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Post by wesb81219 on Aug 27, 2016 17:38:18 GMT -5
Which do you fellas prefer for a bird dog. I do some dove hunting and would like to get into some waterfowl as well. thinking about a dog to train starting off with doves while I begin to aquire some equipment for waterfowl and find a place to hunt them.
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Post by esshup on Aug 27, 2016 18:21:07 GMT -5
If you are going to hunt waterfowl, I definitely would go Lab. Even Doves, what you want is a non-slip retriever, and a GSP is not that. A GSP possibly could be trained for that type of work, but they don't have the warmer coat for wet, cold weather work. A Yellow Lab would stay a bit cooler dove hunting than a Black Lab.
If you will be hunting geese, get a full sized Lab. An English Lab can retrieve them if they have the drive, but a larger framed dog makes it a bit easier.
Check lineage. Good breeding has a lot of genetic drive to them, and makes it easier to train them.
Some dogs don't like to retrieve doves because of the loose feathers. Others don't care a bit.
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Post by wesb81219 on Aug 27, 2016 18:26:21 GMT -5
Thank you very much for the input. My wife has been looking at kennels that breed specifically with hunting bloodlines. I have been leaning towards the lab anyhow but you made the decision that much easier.
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Post by ukwil on Aug 27, 2016 19:08:58 GMT -5
I've done research on a bird dog too and am strongly leaning towards a lab. I'm pretty much in the same boat with mainly upland game and possibly some waterfowl.
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Post by nfalls116 on Aug 27, 2016 20:26:36 GMT -5
Next dog I get will be a gsp
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Post by featherduster on Aug 28, 2016 7:09:13 GMT -5
Four generations Labs all females and all have delivered to me every bird I shot as well as guarded my house and family.
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Post by sakorifle on Aug 28, 2016 10:47:56 GMT -5
greetings
LAB everytime my friend for a retriever.
I have never seen a german dog that is not hard mouthed, compared to a good lab.
All the deer killer dogs are either gsp or gwp.
And boy do they kill deer.
I would not have one in the house after seeing them turn and go into action because i often have my grandchildren here.
AND AND AND
Chocolate labs are a lot harder to train, i did not take that advice and got bailey, thought i could train anything.
WRONG WRONG WRONG
It has taken me three years to get this dog into a good dog, a lot would of given up but i am so pleased i kept going, she has turned out to be a good girl.
Lab my friend only dog to have. lol
regards
Billy
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Post by duff on Aug 28, 2016 11:40:49 GMT -5
I hunt with 2 guys. One is labs and the other gsp. If I was mainly upland...GSP all the way.
If waterfowl then Chessie and maybe a lab😎
My buddy with labs had a pointing lab that was awesome! He didnt buy it as a pointing lab but just hunted several put and take and the dog just started pointing. It was a dandy waterfowl dog too. But he is 12 now and being replaced by a new dog that is a flusher. No fun for me on upland hunts.
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Post by esshup on Aug 28, 2016 12:38:47 GMT -5
Duff, if he trains the flusher to listen well, then he can whistle the dog to sit when it gets birdy. BUT, you still want the dog to have the drive to flush the bird. I've had Field Bred Springer Spaniels since the early 1990's, did a fair amount of Field Trials with them. They are perfect for upland game, and o.k. to good for warm weather waterfowl. I also trained them as a non-slip retriever, but they aren't as steady as a Lab, and it was a constant battle to get them to sit still.
I could run the one dog with kids during Pheasant Forever kids hunting days, as she was REALLY well trained and had the most drive that I've ever seen in a dog. She'd hup when whistled to, we'd catch up, I'd release her and off we'd go again. I could keep her close enough that the kids had a close enough shot on the birds, provided they used a modified choke. Not close like a pointer, but 20 yds close.
I've also heard that Chocolate Labs more resemble a Chessie in their hard headedness more so than a Black or Yellow Lab.
Labs were not supposed to point like pointers and at one time it was considered a fault, but now there are lines where the pointing instinct is desired and bred for.
Here in Indiana, if I wasn't such a Springer man, I would most likely have a Yellow Lab.
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Post by gilder on Aug 28, 2016 16:13:20 GMT -5
My wirehaired pointing griffon is 8 years old, likes hunting everything except of doves, probably because of loose feathers and it's hot this time of a year for him to run around. My next dog will be still a griffon.
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Post by nfalls116 on Aug 28, 2016 16:40:58 GMT -5
Just make sure you understand what kind of dog you are getting both are usually pretty high drive dogs. Alot of energy and often to smart for their own good
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Post by sakorifle on Aug 28, 2016 19:33:51 GMT -5
greetings
Only experience of a chessie was last season, i dropped a partridge i know i did, i saw it come down.
Chessie still on a lead was taken for it great big daft thing ate my partridge feathers the lot.
Only two dogs for a hunting man
Springer or lab,, period.
i have both, ellie my springer is retired and old but she was and still is a good dog,deaf and slightly blind now, but i use bailey the chocolate lab.
Both those breeds will do anything you ask them, from stalking deer like a cat beside you, to flushing birds to retrieving ducks and geese
Never learned one to cook for me yet though, lol
regards
Billy.
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Post by griffonguy on Aug 28, 2016 20:03:16 GMT -5
If upland is your main objective, do not get a Lab. Go with a versitile breed. WPG, GSP, GWP, ES etc. If mostly waterfowl and doves a Lab will be just fine. Don't know about the hard mouth thing. I've helped train these versitile breeds for years and have only experienced a small handful with a hard mouth. Same as any breed and quite easy to fix. As for deer killers? All dogs will kill a deer if given the chance. It's in their blood. Control your dog and no worries
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Post by sakorifle on Aug 28, 2016 21:28:11 GMT -5
greetings
A lab does everything in the uk from finding deer, flushing birds to retrieving upland highland grouse, to foreshore wildfowling in the sea, and it does it without fuss or drama
Nothing more versatile than a lab. sorry.
Some breeds are more aggressive than others and the breed of choice for an aggressive deer dog over here is the gsp and gwp those of us that don't want aggression stay well clear of them.
One gsp last christmas even killed the family cat when one of our lads went home on leave with his, his family were not amused.
but at the end of the day one pays ones money and makes ones choice and sticks with it.
regards
Billy
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