Survey

[Anonymous]

I conducted an informal survey of the best hunting dog.

100% of the respondents declared, "German Short-Haired Pointer."

The fact that there was only one respondent, and that he is obviously biased must be taken into consideration.

 

[big6x6]

Is that Rocky?

 

[Anonymous]

That's him. I suspect Rodney the yellow lab snapped the picture. 8)

 

[DeerNut]

Randy, Them's Fightin' words.....everyone knows labs are the best!

 

[Anonymous]

You'll have to take it up with the surveyed party.

As far as being smarter than a pheasant, he's the best I've ever had. He has no concept of "stop hunting."

 

[VENISONEATR]

I'm pretty sure a GSP won the big dog show in Madison Square Garden this year!!! I forget the name of the show but I know it's the real big one. I don't know if that's a good thing for the breed...??? the breed becomes popular with people who have no intentions of hunting their dogs and weakening the gene pool. Nothing worse than seeing a hunting dog that has no drive other than to be a pot licker...
I am in no way implying that your dog fits into that catagory Randy.
My parents bred Golden retrievers when I was a kid. Some of the people interested in getting a pup both worked full time and lived in apartments with no yard. My Mom wouldn't sell them a pup. They never really could understand why...

Jim B.

 

[Redclub]

As much as I love to hunt over german Pointers. They are very limited in what they can do. They are not real cold tolerant or good in water.
A Lab will do it all.
Redclub

 

[DeerNut]

German short hairs are fantastic dogs, and I can't believe I'm admitting this, but the best pheasant dog I've seen was a Short-hair! Dam honest up-bringing. My hunt test buddies better not hear about this.

A Lab will do it all.

you tell 'em Redclub

 

[Anonymous]

As much as I love to hunt over german Pointers. They are very limited in what they can do. They are not real cold tolerant or good in water.

Rocky can't type worth a darn, and he is also clueless when given a metric socket set.
:?

 

[ABinMD]

German Wire Hairs?

 

[Anonymous]

Missed that one.

Dogs are individuals, it makes no sense to generalize a breed.

My brothers hunt with golden retrievers, their style-- not mine. More boot-lickers than want I want in a pheasant dog, at least 2 out of the 3 are.

My Dad likes Brittany's-- and the one he's been hunting with for the last 10 years or so, Frisco, is a dandy . . . just an amazing nose.

I hunted with Jack, a Llewellyn setter, for quite a few years-- and he did a fine job as well.

Queenie, another GSP, lived to be 19-- and she still could find pheasants right up until the end.

Rocky is the hardest working bird dog I've had-- his nose is always working, and he gets wound up and stays wound up. All it takes is for him to see a shotgun going to the car, and he does backflips-- absolutely goes goofy with excitement. He must think he's going to be left behind, but he never has been. :?

He's also fast, and can cover a lot of ground with those long frog legs he's got, and has been known to kill coyotes. I know he can do better than 30 mph, because I was doing thirty mph on the way to check some 300 yard targets-- and, he passed me. :shock:

My Dad used to hunt with a trained cat. It was a mutually beneficial relationship-- but, most people have trouble believing this one.

 

[Loggy]

Nice lookin Dog there Randy.

 

[Redclub]

Well I feel you can generalize breeds and the have individuals in those breeds. A german shorthair can definitely find pheasants and have a lot of drive. Some will even bring the game back. I had several and will likely get another when I get to be 70 or so(not too far away). I changed to all Labs when I had to stop hunting because of cold wet weather hunting grouse in Northern Wi. Two dogs went into hypothermia and had too be carried out. That would never happen with a quality lab.
I got a Springer when I was in 7 th grade and had until all 5 of my kids were born. I loved that dog, Hunted everything with it.I thought at the time it was the greatest dog that ever lived.
Some breeds might be better at certain game than a lab but none will retrieve ducks or geese as good as a lab and still do a great job on upland game. What I am talking about are the top dogs of each breed not the backyard bred variety. Its kinda like a 30-06 that will do good job on all big game but there are better calibers for each game
Redclub

 

[Anonymous]

Well Redcub,

I'm afraid I could not possibly disagree more on a variety of levels. Breeds are exactly what they are, dogs are only what we have forced them to become. It is no dogs fault to be as they were bred to be-- it is our job to understand what our dogs are capable of, and what they are not. We tend to ask far, far more of our dogs than we do of ourselves.

The failure of some hunters to have a clue was no more obvious than in the 2003 South Dakota opening weekend of pheasant hunting. Over a hundred hunting dogs died that weekend, all because of the owner's ignorance. Hundreds and hundreds more were permanently damaged.

Neither heat stroke or hypothermia "just happens" to a dog-- the owner lets it happen, and ignores the limitations of the animal. A good bird dog will hunt himself to death if allowed to-- on that sad weekend in South Dakota, far too many dogs were allowed to do just that. :x

 

[Doohan]

Cool dog Randy!

I've never had a hunting dog.. My yard is too small to allow one! ( at least in my eyes )

Currently, I have a Jack Russel... he is a GREAT dog!

He doesnt listen too well.. but he is an excellent companion and a loyal little fellow.

We have an under ground fence, it didnt work well for him... worked fine for my Dobe and her Pug... but scooter doesnt seem to care about getting shocked silly! Last year, he blew through it to chase a Ford Ranger and was run over. Crushed his pelvis into many pcs.. we were going to put him down but the vet encouraged us to nurse him back to health!

Today he is active as ever.. he does have a slightly noticable limp.. but it doesnt slow him down one bit! Now we keep him chained ... I really hate that!

10# of T-N-T & TEETH! ... that is scooter!

 

[alleyyooper]

I like all kinds of dogs and figure each one has it's place. I have 4 dogs, their place is with me as much as possiable. The Visla is darn good with a good nose. The springer is a harded male but a good hunter if it is just him. My chocolate labby is a great retriver, she is getting rather old at 11. My yellow labby, abuse pound pup just wants to sit on the hill and watch the birds ad such by the creek and be petted a lot. I can do that much for her, I like to sit on the hill too.

Some day I want a pointing labby.

Al

 

[versdog]

When I grew up I always had E. setters. Always great dogs but after winter of 79-80 had to look for a new game in town as the upland bird Population was in the crapper. I started to waterfowl & deer hunt.

The bird pops came back some. I hunted with a large Munsterlander. Was impressed with the versatility of the dog. I had flashbacks of picking burs out the coat of the setters and thought if I was going to be looking a new breed of dog? It came down to the GSP and the Drahthaar. I would have got a GSP until I saw a Draht in action at a utility test. 2 days of testing and all of the dogs passed. They did everything that I hunted plus more.

My dad called them junk dogs (old bird dog man) until the day that he knocked down a rooster. He thought he killed it but the dog ran by him and retreived the bird about 200 yards away, all in veiw because of the hilltop we were on. All he could say was you need to get a pup out of that dog. So I have my old dog still and starting a new pup. They hunting ducks geese, upland birds and anything that I do. I haven't had one get cold yet either.

Randy I agree you must know your dog. I really learned that when training the dog to blood track for the utiltiy. You have to know when your dog gets off the track and starts tracking something else.

Anyway I have babbled enough. Just love hunting with dogs.

 

[nugbuk]

I'm pretty sure a GSP won the big dog show in Madison Square Garden this year!!! I forget the name of the show but I know it's the real big one. I don't know if that's a good thing for the breed...??? the breed becomes popular with people who have no intentions of hunting their dogs and weakening the gene pool. Nothing worse than seeing a hunting dog that has no drive other than to be a pot licker...

Jim B.

That is why there are always DK or DD clubs. :wink: