Anyone use Labs for quail hunting in AZ?

[buenhec]

I have a wonderful lab I am training for hunting Feasant and dove. I would love to use it for Quail but I see everyone uses Pointers over here in the desert. Would a Lab Retriever keep up? I also want a second dog and would love to get a fully trained lab, but my hunting partners keep telling me to get a pointer for quail.

Anyone with experience out there?

 

[ArmedBear]

Uh, what do you do with the lab on Pheasant? Just retrieving, or do you have it point the birds?

 

[buenhec]

We have been working a bit on having the Lab point then flush, so that I can hunt with pointers as well, its going slow but its going. I dont know if I will be able to go that way though, it takes lots of work.

 

[macFarlaine]

What type of Lab do you have ? I have a Drakes Head which is a golden but bred smaller,she works more like a spaniel.There is nothing more placid than a Lab...

 

[skinewmexico]

I know a lot of guys out here that use Labs. Works fine, if they're trained. for some reason Boykin Spaniels have become the trendy accessory for quail where I am though.

 

[macFarlaine]

Spaniels in the Uk have been over bred,silly dogs no patience like a Lab.

 

[buenhec]

Just a regular Lab Retriever, white, from a good bloodline.

 

[Art Eatman]

Scaled, or "blue" quail are run-run birds that won't hold to pointing. A day with them, and a pointer would need psychiatric help.

Retrievers are helpful. When a blue hits the ground he metamorphoses into a rock and becomes indistinguishable from other rocks. In any sort of thick cover, I never shoot doubles. Shoot, find the bird--hopefully--and then continue on.

 

[Skoghund]

Labs for retrieveing. Pointers for pointing. Spaniels for working cover. Horses for courses.
.

 

[ArmedBear]

There is nothing more placid than a Lab...

...which is why people don't use them for high-desert quail. That and their warm coat, which isn't exactly ideal for it. And try finding cholla spines in it.

Would a Lab Retriever keep up?

No way, no how. Nothing against labs, but that's like asking if it can outrace a greyhound.

We have a Vizsla. He's a pup, not hunting yet, but I can tell you he is completely different from a Labrador. He can already go for miles, at running pace the whole way, without stopping. I run for three miles, and he runs circles around me, up hills, down hills, ahead, behind, never stops. Then he wants more. He gets cold easily, but he has no undercoat and a very thin coat and doesn't overheat easily. He was born with the ability to point and "hunt-em-up" is what he naturally does when you turn him loose. Retrieves and swims fine, too.

Labs for retrieveing. Pointers for pointing. Spaniels for working cover.

Or just get a versatile hunting breed and it will do all of those things just fine. Only thing a VHD doesn't want to do is sit still in a cold duck blind. That's what Labs are for.

http://www.navhda.org/

Don't get me wrong, I like Labs. I'm a big fan of my overly-affectionate, super-athlete 35 MPH Pit Bull Terrier, too, but she won't ever be a bird dog. She has beaten labs in swimming and dock-jumping competitions, but she's a bit hard-mouthed. Different dogs are bred differently, and are built differently. They have different muscle fiber type ratios, different tolerance for cold/heat, different coats, different levels of endurance, different mindsets, different abilities.

I've seen a Lab or two on a trail here in the heat. My wife and I once risked our own health hiking in the hot sun by giving all the water we were carrying to someone's Black Lab, which looked like it was near collapsing from dehydration and heatstroke. Damn irresponsible dog owners piss me off. It's up to humans to use our judgment; our loyal dogs will follow us just about anywhere, even if it kills them.

Be VERY VERY careful using a Lab as an upland dog in the desert sun! Or just don't do it.

 

[skidooman]

I use my labs for everything, EXCEPT DUCK. I dont hunt ducks, dont want to hunt ducks. I hunt quail, chukar, pheasant, dove, huns (Hungarian Partridge) and sagehen, all with my labs. One of my dogs is getting old, so he goes on easy flatland hunts only. But my pup, (year and a half) is a machine. Runs for days, hot or cold weather, just have to keep him hydrated, as like any dog. He doesnt point, but you can tell when he gets "birdy", then you call him back a bit and step up your pace. Dont get me wrong, I dont have anything against pointers, I have hunted with them and a good pointer is an amazing thing to watch. I just prefer my labs. Both are big block headed blacks.

 

[macFarlaine]

Never stereotype a dog nowadays,my Lab won't point but it will hold on a bird (grouse) it will retrieve from dry to a 1/2 mile swim,she will also work hard cover...what a dog what a friend...

 

[sixgunner455]

I use a Brittany, and have hunted over some GSPs as well. I've been to some field trials and seen GSPs, Vizslas, Brittanies, Pointers, and all do well in the desert on Mr. Quail. One of the heavy-bodied, show-type Labs, I wouldn't even think about running like they have to do. One of the lighter, racier dogs, would probably be fine as a flusher, or if you have a pointing Lab, you'd do fine, to.

 

[ArmedBear]

what a dog what a friend...

Absolutely!

That's why I'd advise being very careful not to kill one's best friend by running it to death in the Arizona desert. It's 86 and sunny, 11% humidity today, November 19, in Phoenix. If you figure you can lug around a gallon of ice water while chasing quail in rough and steep country, then go for it.

I wouldn't take the Vizsla duck hunting in January in Wisconsin, either.

Upland dogs don't just point. They run for miles and miles, and occasionally point. It's not the pointing that is a problem, of course. It's the running for miles and miles -- in the heat, here in the Southwest. Only some dogs are built for it.

 

[sixgunner455]

Armedbear, that's what I use my Camelback for. Hate the thing, except for hunting. Dog runs over, squirt some water in her mouth and on her face till she's done lapping it up, and then she takes off running again.