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.

 

[JGood]

Except your NAVHDA doesn't allow labs to compete. You ever wonder why? Because they would be the only winners of that also. That's why.

My logic makes a lot more sense than your logic of using an event to compare to a lab that a lab can't even compete in................... Just saying.

This is my favorite rage-bait/dumb comment. Nothing gets the people going like making an uninformed comment claiming their dog could outcompete someone else’s in a non competition environment. I love it.

 

[SDChungus]

This is my favorite rage-bait/dumb comment. Nothing gets the people going like making an uninformed comment claiming their dog could outcompete someone else’s in a non competition environment. I love it.

Agreed. He needs to feed more $100 bags of purina pro plan branded corn. What a bootlicker.

 

[KurtR]

Well the first ever versatile dog a wirehair ran by Landon Poplin is now a grhrch congrats on the pass. Passed this year down at the grand i was at in music city.

 

[Tilzbow]

I recently heard a quote from a well known and respected versatile dog trainer/breeder who defined a versatile dog as, “A dog that’ll do what the owner needs it to do and do it well.” (I probably don’t have the quote exactly right but that was the gist of it.)

 

[BucksNBulls]

This is my favorite rage-bait/dumb comment. Nothing gets the people going like making an uninformed comment claiming their dog could outcompete someone else’s in a non competition environment. I love it.

Just the facts.

 

[BucksNBulls]

Agreed. He needs to feed more $100 bags of purina pro plan branded corn. What a bootlicker.

I have something that you can lick. My dogs nuts sack.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

VHDF has no breed restrictions. labs will do fine except field search, point and steadiness.

make sure to sign up for the performance evaluation though as it’s the adult/finished test.

 

[Idaho Brad]

Pudelpointer.
Not one that your neighbor crossbred their GWP to the Milk mans Standard Poodle. A true PP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HilltopHitman]

Brittany.

 

[TagPrincess]

Second a lab. They can do it all in the field and be calm around the kids and an ESA for the wife. But still a machine in the field. They are the jack of all trades that can master whatever they spend time doing. Mine even started pointing on upland birds and they were bread to flush!

 

[Dogone]

I am an outfitter. After 10 labs I wanted something different and got a pudelpointer. He was a hard dog;as opposed to a soft lab. He bayed a porcupine for over three hours. I loved Fritz but he didn’t work out for me.Back to labs.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I am an outfitter. After 10 labs I wanted something different and got a pudelpointer. He was a hard dog;as opposed to a soft lab. He bayed a porcupine for over three hours. I loved Fritz but he didn’t work out for me.Back to labs.

Sounds like a stupid dog. My drahts wont waste 30 seconds on a porcupine.

 

[Dogone]

Sounds like a stupid dog. My drahts wont waste 30 seconds on a porcupine.

Maybe not stupid but dense. Strangest dog I have ever had

 

[medvedyt]

I am an outfitter. After 10 labs I wanted something different and got a pudelpointer. He was a hard dog;as opposed to a soft lab. He bayed a porcupine for over three hours. I loved Fritz but he didn’t work out for me.Back to labs.

Sounds like a stupid dog. My drahts wont waste 30 seconds on a porcupine.

Maybe not stupid but dense. Strangest dog I have ever had

there are dogs that will find and mess with porcupine like there is no end and some others that do not care but it is not related to a breed more certainly part is luck and also what they encounter in their younger life.

 

[lil' bear]

and also what they encounter in their younger life.

A dog is only going to do what it is trained to do.

That being said, my English cream golden retriever is trained to sit down when he jumps deer. My obvious bias is that I think those are the most intelligent, versatile dog. Id bet almost anything that dog is smarter than my sister. And she's 26 with a college degree lmao.

But ignoring every other person's bias. The GSP is probably the most versatile hunting dog. But I don't like dogs with short hair.

I've got a brittany coming in a couple weeks. A red and white irish setter coming in a couple months. And I've started researching breeders for the deutsch langhaar, aka the German long-haired pointer.