Choosing a dog breed
79Ford
11/18/08 10:09pm
So I have been looking into getting a hunting dog for quite a while and am undecided on what breed to get. I have always associated labs with duck/goose hunting and spaniels, pointers and setters with upland game. Is there a dog breed out there that does both well?
17,418
that said, flushers are really fun to hunt behind too....
heck I dont think you can go wrong with any dog, as long as you get one! lol
If the ducks are a must then you should probably stick with labs and chessies, GWP's can be quite versitile, but the ones I've been around didn't do excellent at either upland or waterfoul. Its always a compromise.
I've seen some english pointers that were awesome duck dogs until the water got really cold, which should be a consideration.
why do I ramble so much?
peace out brutha
Cory
As far as having a pointer or flusher, it really depends on the terrain you hunt. I been in some high, thick stuff that pointers would be useless in. You would never know they were on point. On the other hand, there is nothing like seeing a dog on point, with other dogs honoring. Just one of the very tough choices we, as hunters, must make.
In a perfect world, we would all have two dogs. One for upland and one for waterfowl. Of course, we would bring both dogs hunting regardless of what we were hunting...lol
the avatar is a picture of her when she was a pup.
I would like to make a suggestion to anybody that is breeding labs, considering buying a lab, or that knows someone that does breed labs. I'll keep it brief in this thread, and I'll be posting something soon that will bring the reality of this closer home so to speak.
There is a disease called CNM that affects the Labrador breed that is fairly obscure, but is easily preventable. It isn't new, but the DNA test for the presence disease has only been available for about 4 years. Go to
TEST ANY PUPPY THAT YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING! TEST ANY BROOD B*THCHES THAT YOU OWN! INSIST ON SEEING THE TEST RESULTS FROM ANY BREEDER TO ENSURE THEIR DOGS (BOTH PARENTS) HAVE BEEN TESTED!
If this isn't brought under control soon, the Labrador breed is going to be seriously affected in the short term, and possibly destroyed in the long term. This disease is easy to test for, but a lot of very well known breeders are burying their collective heads in the sand so that they can continue to breed their dogs. I personally know of breeders that know their dogs are carriers, but they continue to breed them and make money. They are spreading the disease and they know it!
More later and on another thread... sorry for the rant.
It takes many many generations to develope a breed of dog. What those are is really mutt's. When you get a pup from one you have no way of being reasonably sure of what trait's will surface. Infact the pup could be substandard on the trait's of both. My impression of what is happening is someone is creating a breed similar to ladadodles and goldendodles, a designer breed. If you want to know why, the designer breeds I've seen are bringing $1000+ and can't even be registered anywhere. The only proof of purity is the breeders say so and he/she is already running a scam for the money. I haven't seen even one that was guarenteed to hunt nor have I seen one guarenteed health. Lab's are famous for Hip Dysplasia. For that matter I have only seen one breeder of the pointing labs that advertises tham as pointing labs that will guarentee they will point. Rather what many say is they have a good possibility of pointing!
Very well put.
I agree
Ya as far as paying more for a mixed breed ya whats the point in that but still could make for a good dog I would deffinetely give one a chance if I had the opportunity, I dont think Id be willing to pay for it though not being AKC registered.
I agree
Ya as far as paying more for a mixed breed ya whats the point in that but still could make for a good dog I would deffinetely give one a chance if I had the opportunity, I dont think Id be willing to pay for it though not being AKC registered.
As far as these dogs breed I believe they are not from german shorthairs I think they come from a line of english pointers which in my opinion is a better choice of mix!!
There is NO WAY that mixing 2 breeds together (labs/pointers) is going to do ANYTHING to improve either of those breeds. Nothing. Nada. All you have done is pollute the gene pool. Somewhere down the road the mutts will be bred to a purebred lab or pointer and the gene pool is further diluted.
Sure, all dog breeds were started somewhere.And it was only through very selective breeding, culling (killing) of the undesirable pups and very strict breeding controls that led to what we see as recognized breeds today. I have no way of knowing what selective processes these designer dog breeders are using, but my gut tells me that the only real motivation that they have is making money. I doubt they would kill a pup that they could sell for $500 to $1000 just because the color wasn't right.
I'll stick to the purebred pups. If I want a dog that points, I'll buy one of those. If I want a waterfowl dog, I'll buy one of those. Sure, some breeds are versatile, but any serious upland hunter is going to buy a pointer. That's what they were bred to do. Any serious waterfowler is going to buy a water dog. That's what they were bred to do. Mixing the two isn't going to produce the perfect all around puppy.
And Im pretty sure the people that have been breeding these dogs are pretty selective on the dogs they choose as far as ive seen these people are professional dog breeders that are trying to get the best out of both breeds for the point of having a good pointer and water dog . who ever turned these dogs into a designer breed and charging for them?
And what is culling and who in there right mind would do this to a pup before its even had a chance to show its true characteristics Im pretty sure that aint the way they would go about as far as ive seen these dogs look to be great dogs who cares if it isnt akc registered as long as it does the job, right?
Ive never been a fan of mixed breeds but as far as ive seen it dont make a difference in their performance it just looks to be a good dog for both worlds,maybe even better than some of the purebreds who knows till you actually see or try for yourself!!
Using your logic, I could ask for a lab that I want to weigh about 35 lbs to hunt out of a small boat. I could just take my lab and breed him to a smaller dog and magically get a Labrador retriever of smaller stature that still maintains all of the positive traits of a lab, correct? Nope. Doesn't work that way.
Also, for the recognized breeds to get where they are today, hundreds of pups were culled until the breed was reliable. That's how it works. Do some research. It isn't nice to think about, but that's the way it was done.
Maybe you and I just see differently on what a "good dog" is capable of. I have pretty high standards when it comes to my dog and their work. I've hunted over dogs that were supposed to be good working dogs and had a miserable day. I've hunted over my dogs with friends that tell me that they have never hunted over a better dog. Mine aren't perfect, but I have opened peoples eyes to what good dog work really is.
Training wise, if you can get your dog to a Senior Hunter level in the Hunt Test games, or a QAA level in the Field Trial games, you'll have a dog better than what most hunters have ever had the pleasure of hunting over. The majority of people that I know never spend the time to train to that level and most aren't even aware that their dogs are capable of being trained to that level.
Good luck with whatever dog breed you choose. But please don't try to convince me that a cross between a lab and a pointer has magically created the all around perfect breed. It just doesn't work that way, at least not reliably. It takes years of breeding discipline and years of culling out the undesirable traits to get there.
This doesn’t really relate to water fowl but you can’t go wrong with a Border collie..
Here’s my hunting hound. (she likes to smile)
She is an awesome hunting dog. My brother and I would go coon hunting in the river bottoms and she would put my brother’s hounds to shame. She is feisty with coons. Cuts tracks great. Last winter she cut a coyote track and took off. I saw her running like wild fire chasing the yote through cedars until I called her off.
She hunts mice and chipmunks all day long in my back yard. Very smart and quick learners. Very obedient and mindful.
Rabbit hound also. Addicted to playing ball. Last summer I was curious to see if she would fetch a bird after I shot it… Sure enough when it fell from the sky I said go get it. She didn’t even hesitate. Brought it back with a few feathers missing though..
Great dog for sure..
That is funny cause I grew up around border collies and Austrailian shepherds my entire life. I have an Aussie right now name Bocephus. He smiles too!!!! lol
Anyway they are very very intelligent and I have had a few that would hunt like that too but most of them were very gun shy since they have very sensitive ears. Anywho Continue with the hunting dog posts lol