Unlike those of many dog breeds, we know precisely the origins of the Braque Saint Germain: they go back to the first half of the nineteenth century. Charles X, King of France from 1824 to 1830, was particularly fond of hunting and possessed Braques that descended from lineages famous since Louis XV, some of whose subjects have come down to us thanks to the paintings of the painter Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686 - 1755), especially the one representing the famous "Blanche", one of the lists of royal kennels.
At the request of Charles X, the Count of Girardin, King's great huntsman, brought back two Pointers from England, presumably with the intention of improving the qualities of the Braques. Here is what M. de La Rue said of these two "thoroughbreds", baptized Miss and Stop, with whom he had the opportunity to hunt: "They were yellow spots (white and orange), of great pricked, with ears tied a little high, palate and black nose; the forehead in the dog was extremely delicate; In short, these two types had a great elegance and an incontestable distinction, Miss was then much superior to our Braques and all our dogs of country. "
At the fall of Charles X, in 1830, the two Pointers returned to Mr. de Larminat, an inspector of Water and Forests attached to the forest of Compiegne. Stop died shortly afterwards, leaving no descendants, but Miss was taken to the kennels of Earl of Aigle at Tracy, to be raised by a handsome, white and brown Braque named Zamor. Seven pups (half-bloods) were born of this union, which, according to the Marquis de Cherville, had "a white and orange dress, sometimes accompanied by speckles". Four of these pups were entrusted to employees of the forest of Compiegne, who were soon assigned to the forest of Saint-Germain. Thus these dogs, which had already acquired a certain renown, took the name of dogs of St. Germain.
It is likely, however, that the Braque Saint Germain breed is not exclusively derived from Miss and Zamor puppies, other half-breeds born to White and Brown Pointer, and White and Orange Pointer who have also received this name. What is certain is that the Braque Saint Germain knew success from the Second Empire, and that many subjects were present in the kennels of Napoleon III, great amateur besides English current dogs. It was at this time, too, that we infused some blood of Braque Saint Germain to a type of old French Braque, the Braque de l'Ariège (also called Braque de Toulouse), in order to improve the race. Some authors have even been able to assert that M. de Morteau, when he retired to his castle Molestrol in Ariège, crossed Braques Saint Germain he had taken with him to local Braques, which gave birth to Braques from Ariège to the characteristic white and orange dress.
In an article published in L'Acclimatation in 1878, a man named Feuillet gave a detailed description of the Braque Saint Germain at that time: "He is tall, he has 65 to 72 cm in the shoulder, a little levitated, high on legs and always white and orange without the slightest black stain. According to René Laporte, who was president of the Breed Club, Braque Saint Germain must have had the size we know today. Moreover, if they did not mention the origins of committed dogs, the catalogs of the first exhibitions did not note less the size. We know that between 1880 and 1885, the Braque Saint Germain measured 55 to 60 cm for females and 60 to 65 cm for males.
From the creation of the French Book of Origins in 1885, René Laporte also noted that the breed was essentially bred in consanguinity, by the principal breeder, Mr. Bathiat-Lacoste, who registered his first dogs there: Médor, Diane, Fox, Miss, then his most beautiful stallion, Fox IV. However, it is at this time that, according to some cynophiles, the Braque Saint Germain returned to a much more continental type, both in appearance; a little smaller, a little "round", even pointed out A.-L. Blatt; only in his style of work; especially a shorter quest. A few years later, according to René Laporte, the Pointer blood was again used, which allowed a balance to be struck between continental and British qualities. Thus, Mr. Duval, a Parisian breeder, proceeded to systematic crossings: his dog Mica was coupled with Ploff, a very "pointierized" stallion; their son, Star II of the Star, protrudes both bitches Braques and bitches Pointers. Finally, the famous breeder repeatedly called on a superb Pointer stallion from the kennel of the Acclimatation Garden, named Eldon-Don. As for the champion before the First World War, Jilt des Yvelines, she went down by her father, Byrrh II of Etoile, Mica and Ploff.
Shortly before the Great War, the Club Braque Saint Germain was created and quickly recognized by the Central Canine Society. Although severely affected by the war, the race resisted better than some other breeds of dogs, and even if, at the dawn of the twenties, many traditions were fundamentally rushed, among which the French hunting, while Anglomania was raging in dog-eating circles, at no time did Braque Saint Germain nearly disappear. Without becoming really popular, he was very appreciated by most specialists. Certainly, as Kermadec pointed out, "he was a complete stranger," or truly versatile, at a time when the number of hunters who could afford several types of dogs, they went in plain, in the woods or in the marsh, was in regression.
The race was also criticized for its lack of hardiness, which is exaggerated, even though its thin skin, its untouched tail (in hunting circles, sometimes called the Long-tailed Braque) are a little fragile, it is true, in bushy land. He has still been found to be obese. Let's specify for his defense that the nutritional knowledge was at the time very rudimentary. In fact, to gain notoriety during the interwar period, it may have missed the Braque Saint Germain to be better broadcast outside the Paris Basin. But this period was also one of all the excesses with regard to the use of the Pointer, so much so that an English judge visiting a Paris exhibition in the twenties and passing in front of a subject in a class Braque Saint Germain would have exclaimed Seeing him, "Here's the best Pointer I've seen today. "
If the Braque Saint Germain does not have the extent of the quest of the Pointer, his speed or his stops, that could be described as cataleptic, his nose is not less subtle, his looks very sustained and stylish . Moreover, the Marquis de Cherville, nearly a century and a half ago, pointed out that the first dogs of Saint Germain were "very early, almost all stopped at six months". Later on, he always found eminent qualities: "He gallops, fans from far away, stops firm, often lying or crawling, his pose is most graceful. It pays off majestically and is easy to train. For Paul Mégnin, "he was the aristocrat of the dogs, the Brummel of the hunting dogs. He forms a very beautiful family, very distinguished, quite elegant, it is almost a lady's dog, so pretty, caressing and graceful. While hunting, he is very intelligent and very docile, he has the restricted or long quest according to his trainer ". And Mrs. Clergeau, a few years ago, concluded: "In reality, as it is now, defined and produced by some conscientious breeders, it is a most interesting collaborator. Pleasant dog plain, able to cope wherever the other Braques find to use, supporting the heat, having better nose than many and a nice style of stopping and pace, the Saint Germain has valuable qualities, to attract fans. Father Godard himself did not understand the reasons why the breed was not better represented in France: "It is astonishing that this dog does not know more development, considering its pace and its style ", to which K.-G. The Moing added: "It should be more prevalent in the hunting environment. "
To all these qualities of hunting dog that generations of specialists reported in their writings or comments are added those of pet dogs. Hunting, as in the city, provided he has the opportunity to regularly exercise to satisfy his sports requirements, the Braque Saint Germain, moreover typically French, deserves to be appreciated as well by the amateurs to the search for a certain originality than for all those who need an auxiliary whom they can rely on. |
Skull too broad.
English (United Kingdom)