Brittany as a "waterfowler?"

[AzDoggin]

Folks a discussion started in another thread, but may get buried there, so I thought I'd break it out and start a different thread.

Those of you that have Britts - American, French, Polish, whatever, do you use them to hunt waterfowl?

Under what conditions (temperature, lake, stream or river, blind or stand, over decoys, jumpshooting, type of waterfowl - ducks, geese, frequency and length of hunt)

What is your opinion of how they perform?

I have always thought of a Brittany as a "bird dog" as in upland game. However, they are also classified as "versatiles" which should indicate their role could be a bit larger. I can't explain why (mostly lack of information) but I do not see the Brittany in the same class of versatile as say, a GWP, DD or GSP. Upland game, yes, but wondering about duck/goose hunting in nasty weather. What are the limits of a Brittany for waterfowl?

I'm not talking about getting a Brittany instead of a Lab or a Chessie to break through the ice and make 80 yard retreives across swift current in sub-zero weather. Nothing could do the job that a good waterfowl dog can do at his speciality.

Just curious about how your Britts do when you ask them to bring back ducks or geese.

I never hunted my Brittany on anything but upland game.

Thanks for any information.

[Birddogz]

My Britts can do an adequate job on ducks until ice forms, then they get cold. I had a Britt years ago that was 54 lbs, and had HUGE feet. He swam like a lab, and marked birds as well. He could do 3 bird retrieves. I've hunted with 50 plus different Britts, and I have never seen a Britt like him on marking birds, and he was big for a Britt. Not the snappiest dog. I think he may have been a fluke in some sense. I think the largest French Britt you could find would do you well. I like French Britts more for water work as their "Cobby" stature helps with heat retention. I also think they are bred for versatility more. Just my opinion.

[AzDoggin]

Wow a 54 pound Britt is a big boy!

Thanks for the info, BD. I suspected that cold tolerance would be an issue to some extent. A Brittany's coat is nowhere near as thick as a lab or a chessie, nor do they have as much meat on them obviously. Did you ever experiment with a neoprene vest? You still have the skinny limbs and paws to get cold...

My days of frozen rear end sitting in a duck blind for 3-4 hours are over, I'd guess, too. Once or twice a year though I will likely be on the Platte in Nebraska again - turns out the flyway has changed since I moved away and now there is a major duck (mostly mallards) and Canadian goose flyway right over my home town. The other thing that has changed since I moved away is the amount of water flowing in the Platte - it's much slower and shallower now than it was when we hunted with labs there. So, I want to be able to spend 2-3 weeks a year late fall there hunting phez and waterfowl. May also get a chance at some ducks on the Rio Grande in New Mexico south of Albuquerque. The New Mexico hunting is in much more temperate weather than what it can be in Nebraska.

I wonder about the temperament of the dog??? Britt's are renowned for their hard hunting, never quit approach after birds in the field - they are perpetual motion machines. What about sitting in a blind for a few hours at a time? If the blind is big enough, the dog has a little room to walk around and stretch it's legs - but how do you think your Britts would do sittting quietly, listening to duck calls, watching birds fly over - that routine? Maybe it's an individual difference thing too - possibly pick a "mid-pack" dog that is calmer as a pup, then obviously socializing the pup for "calm" behaviors and later training the young adult for some extended down-stays along with everything else they are learning.

Well the biggest use will still be birds on dry ground. Gotta have a dog that can multi-task, though, when the situation calls for it.

[jarbo03]

My britt was also in the 50-55 lb range, and a great waterfowl dog. He was the best dog I have hunted with when it came to sitting in the blind, he would stay motionless and not take his eyes off the sky, but he also upland hunted slow and methodical. Minus the weather limits he was a great overall waterfowl dog. They can retrieve in the cold water, but you can't keep the dog in the cold afterwards, a dry towel is a must and a heated blind would be real nice. Mine always did everything i ever asked of him, but i have seen a few that would not go into colder water past their stomach. More than likely they were not trained as a retriever before hand. I have never tried a dog vest, he got retired from water retrieves years ago.

[AzDoggin]

My britt was also in the 50-55 lb range, and a great waterfowl dog. He was the best dog I have hunted with when it came to sitting in the blind, he would stay motionless and not take his eyes off the sky, but he also upland hunted slow and methodical. Minus the weather limits he was a great overall waterfowl dog. They can retrieve in the cold water, but you can't keep the dog in the cold afterwards, a dry towel is a must and a heated blind would be real nice. Mine always did everything i ever asked of him, but i have seen a few that would not go into colder water past their stomach. More than likely they were not trained as a retriever before hand. I have never tried a dog vest, he got retired from water retrieves years ago.

Man, I never knew Britts got that big!! My little female was 35 pounds at the heaviest. And she was a little jumping bean - could run all day long and would still ask for more. I really doubt she could have sat very long in a blind without it driving both of us nuts.

Makes me wonder if the dogs that are best at sitting calmly in the blind are the ones that are "calmer" or less-hyper all of the time. Some training yes, but maybe alot of the right temperament is necessary too.

As far as the cold - agree drying them off would be important, which also means it can't be all that cold. Late in the season our lab would come out of the river dripping, and we'd take our gloves and rough up her coat so the ice wouldn't freeze next to her skin, but the ice was still there. She'd sit there and look at us and basically say - "shoot another, what's the wait?" I doubt I'd take a Britt into those conditions...

Good info - thanks alot Jarbo

[gittrdonebritts]

I have a neopren vest that works wonders for my Jill durring some of the colder water retrieves but most of the time if my buddys lab busts before he is sent my girl hides in her dog blind and lets him do it I can't blame her lol but she does just fine with out complaint every time i tell her to fetch it up.

[AzDoggin]

I have a neopren vest that works wonders for my Jill durring some of the colder water retrieves but most of the time if my buddys lab busts before he is sent my girl hides in her dog blind and lets him do it I can't blame her lol but she does just fine with out complaint every time i tell her to fetch it up.

Those dang dogs just want to please. Maybe she's the smart one. Send her after the winged ducks that glide closer to the bank down river and let that lab do the cold, wet work!!

I'm glad to hear about the neoprene - I'll keep that in mind.

[gittrdonebritts]

She is probably the smartest and most stubourn dog I've ever had hahaha and if you do some thing she doesn't like she will get even lol, the vest i got is a avery I got it at Gander Mt. but i've seen them at cabelas and sportsmens warehouse, Jill can just have come out of a ice cold creek in January and i can put my hand under it and its nice and warm.

[AzDoggin]

She is probably the smartest and most stubourn dog I've ever had hahaha and if you do some thing she doesn't like she will get even.

Substitute the word "wife" for the word "dog" in that sentence, and I could have written it about the mother of my kids

[jarbo03]

My britt was also in the 50-55 lb range, and a great waterfowl dog. He was the best dog I have hunted with when it came to sitting in the blind, he would stay motionless and not take his eyes off the sky, but he also upland hunted slow and methodical. Minus the weather limits he was a great overall waterfowl dog. They can retrieve in the cold water, but you can't keep the dog in the cold afterwards, a dry towel is a must and a heated blind would be real nice. Mine always did everything i ever asked of him, but i have seen a few that would not go into colder water past their stomach. More than likely they were not trained as a retriever before hand. I have never tried a dog vest, he got retired from water retrieves years ago.

Man, I never knew Britts got that big!! My little female was 35 pounds at the heaviest. And she was a little jumping bean - could run all day long and would still ask for more. I really doubt she could have sat very long in a blind without it driving both of us nuts.

Makes me wonder if the dogs that are best at sitting calmly in the blind are the ones that are "calmer" or less-hyper all of the time. Some training yes, but maybe alot of the right temperament is necessary too.

As far as the cold - agree drying them off would be important, which also means it can't be all that cold. Late in the season our lab would come out of the river dripping, and we'd take our gloves and rough up her coat so the ice wouldn't freeze next to her skin, but the ice was still there. She'd sit there and look at us and basically say - "shoot another, what's the wait?" I doubt I'd take a Britt into those conditions...

Good info - thanks alot Jarbo

Thats the reason i also had a lab, when duck hunting he would break ice and sit in the edge of the marsh like it was nothing
Most britts are not that big, my dads two females are 32 & 39 lbs, and a bit more crazy than mine was, they love to hunt though. I was introduced to a family in western Kansas last year and my family was invited to go hunting with them, they showed up with three britts that made my Buck look small, dont know how much they weighed, but they had a good 10-15 lbs on Buck, they were huge.

[Winchey]

A lot of good duck dogs are high strung. I don't think sitting still will be a huge problem even for a jumping bean once the dog knows what it is there for. If the dog likes duck hunting it will spend its time scanning the sky and anticipating its next retrieve.

[AzDoggin]

A lot of good duck dogs are high strung. I don't think sitting still will be a huge problem even for a jumping bean once the dog knows what it is there for. If the dog likes duck hunting it will spend its time scanning the sky and anticipating its next retrieve.

Come to think of it, our lab used to whine a little during the slow times - sortof "cmon, let's get this going here!!"

My cousin had a lab knock over a loaded, cocked double barrel (idjit) in a plate steel goose pit. Gun went off, no one was hit directly, but let's just say everybody got peppered with lead shot ricocheting around the walls inside the blind. I'm pretty sure my cousin still has a few of those pellets in his back. That was before he went to Nam - and probably the least of his worries. He still hunts, still has labs, will until he dies.

You're right - dogs with drive just get antsy sometimes.

[Ruffshooter]

[AzDoggin]

Wow. Nice.

[Birddogz]

That Brit looks tired. Like, "Take the picture dude. I have a date with a couch."

[gittrdonebritts]

Dang Ruff he looks like a big ole boy

[A/C Guy]

We take ours out to Lake Roosevelt and Mormon Lake each season for ducks.

[Ruffshooter]

He was tired and hungry, does not like to be late for a meal. He is big, about 55 pounds, still comes in at 19/3/4" at the whithers. Barrel chested boy great coat. That goose he had to make about a 75 yard retrieve in a slight current, going away from him but he caught up. Funny watching him push it through the water to the shore.

Edit size not 18 3/4".

[northern cajun]

Those brits can do it duck or goose. Those little dogs have some heart.