Just wondering what breed of dogs are good for what type of hunting? I know some point and some retrieve but I interested in what different breeds can do!
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Hunting Dogs
- Thread starter Maggotlyfe
- Start date
Had a great Brittany Spaniel when I was out in the mid west. Bird dog...pointed and retrieved. Hunted over a couple of Springers and was not as much fun in my opinion. They are a flushing breed. Lost a lot of birds with them because the guy that owned them let them get a little too far out and they would flush at the edge of or out of range. For upland birds you can't beat a good pointer. For water fowl I probably would look more towards the retriever breeds.
A quick, incomplete, list: Labs and Chesapeake Bay retrievers are primarily thought of as waterfowl retrievers. They have heavy, water-shedding coats and web feet, and are big enough so they don't freeze in a winter swim. Pointers and setters sniff out upland birds and freeze on point until the hunter flushes the bird. Spaniels - Springers, hunting Cockers and Boykins and a few others, are flushing dogs - that is they sniff out the birds and make them fly. Brittany spaniels point. All of them are expected to retrieve. And many of them are cross-trained, so that the retrievers will often hunt pheasants and grouse on dry land, and many spaniels are great water dogs. The new Field & Stream has a good article. Biggest surprise? The standard French poodle was bred as a bird dog, and many of them hunt. Ya gotta be confident in your manhood to hunt with one!
I have a new puppy German Short-hair Pointer I am training to be a bird dog (grouse, etc). He loves pointing at EVERYTHING.
Woodstock's list is great though and sums up what I was going to say pretty well. That being said, a lot of those dogs can be trained to do the other dog's hunting style if needed/wanted (with the exception of the cold weather bird dogs, you really need a good thick haired dog for that and I wouldn't say there is an exception to that).
Woodstock's list is great though and sums up what I was going to say pretty well. That being said, a lot of those dogs can be trained to do the other dog's hunting style if needed/wanted (with the exception of the cold weather bird dogs, you really need a good thick haired dog for that and I wouldn't say there is an exception to that).
boilermaker
NES Member
+1 to Woodstock, he did a great job briefly breaking it down. My wife and I are talking about a Brittany for next season (fingers crossed). Good luck in your search
I have a lacy x walker foxhound mutt that was intentionally mixed. We picked her up in Texas, she was bred primarily for baying hogs down there. She can follow a trail like none other, hot or cold. I'd use her for blood trailing if Mass allowed it.
I've hunted with 7 beagles. They are dead quiet... until they sniff something out then there is no shutting them up until the thing is dead. They flush out rabbit, quail, pheasant, and hell sometimes deer. I've seen them at work and was amazed at how well they can pick up on a warm scent. They know the difference between a new and old scent and they knew to flush the animals towards us. They're the only pups I've hunted with so that's my 2 pesos.
There's no cold-tracker as good as a Bluetick. For a truly versatile upland bird dog, you can't beat a Brittany. Waterfowl hunting, there are many good breeds, just pick a dog with lots of heart. Be careful - you can't spoil a Lab (because they come that way). I've always liked Chessies - The Chesapeake Bay Retreiver just doesn't know the word "quit".
EDIT: PS- It's too bad you can't train a black bear to track. They have a nose 500 times better than a bloodhound. They do eat a lot, though.
PPS- Blueticks do get into their share of trouble, though. Here's a couple photos of my two. They got caught harassing the seals after one stole a striper off my line::
EDIT: PS- It's too bad you can't train a black bear to track. They have a nose 500 times better than a bloodhound. They do eat a lot, though.
PPS- Blueticks do get into their share of trouble, though. Here's a couple photos of my two. They got caught harassing the seals after one stole a striper off my line::
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Thanks everyone. I like labs and the fact that the love water and I want to duck hunt. But I also want to start pheasant hunting. Can labs be cross trained for pheasant?
boilermaker
NES Member
I hunt over a friend's black lab all pheasant season and there are numerous guys at my club who hunt over labs during pheasant season. They are great all around hunting dogs and can certainly be trained for pheasant. They might not be able to get on to a pheasant as quick or as well as something like a GSP or Brittany but can certainly hold their own.
My neighbor has a chocolate lab that won't go in the water - The closest she will come to swimming is riding in his uncle's boat. Guess each dog is his own character.
My hounds have trained her to chase squirrels.
Yep - he gets a lot of ribbing over this.
Labs are great dogs, usually very smart, and said to be among the most trainable. Will definitely hunt pheasant. Couple of warnings - they can be BIG, as in 100 lbs.+. They are always hungry, and will get fat faster than others because they have a layer of fat under their skin to keep out the cold. If they get overweight they don't live long, or they get torn ACLs, etc. You need to control their food intake.
They seem to show up on Craigslists all too often, I guess because people don't realize that cute little ball of fur will turn into a big, active moose. They can be knuckleheads for the first year or two, especially the males.
We just adopted a Craigslist dog and we're really happy. I would check several Craigslists on a regular basis, and I'll bet you can find a winner. Lots of training info out there, and waterfowlers on this and other sites. Good luck.
They seem to show up on Craigslists all too often, I guess because people don't realize that cute little ball of fur will turn into a big, active moose. They can be knuckleheads for the first year or two, especially the males.
We just adopted a Craigslist dog and we're really happy. I would check several Craigslists on a regular basis, and I'll bet you can find a winner. Lots of training info out there, and waterfowlers on this and other sites. Good luck.
Thank you all so much. I am very happy that labs can do both.
Woodstock, thank you for that extra info. Im a vet tech and we see far too many overweight labs with torn ACL's. I was not aware that they can be knuckleheads the first couple years.
How would I go about finding training info on this site?
Woodstock, thank you for that extra info. Im a vet tech and we see far too many overweight labs with torn ACL's. I was not aware that they can be knuckleheads the first couple years.
How would I go about finding training info on this site?
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Second the Springer comments...my buddy's dog goes crazy and flushes the birds way out ahead of us. Then all we hear is 'Ollie come! GD it Ollie..come!' We also use a German shorthair pointer and she's a good dog and stays on track.
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Lots of breeds can be knuckleheads when they're young - they're teenagers, after all. There is a member on here called Dixiedawg who trains and raises Labs, and he is good source of info.
As for the rangy springers, it's a matter of training. Again, every pup is different, and some will hang close naturally, and some need to learn it.
I have 2 black&tan / redbone coonhound mixes. Don't taken hunting but there isn't a squirrel or cat without fear in town.
That's certainly of concern to some -- hounds don't tend to coexist peacefully with domestic felines.
I have a Dogo Argentino that I am going to train for coyotes. They are used primarily for hogs and puma down south and Argentina. But seeing how we'll have to wait 10-15 years before hogs come up this way i'll try him on yotes. Hes only 6 months old and he already tracked me into a dead bear and ran a bobcat up a tree. Havent tried him on any birds cause I have chickens and dont want him to associate birds with food.
I have a german shorthair pointer and he is a great dog. I hunt grouse with him and he out swim most of the labs that I use to see at Harold Parker. My next upland dog is probably going to be an English pointer.
dixidawg
NES Member
Absolutely!!!!
They learn how to upland hunt very quickly and LOVE it.
In fact, if you ever watch any of the TV shows oh pheasant hunting in South Dakota (the pheasant capital of the world) you will see that 90+ percent of the time they use labs. You won't go wrong with a well bred lab for an all purpose hunting dog and all around family pet.
dixidawg
NES Member
+1
There are also several retriever clubs in New England that have training days and hold sanctioned hunt tests. I would strongly suggest you check out a club or training group in your area to join. You will meet some great people with a ton of knowledge and experience who are always looking to help out new folks.
Check out my website in my signature for some more info.
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A friend of mine and I both got yellow labs from RL Retrievers Brentwood N.H. Mine turned 2 in July so last year was his first full pheasent season. He did great considering the limited amount of time we had to hunt. RL not only breed's Labs but offers hunting and obedence training. I hope not to see him for many years but would deal with him again in a heartbeat. JMHO
Don't forget the versatiles
The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association
http://www.navhda.org/
German Shorthairs, German Wirehairs, WEIMARANER, Vizsla, Pudelpointer, etc. There are about 50 recognized breeds that can be registered and tested via this group.
By definition any dog in this group that has been trained correctly will point, flush, retrieve and track. Most other dogs will do only one of those jobs, or maybe two like a lab that can flush.
Maybe the only downside, is my 50lb female GSP could not take the cold water like a Lab or Chesapeake can.
Bill
The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association
http://www.navhda.org/
German Shorthairs, German Wirehairs, WEIMARANER, Vizsla, Pudelpointer, etc. There are about 50 recognized breeds that can be registered and tested via this group.
By definition any dog in this group that has been trained correctly will point, flush, retrieve and track. Most other dogs will do only one of those jobs, or maybe two like a lab that can flush.
Maybe the only downside, is my 50lb female GSP could not take the cold water like a Lab or Chesapeake can.
Bill
dixidawg
NES Member
I'm pretty sure it is Ricky LaFleche. If so, he's a pretty low tech guy and will likely not have a website.
If you are interested in a pup, another option is the Lab Club breeder referral:
http://www.lrcgb.org/breeders.html
