Versatile hunting dog?

[John.warren]

I’ve always had labs, and my last one would hunt damn near everything. I love upland, but want a dog that can hunt waterfowl too. I have never had a pointer, but all the guys i pheasant hunt with use them. My big issue is they don’t care about downed birds. What breeds should I look at that can do it all, but especially will find a down bird in thick cover?

If you want one dog that’ll flat-out do it all, look hard at a Deutsch-Drahthaar. They’re bred under a system that makes them prove they can point, retrieve, track cripples, and work water. Mine will lock up solid on a rooster, then turn around and hammer through cattails to dig a duck out of the nastiest cover. They’re not as “easy button” as a lab. They can be stubborn and high drive but if your number one concern is never losing a downed bird and still having a dog that points, a DD is about as close to a no-compromise option as you’ll find IMO.