Why A Blue Picardy Spaniel?

I get asked this question so much!  How ever did I find a Blue Picardy and why did I choose one?  I have had a very long love affair with dogs and have worked with many breeds-mostly working and herding.  I have always been attracted to beautiful dogs, but dogs that were intelligent and fun to train and watch move.  It's one of my most favorite things to take my dogs out early and watch them running the fields in the early morning mist--such a fascinating scene of poetry in motion to me.

My family had just said good bye to our Portuguese Water Dog after a long and happy life and I wanted a pup for my then nine year old son.  At that time, I was married and the only dog my husband and I could ever agree on was an English Setter.  I love sleek, beautiful dogs and he preferred scruffy, rough lookers.  But somehow, we both liked the English.  My research on the breed wasn't surprising:  the "show" English were beautiful but lacked sound bodies and minds and were too large....in the 90 pound range.  The "field" setters were sound physically and smaller, but lacked the beauty I wanted and were too intense on hunting to make the companion I was seeking for my son.  I wanted a beautiful dog, middle sized, easy to train, lovable, athletic and sweet.  I wanted a "safe" dog for my son's first dog of his very own-nothing with aggression or too hyper.  And I wanted a breed that hadn't been ruined with poor breeding policies or that had gained such popularity that again, the breed had suffered from being bred for profit only.

So I spent many, many hours at the library looking at rare breed dog books and happened upon the Blue Picardy Spaniel.  From the photograph and the description, it was exactly what I was looking for. But when I started to research for breeders and puppies online I quickly saw that it wasn't going to be easy to get one!  I didn't want to spend years on a waiting list!  But good things always seem to line up for me concerning these dogs and I found a breeder in Canada who happened to have a litter right then and available pups!  I was on the plane toot sweet and brought home our first Blue Picardy Spaniel.  I still have such a vivid memory of placing that sleepy puppy into the waiting arms of my sleepy son and knew I had made the perfect choice as they melted into one another!

I've never been disappointed.  The Blue Picardy Spaniel has proven to be extremely sweet and tolerant of kid energy.  Easy to train because they bond so tightly to their humans and want to please.  Beautiful to look at, nothing too fancy and overdone, but a natural beauty and elegance I really enjoy.  Easy care coats, and a nice medium size, (my biggest dog has been about 68 pounds and most are in the 55 pound area).  And extremely adaptable and easy to live with.  They love to retrieve in water and on land, swim, hike, chase birds at the park, snuggle up with you as you read or follow the kids around hoping for a crumb....they just jump on board with whatever is going on.  They have a very uplifting attitude and are a happy, joyful presence in the house.  They love activity and games and are great for people who do obedience or agility work.  They get along well with all the other critters and people and have enough of a natural instinct that people are very happy with training them for hunting.  They are this incredible mixture of powerful, athletic body and sweet, gentle soul.  Amazing.

THAT'S why a Blue Picardy Spaniel.