picking the right one

[jeremy]

With all gundog breeds which one do you believe maybe the easiest to train for a beginner to hunt pheasant and quail.

[Sharon]

Sorry , I don't think there is an" easiest one". The trainability of your pup depends on its' breeding, its' early life experiences and the amount of support the new trainer has. Even with all your ducks in line , it's still a crap shoot.

[donnie_19]

Buy one thats already started. I will take you a while longer to mess things up.

[Sharon]

Not very encouraging to "a pup" on his second post.

[bobman]

get a gsp from non trial breeding like a honeyrun, train it to come when its called, expose it to birds and intro the gun PROPERLY and you can have fun and go hunting

[vzkennels]

I can't believe you would say non trial breeding when that's where the natural instincts come from.He wants a hunting dog not a show dog & I'm not saying that all show dogs don't have any natural instincts left after all there are several DC but they also come from trial lines.

[ezzy333]

I have never seen a GSP that wouldn't hunt. Don't think you can make the statement that hunting comes from trial bvred dogs. It seems to me I have seen GSP's that have never heard of a trial or show ring that hunt beautifully as well as dogs from any other venue. For the first time hunter I agree with Bob abd you will get a pup that is normally a little slower and easier to hunt and handle.

Ezzy

[vzkennels]

Most GSPS do have hunting instincts but I believe your chances are better from FT lines or atleast show lines with FT lines behind them.I breed from FT lines & bought my first from hunting & FT lines over 35 yrs ago.My breeding & most others will teach the beginner MORE then the beginner will ever TEACH them.Just show them some birds & go from there.I knew nothing about hunting with a bird dog or training one when I bought my first.I just took her hunting & she pretty much did the rest on her own,of course we had wild birds then which makes it all so much easier.

[h.q.s]

Most GSPS do have hunting instincts but I believe your chances are better from FT lines or atleast show lines with FT lines behind them.I breed from FT lines & bought my first from hunting & FT lines over 35 yrs ago.My breeding & most others will teach the beginner MORE then the beginner will ever TEACH them.Just show them some birds & go from there.I knew nothing about hunting with a bird dog or training one when I bought my first.I just took her hunting & she pretty much did the rest on her own,of course we had wild birds then which makes it all so much easier.

I'd get a GSP too. Possibly buy from a breeder that's close, or get in touch with a local gun dog trainer and he could teach you a few things as well. Even though, if you are patient with your pup and get him into alot of good situations, he will teach himself, and then once he is done with that... he'll teach you a few things.

It's up to you weather you want a pup out of FT lines, ALL QUALITY GSP's hunt, in my opinion. Cause if it can't hunt... then I would not mark it as a quality dog, just my opinion. Depending on the breeding, they just might hunt with a different style.

Good luck. Where you located?? I bet if you shared your location, you could get some input on a breeder in your area.

Thanks.

[RayGubernat]

Jeremy -

Probably the easiest gundog breed to train to hunt pheasants would be a labrador. All you need to do is keep it close and the dog will do pretty much all the rest. Without a doubt, the easiest gundogs to train to a useful level for the hunter are retrievers, and there are so very many good labs out there it shold be easy to find a good hunting one.

I suppose a flushing dog would be able to do a good job on quail as well, but the purist in me just cannot allow me to recommend a flushing dog for bobwhite.


RayG

[h.q.s]

Lab's are great dogs too! In my mind I was thinking of poinitng dogs. Here are my dad's 2 old labs. Great dogs!!! Through experience, that chocolate lab pointed birds. Also, through experience when the chocolate girl (reba) pointed, the yellow lab ( Rowdy, boy) would bust the bird from her point and always get the retrieve!!

[Dirtysteve]

Pick a show bred dog and send me all your trial bred dogs I'll put them to work
I think you can't do wrong with a gsp as your 1st.
Get the best proven lines you can find and train it to hunt how you want.

[GsPJustin]

Just as there are traits in show gsp's you may not like, there are traits in Field bred gsp's that other do not like.

Personally I would like a dog with HT and Navhda titled dogs behind them... FWIW

There are plenty good enough reasons to get a GSP already listed here. However I think that you could take any well bred dog and easily get it to hunt for you, with a little help. Whether you want to get a field bred or show bred makes no difference to me. Just buy a good dog and I bet you will be happy.

[ezzy333]

I would advise you skip the GSP's and get a Brit. They are probably the easiest to train and are great dogs as are all of the breeds.

Ezzy

[Don]

I suspect by not getting a trial bred dog, Bobman was refering to a hunting bred dog, something many like to call backyard bred. A lot of hot trial breeding up close and you might get a dog that's a handfull. With a backyard bred dog you might still get a handfull but I think the odds go up you'll get a more mellow dog. You just might get a more biddable dog too. The myth is to buy from strong trial lines and avoid show lines. That lwaves a huge middle ground where some of th best foot hunting dogs come from. You won't win any dog shows and probably not any field trials but, you just might get a dog that will actually go hunting for you rather than you hunting for it. Other than the E. Pointer, I don't think breed matters all that much.

[Mr. Crappie]

My last dog was a trial bred pointer, and he handled pheasants like a champ. I say pick a breed you like and get with someone who can help you train. Obedience is a priority !! They will all hunt pheasants.

[R-Heaton]

With bird numbers being down and wanting to save all our breeding pairs as possible,,, I'm with Ezzy on this one,,,,, get a brit.

[GsPJustin]

I've never heard a GSP bred for its original purpose called "backyard bred". But heck, what do I know.

To stay on topic and not start an argument, I will end with. I agree britts are nice dogs to. I bet you would enjoy a brit.

[Grange]

Jeremy -

Probably the easiest gundog breed to train to hunt pheasants would be a labrador. All you need to do is keep it close and the dog will do pretty much all the rest. Without a doubt, the easiest gundogs to train to a useful level for the hunter are retrievers, and there are so very many good labs out there it shold be easy to find a good hunting one.

I suppose a flushing dog would be able to do a good job on quail as well, but the purist in me just cannot allow me to recommend a flushing dog for bobwhite.


RayG

Labs are easy to train for hunting purposes. However if you want to get into the retrieving games then that's another story. I am just about finished with The Best Way To Train Your Gundog - The Delmar Smith Method by Bill Tarrant and I am surprise at how few techniques are given in the book. Half the book is about how to pick a puppy, buiding a good kennel, and quail and pigeon pen information. I'm not sure what to make of it yet, but my first reaction is either the book isn't very thorough or training pointing dogs is a lot less complicated (I didn't say easier) than training a well handled retriever.

[Flush]

Assuming you want a pointing dog, Just stick with the big four (Britt, Setter, GSP, E. Pointer) from proven lines and for the most part you will be in good shape.
There is no universal rule as to which one is easier to train. Some trainers prefer one breed to another and other trainers will say the opposite, not to mention there is a lot of variation within the breeds.

It's a long term commitment getting a dog. If you could get out to some trials, hunt tests, gun clubs, etc... anywhere to see some of these breeds in action I think you will be able to make a much more informed decision. I don't think it's so much a matter a better or worse between breeds, but there certainly are differences. I personally prefer Setters and think they are easy to train, but you will find guys on the interenet who make the same claims about their breed of choice. It's not that anyone is lying, we just have different experiences and preferences that lead us to our conclusions. You really need to draw your own conclusions on what best your YOU.

-Flush

[Bigg_Redd]

My old boy is an unpapered Brittany. He was a strong hunter in his day (now all he hunts are milkbones and tennis balls) and he was easy to train. What's not easy is the 8 vacuum cleaners I've gone through in the last 12 years. Ok, it wasn't 8 but this dog never stops shedding. Ever. Call me lazy but I'll never get a dog that sheds like that again.

All the continental hunting breeds are easy to train. Lot's of labs around here that pretty much do it all too.

Be advised, all dogs are individuals and it's a crap shoot to a certain extent.

[Grange]

My old boy is an unpapered Brittany. He was a strong hunter in his day (now all he hunts are milkbones and tennis balls) and he was easy to train. What's not easy is the 8 vacuum cleaners I've gone through in the last 12 years. Ok, it wasn't 8 but this dog never stops shedding. Ever. Call me lazy but I'll never get a dog that sheds like that again.

All the continental hunting breeds are easy to train. Lot's of labs around here that pretty much do it all too.

Be advised, all dogs are individuals and it's a crap shoot to a certain extent.

I lived with two brittanies, on lab and three cats for a year. and the cats were by far the worst shedders. The hair is so fine it gets into everything and is tough to clean up. While the britts shed a lot the lab is worse. It's that darn undercoat that is tough to deal with.

[ezzy333]

All dogs shed and there is little difference among sporting dogs. Research has shown if the dog is the same color as your furnishing they shed less than any other dog of another color.

[3Britts]

All dogs shed and there is little difference among sporting dogs. Research has shown if the dog is the same color as your furnishing they shed less than any other dog of another color.

Okay, so where do I get orange and white spotted carpet?

[ezzy333]

Okay, so where do I get orange and white spotted carpet?

My problem too. I find my dogs only shed their white hair.

Ezzy

[Benny]

Okay, so where do I get orange and white spotted carpet?

My problem too. I find my dogs only shed their white hair.

Ezzy

Are you saying you have orange carpet, ezzy?
Go Beavers!

[ezzy333]

Close Benny

Ezzy

[3Britts]

Maybe I should go with a white carpet with orange flecks. No, I had better go with a white carpet with orange fleck and dark brown spots just to cover the muddy footprints. After that, I will look into getting sofa and chairs that have birds on them.

[ezzy333]

See all the things you can learn on here. And people were saying you were too old to learn new tricks!

Ezzy