What is your favorite hunting dog and why ?

[bayoublaster7527]

Have German wirehair and wirehair pointing griffon, I think it’s prob a toss up between the two. Both great hunters and incredibly versatile. WPH is a bit less hyper so I may stick with WPG going forward.

 

[JMDavies]

Oh that is a tough question!! I can and do appreciate every working dog...from the style of an English pointer with a covey of quail pinned down, to the loyalty and drive of a well bred lab, to the tenacity of the hounds when trailing game, and the courage of the police and protection dogs. I don't have much experience with hounds, but have trained and hunted over English pointers and setters, GSP (field trial and true versatile German imports), golden retrievers, wirehair pointer, Brittanies, and labs. For me the versatile breeds are good at a bunch of tasks, but not true experts of any one specific type. And the specialized pointers and retrievers are great at a specific trait and lacking in some other aspects of the hunt.

That's just a long winded way of saying that I don't have a favorite breed, and appreciate any and all quality working dogs

I agree with midwestelkhunter. In my opinion no one breed can do it all (jack of all trades, master of none). I've also owned pointing dogs and field trialed for many years. As on now, in have 2 pointer and 1 blue heeler that I use for different activities. I'd suggest making a list of what's most important and researching from there.

 

[commandoNate]

GSP gets my vote. This is Charlie. He’s 1 1/2 years old now and the first dog I’ve had in my adult life. Great family dog and an outstanding bird dog. He can really cover the miles in the field or hiking around in the mountains.

 

[Ugly1]

Love my lab, and she loves to hunt.
My son and Lyra showing off the morning take, youth weekend

 

[AK Troutbum]

Lab all the way!! Anything else is garbage, IMHO. Here’s my chocolate at her best!
It took me years to get this shot. She is usually chasing stuff and just a blurr in the photo.

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[Agross]

GSP gets my vote. This is Charlie. He’s 1 1/2 years old now and the first dog I’ve had in my adult life. Great family dog and an outstanding bird dog. He can really cover the miles in the field or hiking around in the mountains. View attachment 165890View attachment 165891View attachment 165892View attachment 165893

great looking pooch! Where did you get em?

 

[commandoNate]

great looking pooch! Where did you get em?

I got him from a breeder in the Denver area. Can’t remember his name off hand but I’ve got it somewhere in the documents I’m sure.

 

[Wapiti1]

I had a Shi-Tzu that loved to sit in the blind or treestand deer hunting. He'd never make a sound unless he was asleep and snoring. Then all of a sudden he would perk up, lean into me and nuzzle me when deer were coming. Little guy could hear them a long way off. I'd shoot one (archery season, he didn't like the cold) and when we would recover it, he'd stand on top like the king of all creation. His nose was worthless for tracking, but he had a great set of ears.

He was a rescue pup and was my little buddy for a lot of years.

Jeremy

 

[Bowhunter-tw]

I would really like to get a hunting dog in the future, just dont have the time or money currently. I’ve always liked the GSP but didnt realize how much attention they need and how active they are; I also never heard of a pointing lab, might have to look into them.

How much training and time needs to be dedicated to properly train a hunting dog to respond to commands? I have no idea how to train animals correctly.

 

[Crowmangler]

I would really like to get a hunting dog in the future, just dont have the time or money currently. I’ve always liked the GSP but didnt realize how much attention they need and how active they are; I also never heard of a pointing lab, might have to look into them.

How much training and time needs to be dedicated to properly train a hunting dog to respond to commands? I have no idea how to train animals correctly.

Yes the GSP's do need lots of attention but more importantly they need plenty of room to run & burn off energy. Mine is a freak of nature with her energy levels. I've never seen a dog eat so ferociously too as a puppy. Once I walked out of the room literally for 15 seconds & she scarfed down 6 Krispy Kreme donuts LOL.
Check out some of the training videos online. You should spend at least some time with them everyday especially when they're younger.

 

[fishdart]

My sample size is only 1 hunting dog thus far, but this here Pudelpointer, Jethro, does it for me. Great nose, great drive, great chill-at-home with the family and kids mode. He hunts fairly close in the pheasant fields and holds points well. Sits extremely well when decoy hunting waterfowl or doves/pigeons. We don't hunt a lot of enclosed blinds and no pit blinds around here so that is a big plus as we're just huddling in the vegetation. Handles river and stream current well even with a big Canada in his jaw.

We start with doves on September 1 and go through to the end of goose season in February with pheasants, ducks, crows, pigeons, squirrels throughout that timeframe.

We have a small house and small yard, so his off-switch is a big deal and his non-shedding coat is a big plus too.

He's admittedly crap for a fishing companion though because he wants to be in the stream too much and trout don't seem to take kindly to him.

 

[grossklw]

Any love for field bred Golden's? I laugh when everyone says this or that breed is the best, they all have certain qualities that work for certain activities. Lambeau specializes in late season roosters in the cattails, but we manage to kill plenty early in the year as well. I doubt he's the best bird dog on the planet, but he's my favorite bird dog on the planet

 

[joel_sledz]

Fox hounds to run coyotes! Some of the most fun hunting around here in Northeast PA when no other season is going on!! Run from January to middle/end of March.

 

[dhmc03]

And he was a rescue about to be put down by the pound, roughly 1 yr old at the time. Badly beaten and abused, weighed 45lbs (now weighs 75). I didn’t expect much when we got him. He proved me way wrong.

 

[Blueticker1]

Well it depends on what I'm hunting, if its lion or bear I like an ol fashioned bluetick, if its upland birds it's a toss up between a good bread springer spaniel and a llewellin setter, if its waterfowl a good Chesapeake bay retriever, and coyotes a greyhound with some running walkers thrown in or some type of terrier.

 

[Snowcrest6]

I’ve always owned labs.

 

[GSPMich]

GSPs for me.

The brown dog was my first bird dog, had him until March 19 when he just had turned 14. The white dog is still doing great at 12.

We are complete amateurs but still have a lot of fun in Northern Michigan hunting grouse/woodcock.

 

[Sanchez]

Brittany spanial for me. I am on my third one and use them to hunt a variety of upland birds. They work well on chukar, ruff and blue grouse, huns, sharptail, and sage grouse (central Montana). They are very birdy with a good nose, hold a point, retrieve and are a great house and family dog.

The two things where I see them as limited is they are not a good water retriever when its cold, and at least with the ones I have had can get cockle burrs bad which limits me from hunting pheasants in some spots.

 

[lang]

Due to having a son with Epilepsy that we tried to find a Seizure alert dog, we had lots of dogs labs, goldens, GSP, GWP, currently a Springer. My favorite has to be the GWP, great all around dog and she tried to eat my mother-in-law. My wife got scared and rehomed the dog, I told her that dog was just a good judge of character. Still a sore spot in our marriage! My wife thought I was joking at the time, but has learned about dogs picking up on tension and her and the mil had lots that day.

 

[Russp17]

For me it is a German shorthair! Best outdoor buddy you can have, they do have a ton of energy so training them and getting them out is super important. They have endless drive and focusing that drive is important.


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