Which hunting dog?

[Felonious Monk]

My son and I are getting interested in small game hunting, up to and including Turkey for now (maybe deer and larger game down the road). Primary targets will be rabbit and squirrel, dove, quail, grouse, pheasant, chukar, duck.

What's the best dog to be a GREAT companion that will ALSO be an asset to hunting the aforementioned game?

FelMo

 

[dakotasin]

i'm a pretty big fan of labs.
they do well w/ both my young daughters, and absolutely hunt their hineys off. they are a flushing dog - though some do point, that shouldn't be expected. i prefer to hunt over flushers, but some prefer to hunt over pointers. if a pointer is your thing, i'll defer to someone who hunts over pointers - the only pointers i hunted over were poorly trained, and made for unenjoyable experiences.

they are a fairly good sized dog, so if it is to be indoors, that needs to be considered (both our labs are indoor/outdoor dogs - in about 70% of the time, out about 30%).

 

[HSMITH]

I like the labs too.

 

[birddog]

Monk,

I have a springer / brittany cross (10 years old) and a black lab (9 years old) and have hunted all of the above mentioned species with both of them. Everyone said "don't hunt rabbits with your bird dog" or "don't let your duck dog hunt pheasants". I say BS.

::shamelss plug mode on:: Check out my book "Thursday's Bird" (Amazon.com or Safaripress.com" if you want to read about some of my dogs' exploits.

Good luck!

Joel

Edited to add: I've never hunted big game with them!

 

[kjaniak]

I vote springer spaniel as well. I have one and have hunted over another. Great hunting dogs and great companions.

 

[client32]

Everyone knows that the best hunting dog breed is the one they own.

I read an article recently that gave some suggestions on dog breeds. You picked your hunting activities and they listed breeds that have proved themselves for that purpose. I think it was in American Hunter either Dec. or Jan. I think you might find a website that can help guide your choice like that.

I have a weimaraner. He has been a great family pet, and didn't too bad hunting pheasant last season.

 

[kimbernut]

Brittanys

Are class acts. They hunt close and have a heart as big as Texas for the hunt and their masters.

 

[buzz meeks]

kimbernut- I need to buy a Florida Brittany. My Montana-bred Brittany runs BIG. I know they are supposed to be close-working dogs and that's why I bought one. I was deeply surprised the first time we did any off-leash work and the last thing I saw was my dog's liver-colored hinder going over the far distant horizon.

I will agree with you though that they are a class act. And my dog's hunting drive is intense. Great house pet, great companion, low maintenance given proper exercise and training. Brittanies are well worth a look. BTW, my dog and I now work well together thanks to the TriTronics family of e-collars.

 

[charby]

If you are looking at waterfowl and upland birds, I'd say get a lab. Hunting dogs do take a lot of time, much more than the family dog. Make sure you get your pup from a good breeder, I know the $$$ up front is hard to swallow, but in the long run you'll be happier with what you spent. You'll get a dog that more than likely won't have eye, hip problems or other genetic diseases.

If you don't have the time to train it yourself, I would recommend sending the dog to a trainer too. If you go with a lab they are pretty forgiving in the training area. Also no dog will ever compare to your first dog, especially if you train it yourself.

Charby

 

[Jalexander]

Here's aother vote for the Brittany. They're good dogs, and not too hard-headed. Otherwise look for a Pointer from a reputable breeder. I don't have much experience with Spaniels since we always kept Pointers and one Brittany when I was a kid, but as long as you avoid Cockers I imagine you'd be okay. I'm sure that some folks here love their Cocker Spaniels, but I've known more than a few and none of them were set up to be good bird dogs.

James

 

[Felonious Monk]

My dad's got a cocker spaniel. Danged stupidest, most hyper peeing on the floor idiot dog I've ever seen. I'd sooner get a poodle than a cocker.

I AM getting REAL interested in the Brittanys.
Anybody know breeders in SE USA?

 

[Jalexander]

My dad's got a cocker spaniel. Danged stupidest, most hyper peeing on the floor idiot dog I've ever seen. I'd sooner get a poodle than a cocker.

Ah, so I was preaching to the choir. Good to know.

Here's a couple Brittany breeders for you, but I think your best bet would be to ask the folks at some of the hunting clubs and such that THR members recommended in your previous thread.

http://www.puppydogweb.com/kennels/brittany_cory.htm

http://biebelbrittanys.com/

http://members.aol.com/volbrittany/orloff.html

Good luck. And danged if this doesn't make me want another Brittany.

James

 

[kimbernut]

Buzz

Don't misunderstand. Florida Brittanys need a bit of e-collar guidance in the early years as well but very little- they are extremely intelligent and have great memory- a little bit goes a long way. Occasionally when they get a little full of themselves all you need to do is show the collar and their memories are instantly renewed.
F. Monk, our last brittany and pointer died 8 years ago- you have brought back a flood of memories with this thread. Might just be time to start over again with my Grandson. Thanks

 

[buzz meeks]

Felonious- I hate to say anything negative about the Brittany since I have one and love the breed to death. I will probably not own anything else. But I have to ask how much waterfowling you intend to do. Like I said, my Brittany is a Montana dog and can take sub-zero cold when she's working. But I don't think she could take hours on end sitting in a blind in cold weather (anything below ten degrees or so). The Britts I know just don't seem to have the body mass or hair to handle it. But maybe that sort of cold isn't even a factor where you are?

Also, I don't know what kind of retrieval work you need done, but I hesitate to send my dog into some of the powerful rivers we have here. She's a good swimmer but the Missouri and Yellowstone could overwhelm her pretty easily, I fear. I wouldn't hesitate to send a stout lab or a Chessie into the same rivers. But if it's just farm ponds or slow-moving rivers, have at it.

Having just laid out everything that's wrong with the Brittany, I would still suggest you give them a look. They are very versatile- superb on upland game, good enough on waterfowl- and a sensible first gun dog. They take training well and perhaps just as important, they can unlearn mistakes YOU made in their training.

 

[buzz meeks]

kimbernut- Don't take this as gospel because I've only worked this one dog and that for only about four years. But, here in Montana, we have a pretty active NASTRA field-trial community. A lot of breeders are starting to turn out Britts that can run with the leggier breeds like English Setters and GSPs. Some of these Britts can also be just as hard-headed as their English and German counterparts. My mistake when shopping breeders was assuming that a field trial pedigree was automatically a good thing. Now I am not so sure.

Also keep in my mind that my perspective is limited. I am new to this. I was a novice dog handler who took ownership of a highly talented but also highly strung dog. Mistakes were made. But now we have a wonderful relationship and have already had two really productive hunting seasons. Now if I could just get her to stay by my side when I fish...

I still say that the Brittany is a wonderful breed. Like others have said, just research your breeders carefully and learn all you can about the breed. Try to view the parents and better still, try to hunt over the parents. That will tell you all you need.

 

[Felonious Monk]

buzz_meeks --

But I don't think she could take hours on end sitting in a blind in cold weather (anything below ten degrees or so). The Britts I know just don't seem to have the body mass or hair to handle it. But maybe that sort of cold isn't even a factor where you are?

I'm 3 1/2 hours north of the Gulf of Mexico. Central Alabama. No problem w/cold here!!!

Also, most bodies of water on hunting lands around here are going to be farm ponds, at the very most a small lake.

Brittanys are sounding like the perfect breed for us!
I DO love labs, because the home guardian factor is covered by their size, but that's not really a part of the equation for me in choosing a dog, it would be a nice "add-on".

 

[12 Volt Man]

I am an English Pointer man myself. My dogs compete in NSTRA trials and hunt with me. They are not for everyone. I have seen some fantastic Brittney's, they hunt with a lot of heart and love to please. They are great bird dogs, and great family dogs. I do not know how they will perform on the other types of game you have listed. ie. Rabbits and Squirrels. Dogs that are bred to be more versatile for all types of game would include the German Shorthair Pointer, German Wirehair Pointer, and the German Draathar. You may want to take a look at those breeds too. A good website for info is www.versatiledogs.com .

I actually had a 9 week old Brittney pup in my possession over the weekend. I was doing a favor for a buddy of mine who breeds them. He had a pup that needed to get from Utah to Florida. We were together at a field trial and I work right by the airport. I offered to save him a 300 mile round trip to the airport. So I took the pup with me Friday night. We had that pup at our house till Monday morning. That little pup followed my 4 year old daughter around everywhere she went. I liked this because my 4 year old is scared of my Pointers. They are too wound up for her.

Here is a link to Flying J Kennels. His dog "Buddy" was sired by "Nolan's Last Bullet". That would be a great dog to have a pup from.
http://flyingjkennel.netkennel.com/default.asp?mnuid=176&HDR=Home

 

[St. Gunner]

My dad will shoot me for writing this since he raised, trained, and ran a hunting camp with English pointers.... But really look into German Shorthairs. We had one when I was a kid and i've been around a few since and they are great dogs, sorta an in between of Britts and Pointers. Stay away from field trial dogs if you want to have a walk hunt companion. Look at German Shorthairs around areas with High goose populations, those are some of the original looking dark liver dogs and they have more retrieve in them. I ran across some at Bass Pro in Katy a couple years ago and if I had $350 in my pocket extra one would have come home with me. I think they are truly an all around dog they'll do upland birds with ease and are great at retrieves. Dad used to use the one we had to retrieve ducks and geese on the Missouri river back home.

Just remember Germans are supposed to be liver colored and dark, not all these white spots and crap some of them have today(My personal belief they crossed em with pointers to get more range for field trials.) Other perks with Shorthairs is they can be trained to blood trail real easy, they are great house dogs, and they are protective of their family.

 

[gunner03]

Brittanys are good,had one once.Labs are great if your in water.The best dog I ever had was a HUNGARIAN VIZSLA!!! They love familys and if you watch the bloodlines,are outstanding hunters.Carefull though some lines are bread for pets.The good ones are hi-strung,but very smart.

 

[Stand_Watie]

My first dog. He was a beagle/lab mix and would hunt anything that I tried to hunt. He'd point pats perfectly, run a rabbit all day and would not only tree squirrels, but would follow them from tree to tree by eyesight rather than standing stupidly at the base of the tree that the squirrel went up like a lot of dogs. Absolutely perfect disposition for a family dog. A naturally soft mouth - we even taught him to fetch our cat.