Versatile hunting dog?

[glock233]

Brittany.

Yes.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Out of boredom I re read many posts on this thread. I get we all have dogs and breeds we love.

But most of these dogs should be taken out of consideration. Really don’t think that Pointing and Retrieving count as Versatile

If you’re not pointing upland, working waterfowl, blood tracking and killing fur….kindly take a seat

And “a dog will only do what a dog is trained to do”

Maybe one of the least sensical comments ever. It’s the opposite.

Let a dog do Whatver they want…and that’s what they’ll do.

Without training…some chase cars. Some kill cats. Some retrieve birds. Most chew shoes.

Most of my friends dogs hit porkies pretty hard. They get lit up pretty hard too. And they do it again.

Dumb? Doubtful. Full of Drive snd “harder” than a Golden. For sure.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

A screwdriver with a Standard and Phillips bit is a long way from a Leatherman.

I’ll take he Leatherman

 

[medvedyt]

A screwdriver with a Standard and Phillips bit is a long way from a Leatherman.

I’ll take he Leatherman

Out of boredom I re read many posts on this thread. I get we all have dogs and breeds we love.

But most of these dogs should be taken out of consideration. Really don’t think that Pointing and Retrieving count as Versatile

If you’re not pointing upland, working waterfowl, blood tracking and killing fur….kindly take a seat

And “a dog will only do what a dog is trained to do”

Maybe one of the least sensical comments ever. It’s the opposite.

Let a dog do Whatver they want…and that’s what they’ll do.

Without training…some chase cars. Some kill cats. Some retrieve birds. Most chew shoes.

Most of my friends dogs hit porkies pretty hard. They get lit up pretty hard too. And they do it again.

Dumb? Doubtful. Full of Drive snd “harder” than a Golden. For sure.

you summed up our discussion and i absolutely agree. for us it is the griffon that we call kortahls in europe.

 

[omicron1792]

Recognized Breeds - NAVHDA

www.navhda.org

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

One last "Bomb". I am a huge Chessie fan. IF.....you had one that Pointed. Or your praised him up from a pup to stand still over birds...AND you used him to track wounded deer/game. And they ran coons and killed them, or coyotes, etc.


That IS a Versatile dog. Not by breed...but it checks all 5 boxes.

Not sure a Brittany that points, flushes and retrieves and has killed a few squirrels is "Versatile"....but getting closer.

 

[medvedyt]

One last "Bomb". I am a huge Chessie fan. IF.....you had one that Pointed. Or your praised him up from a pup to stand still over birds...AND you used him to track wounded deer/game. And they ran coons and killed them, or coyotes, etc.


That IS a Versatile dog. Not by breed...but it checks all 5 boxes.

Not sure a Brittany that points, flushes and retrieves and has killed a few squirrels is "Versatile"....but getting closer.

i used brittany in brittany where i was raised and they are versatile but a little on the light side. the gsp my uncle was breeding and raising were certainly better in some areas but brittany in brittany is the way to go lol ... we had only a few seasons with canadian geese there and it was a little too much for their mouth but again not enough to train them properly but they excelled on snipes, woodcocks and naturals pheasants not so good for tracking blood on roe deer or wild boars. my dad cannot phantom a bigger dog for hunting but i will say the griffon well trained would have been great there.

 

[lil' bear]

If you’re not pointing upland, working waterfowl, blood tracking and killing fur….kindly take a seat

Well why are we stopping there?
What's the most common dog in the medical field? Or the entertainment industry, or politics?
If you need a seeing eye dog? Golden
Your child has cognitive disabilities and needs support? Golden
Movies, commercials, advertisements? Golden.
I've never seen a drath on my package of toilet paper.
They made like 15 movies where they even sent those good boys to space lol.
So if your dog can't diagnose diseases, dunk a basketball or run for congress please take a seat

 

[sndmn11]

training a dog and porcupine? tell me more about it.

I haven't run into one yet, so I am curious if there's something different about them than other animals. Wouldn't I just condition my dog to leave them alone the same way I have with cattle, elk, horses, deer, roads, snakes, sparrows, etc?

 

[Tilzbow]

training a dog and porcupine? tell me more about it. the only i have seen is with mushers when they are poking gently the nose of their dogs when they see a porcupine and repeat NO ... other than that sorry but i do not see anything other than keep the dog under control good luck of he/she decided to go after a porcupine and we all know the damages that will result and some dog will go again and again after it even after a bad encounter and damages ...

This company offers both rattlesnake and porcupine avoidance training. Since they’re based where I live I’ll be using them for the rattlesnake training and might just add the porcupine. That said I’ve been trying to get my new pup to stop eating wild horse shit using similar methods with only partial success.

https://getrattled.net/

 

[medvedyt]

This company offers both rattlesnake and porcupine avoidance training. Since they’re based where I live I’ll be using them for the rattlesnake training and might just add the porcupine. That said I’ve been trying to get my new pup to stop eating wild horse shit using similar methods with only partial success.

https://getrattled.net/

well let us know the outcome.

 

[medvedyt]

I haven't run into one yet, so I am curious if there's something different about them than other animals. Wouldn't I just condition my dog to leave them alone the same way I have with cattle, elk, horses, deer, roads, snakes, sparrows, etc?

cant explain there: are some dogs that do not care at all and some others that will go time after time with damages everytime ... some dogs are learning some others not. as i ve said my experiences have been that some mushers are teaching by poking a little the nose then say no ... if you ever seen a pack of sled dogs chasing a porcupine or even a ptarmigan or a rabbit you will understand the issues for training them. my dog does not care about porcupine we are lucky but it is not always the case.

 

[17Hunter]

I have a shorthair that will not mess with them at all, but my female wirehair has grabbed 2 in the last 2 years. Most times she leaves them alone. Hoping she out grows the desire to have me pull quills for an hour.

Complete Avoidance training for snakes requires, scent, sound and visual, they really only need scent for porcupines.

In northern MI porcupines are just a fact of life, you can run in to them on nearly every walk.

This is after the 1st round of pulling quills. She needed a break and I did too.

 

[RRTeddy]

I'm kinda late to this drawn-out discussion and in full disclosure have owned a NAVHDA registered Griffon kennel for 20 years. First off, do your homework. Buy from a responsible breeder, regardless of the breed as you see by the posts here there are many good choices. Back to the OPs original comments and question.

I think 75% of the puppy requests I get are from lab owners. In our area, many of them are just tired of chasing their labs chasing running roosters on hard hunted public lands. But the thing that usually sells these lab guys is the personality of our Griffs. Griffons were bred to be a gentleman's gundog. Hunt hard, close-in and controllable in the field. Then they set in the seat next to you on the drive home and lay by your feet when your hunt is done. Out of all the Versatile breeds I would argue their personality is as close to the lab as any and let's face it we live with our dogs way more than we hunt with them. Do Draats, PP, and GWPs hunt hard - absolutely, but do they have the calm, social and sometime clown like personality of a Griff?

Will Griffs hunt hard in the cold ( I live in ND), will they hunt waterfowl ( mine has retrieved geese and swans in the water many time) are they the perfect breed that depends on your wants and needs, you have to figure that out. If you buy responsibly, train early and often and hunt as much as possible and you will end up with a great gundog.