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About Elk Run Kennels |
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 Lonn
was a big game research biologist/manager with the Idaho Department of Fish and
Game for 32 years, retiring in 2001 after 12 years as the State Big Game
Manager. Initially our hounds and now our Braque du Bourbonnais provided a
bridge between Lonn’s profession and his hunting avocation. Lonn has
always been a big game hunter, however, the need to add a bird dog became
apparent in the 1980’s as his interest in hunting upland game birds intensified.
Never one to take the easiest path, Lonn initiated a search for a pointer but
for something different. Looking beyond the established pointing breeds in
this country, our search focused on breeds best suited for the foot hunter.
An article in Dog World magazine in 1988
provided our first insight into the Braque du Bourbonnais. At
that time, it was estimated that there were no more than 1,000
Bourbonnais in existence. The French were trying to establish the
breed in the United States to help avoid the breed’s extinction.
The French were trying to establish the breed in the United States to help
avoid thebreed’s extinction. This article provided the impetus for us
to expand our research into the Braque du Bourbonnais. We
initiated a search for a
Bourbonnais
puppy, a search not rewarded until 1991 when we purchased Bessie (Phantom's
Belle LaBete)
from Beth Cepil’s first litter. This was only the second litter
whelped in this country. Bessie
formed the foundation for Elk Run Kennels, now
the oldest active Braque du Bourbonnais kennel in
North
America. We took a risk on the
Bourbonnais,
a risk worth taking. Over the years, our Bourbonnais have provided us
many rewards and memories. Gun Dog magazine featured Bessie in
their June/July 1993 issue (http://www.idfishnhunt.com/braque.htm).
Bessie was the first
Bourbonnais to pass the
North America Versatile
Hunting Dog Association's
(NAVHDA)
Utility Test, attaining a Prize II, scoring 200 points out of a possible
204. Bessie was NAVHDA Snake River Chapter's
Dog of the Year in 1994. In addition, in the spring of 1998, she
earned the first championship points for a
Bourbonnais in a National Shoot to Retrieve Association trial.
Above all else, Bessie has provided us many memories of filled bag limits
and points over most native upland birds found in the West.
Although obtaining a pointer as a hunting
partner was our original goal, this breed's qualities as pets were the
factors that most enamored us with the breed. They are first and foremost
simply nice, small, loving dogs. These qualities, and Bessie's sweet,
gentle disposition, keen desire to hunt, and intense need to please provided
the impetus for Elk Run Kennels to initiate a
Bourbonnais breeding program.
Our goal at Elk Run Kennels is to breed Braque
du Bourbonnais with superior hunting instincts and ability. Although
the
Bourbonnais is rare, our objective is to improve the breed not just produce
more Bourbonnais. Our breeding program is based on the premise that our
Bourbonnais must be equal to or better than the other versatile breeds
readily available to the North American hunter. Elk Run achieves the
realization of this goal by breeding only dogs that have proven
themselves in the field on wild birds and are NAVHDA hunt test qualified.
Even for the more familiar breeds, the production of puppies that mature
into proficient versatile hunting dogs; that are sound, healthy and conform
to a breed standard is, at best, a difficult task. A task compounded
in a substantial way for a rare breed by their rarity and even narrower gene
pool. Therefore, Elk Run Kennels imports all of its sires and dams
from the top performing kennels in France. All Elk Run Bourbonnais are
direct sons and daughters of proven and titled French field dogs. Elk
Run Kennels is not willing to settle for dogs diluted by two or more
generations removed from the better French dogs. Therefore, imports
maximize the gene pool and quality of dogs incorporated into our breeding
program. Since the breed’s near extinction in the 1970’s, the French
have rapidly improved the quality of the Braque du Bourbonnais. Elk
Run Kennels stays abreast of these improvements by strategically adding
select imports to our breeding program. Over the past 17 years, Elk Run has
imported ten dogs, seven of these met our criteria for breeding. The
decision to exclude three imports was both emotionally difficult and
expensive. These were not easy decisions but a prerequisite for the
success of our breeding program.
"Breed the best to the best" is a proven method
for success. We utilize hunt tests sanctioned by NAVHDA to provide an
objective and independent evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each
of our dogs. We encourage all of our puppy owners to participate in
the NAVHDA Natural Ability testing program.
NAVHDA hunt tests are noncompetitive events in which a three-judge panel evaluates "versatile hunting breeds" against a field performance standard. Standards designed to objectively evaluate versatile breeds bred to hunt, point, retrieve and track on both land and water. NAVHDA offers four levels of testing. The Natural Ability Test designed to evaluate the inherent natural abilities of young dogs and to gain insight into their potential usefulness as versatile gun dogs. This test rates seven important inherited abilities: nose, search, tracking, pointing, water, desire and cooperation. The Utility Preparatory Test measures the dogs’ development midway through their training toward the Utility Test. The Utility Test evaluates trained dogs in water and field, before and after the shot, as finished versatile hunting companions. The Invitational Test is the highest level of testing and only dogs who have achieved a Prize I in Utility are eligible. This limits the entry to exceptional dogs that have demonstrated a high level of training and test their skills in the advanced work (NAVHDA Aims, Programs, Test Rules June 1998).  All
Elk Run dogs must have passed NAVHDA's Natural Ability Test to be included
in our breeding program. Four of the
six dogs currently in our breeding program have earned Prize I Natural Ability titles
with scores of 110 points, or more, from a possible 112 points. In
addition, Elk Run has owned and trained the first six Bourbonnais that have
successfully earned a Prize I in NAVDHA Utility Test in the history of
the breed. Our "Rudy" (Moliere
du Pontelle de Maicou)
became the first Prize I Utility Bourbonnais in North America, qualifying
her for the NAVHDA Invitational Test. In September, 2004, our "Patty"
(VC
Patou du Pech du Cayrol)
became the second Prize I Utility Bourbonnais with a score of 201 points out
of a possible 204 points. Our Shorty (Sherrif
des Bois de la Mariniere),
Issy (Savane du Pontelle du Maicou)
and Gus (Vegas du Pontelle de
Maicou) scored
Prize I's the their Utility Tests with maximum scores of 204 points.
Dogs owned or bred by Elk Run have achieved many firsts for the breed.
Our most significant achievement was the obtainment of a Versatile Champion
title for Patty in September, 2005. The first Bourbonnais to
participate and the only Bourbonnais to obtain a Versatile Champion title in the
history of the breed.
Finally, Elk Run Kennels is committed to breeding sound, healthy dogs.
Surprisingly, despite the Bourbonnais' small size, hip dysplasia is an
issue within the breed. For hip evaluation, Elk Run Kennels utilizes
the PennHip program. PennHip is a measure of the laxity or tightness
of hips in dogs. PennHip is based on the premise that the
tighter the hips, the lower the probability of dysplasia. Elk Run
Kennels will only breed dogs with hips that are as tight as, or tighter
than, the top half of over 40,000 dogs, of all breeds, evaluated by this
technique.
We are determined to breed the finest bird dog
available. It is our intent to continue our study of this
breed in order to insure we produce the best Braque du Bourbonnais in
North America. In July of 2004 Ann and I traveled to France to
attend the Braque du Bourbonnais National Specialty and Field Trial in
La Cavalerie. This trip provided us with an opportunity to
see many Bourbonnais and to interact and learn from the top
Bourbonnais
breeders in France. In addition, this trip provided us an
opportunity to select two new prospects for our breeding program.
By traveling to France we were able to select only the best puppies
available from dogs that are proven field champions with superior
conformation and temperament. Click
for photos from our 2004 trip to France
Our goal is to produce pups with intense
hunting desire, proper temperament, correct conformation and soundness in
accordance with the FCI international Braque du Bourbonnais breed standard.
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Lonn Kuck 10399 Rolling Hills Dr. Star, ID 83669 208-286-9638 |
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