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 Lonn and Ann Kuck of Star,
Idaho own Elk Run Kennels.
Dogs have been an important part of our lives since 1975. Bloodhounds
initially captured our interest. However, since 1991, our Braque du
Bourbonnais have become an integral part of our lives.
 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 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 only four Bourbonnais that have successfully earned
a Prize I in NAVDHA
Utility Test. 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. And in June, 2005 our Shorty (Sherrif des Bois de la
Mariniere) and Issy (Savane du Pontelle du Maicou) both 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 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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