hocks. · Feet : Splayed, flat, long. GAIT / MOVEMENT · Incorrect movement, restricted strides. · Gallop : Rocking, stilted, slack, without impulsion. COAT · Hair long, too thick, without distinctive characteristics, forming culottes. · Black colour. Blanket or markings on the body (bigger than the palm of the hand). SIZE AND WEIGHT · Too small, too big, too light, too heavy. ELIMINATING FAULTS Taking in account the reduced gene pool of this breed, the aim is not to be too severe, but to isolate from reproduction the untypical subjects and those with serious transmissible faults. · Total lack of type. · Marked convergence towards the front of the cranio-facial lines. · Excessive depigmentation of the nose. Split nose. · Upper profile of bridge of nose distinctly convex. · Under- or overshot mouth of more than 2 cm. · Entropion, ectropion; eyes to light; excessive depigmentation of the eyelids; eyes heterochromous. · Presence of dewclaws or traces of elimination of same on hindquarters. · Black markings. · Chestnut (brown) or fawn mantle or large markings of these colours on the body. · Albinism. · Size outside the limits of the standard. · Dog timid or shy. · Excessive nervousness, unbalanced. N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.