Bird Dogs?

labradoodle :) jk. well im think that a GSP would probaly be the best. but maybe someone else would know

i have brittanies for my upland bird hunting needs

First ya gotta figure out if you want a pointer or a flusher. Also, is upland bird hunting all you will plan to do? Best advice I can tell is do a lot of research before purchasing. Some dogs make great hunters but not the best pets. Others the other way around. I'd say the best all around bird dog for all kinds of hunting would be a lab. Not the best in upland but great for duck and geese. Most spaniels are marginal for duck and geese and are pretty good to excellent for upland. Never saw a German shorthair hunting ducks and geese, but excellent for upland. I'm a bit partial to brittnays as I own one but don't hunt her. No birds in MS, but she would have been an outstanding bird dog. Plus, they make excellent pets.

First off I was told to make sure you know this was from Zatarain6's wife.

So here goes.

Andy I think your the one that needs to do your reseach on breeds.

The GSP was bred to hunt on land or over water for fur or feathered creatures. Besides their pointing and retriveing of game they are also skilled trackers, watchdogs and companions.

The Brittany though mostly used for upland hunting here in the States. Is also used for waterfawl in their home land of France. This breed will point, flush and retrive.

Both breeds are known as versatile gun dogs for their hunting skills and tarrein in which they can hunt. They can both also make great pets in any kind of setting as long as they get the proper exercise.

The other two breeds that fall in that catagory, but I wouldn't recommend since you don't want a GSP are the Weimaraner and the Vizsla. Of course there are all the spaniel breeds and you also have some non-AKC breeds too that you could check out. Some resemble the Brittany in looks and style.

From my experince with these breeds though. I would go with a Brittany then the GSP, Lab, Weimaraner and then the Vizsla. I would stay away from the spaniels unless you go with the more rare ones. Just because of the springer rage and cancer in the Springers and the fear bitting cockers. Plus all the hair cuts they need to make them field accesable and then the ear infections. They are great flushers though.

here in sw kansas i have hunted behind german short hairs which i have now! used to own black labs, golden retrievers. good dogs, great family companions! if you wanting upland game dogs, i would get a good german short hair, i love mine!!
if you get a pup make sure their parents were good hunters, to me bllodlines are one thing, but performance of parents is much more important!!!!!!!!!!!
my two cents!! :thumb
diggerdave

There are a lot of different breeds that will do what you want. First decide on flushing or pointing. I have used and owned a wide varity of breeds over the years and am partial to GSP's, E. Pointer's and E. Setter's. I've worked with and or hunted over Britt's, Vislas and Gordons. I have judged in hunt tests and trials all these breeds and Wimeraners and Irish setters. Of all these breeds the only one I would exclude is the Weimaraner. But I'd also say to be very careful where you go for an Irish Setter, you should look for the Red Setter or the Red & white Setter.

But as this appear's to be your first, the best kept secret in pointing dog's is, in my opinion, the Visla. They are good companions, they look good on birds, they are easy to train and they make great family dog's. Also they don't run anywhere near th range some of the other breeds run. should you pick one of the other's and get a runner, it will blow your mind.

If flushing dog is it, labs work, English Springer are great and I have never even seen one but have been reading a lot of good report's on the Boykin Spaniel. Having had both labs and Springer's I'll confine my remarks to them. If your going to throw in waterfowl in cold weather, my first choice would be the Lab. Take out that and my choice is the Springer. Either might prove a handfull to train but both are generally concidered very biddable. My feeling is both are generally that way but, you have to figure out how to reigh it in range wise. Remember a flusher need's to be hunting with in gun range all the time. The Springer is much quicker than a lab and my experience is they'll push a bird out much better than a lab. One problem you might encounter with the lab is that the pointing trait is being looked for in a lot of them. If it is not strong, you could be left with a flusher that will let birds run rather than put them up. a springer put's them up by charging them and taking away the run. My choice for an upland dog in a flusher is hands down the springer. But, I have been intertaining the idea of a Boykin very strongly and they do appear to be worth looking into. Go to the American Boykin spaniel society web site.

If I was to recomend a dog for mostely chuckar I would suggest a weimeraner, the one I had was the best for chuckar because they will point to let you know your getting close before making the final move in on the covey, they are also great for pheasants and even better for quail!

Don,
I've hunted with a guy that had a Boykin. Amazing to watch that dog work. It never tired and seemed a bit upset when we quit hunting. Looks just like a chocolate brown brittnay.

i picked an english setter bred for grouse hunting and the dog AMAZES me on chukars.

Setter's are AWSOME........my 35lb. Setter is a big open dog.....don't let her size fool ya....she can out do most dogs twice her size...I would go with a Setter

i hyave never heard of a setter do u have a pic

My father-in-law has owned a number of GSP's over the past 30 years and every one seems to be better than the last...

I decided to follow suit and bought a solid liver colored male pup two years ago.

A well trained GSP can't be beat for hunting chuckars in my opinion IF you have the time to exercise them REGULARLY. I am talking twice a day regularly. The other trick I think is to get a female. My male is so stubborn and ranges so far that I had to purchase a shock collar. The shock collar has made a tremendous difference in the dogs awareness and concentration, but my male is still nowhere near as easy to hunt behind as the females my father-in-law owns. I will have to give my pup a couple more years and see how he turns out, but lets just say that I will be in good shape after chasing him up through chukar country.

I know it's a little late but for what it's worth I went for the wiemaraner and she was pointing&retriveing at three months old!I've been very happy!!!