Gun Dog Forum

Just wondering what average ground speed the different breeds are showing on the gps. I hunt 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours then move to a new spot. So the dog gets some rest between hunts.

german shorthair. First hunt 12.5 mph later in the day 10 to 10.5 mph in open country

greg jacobs wrote:Just wondering what average ground speed the different breeds are showing on the gps. I hunt 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours then move to a new spot. So the dog gets some rest between hunts.

german shorthair. First hunt 12.5 mph later in the day 10 to 10.5 mph in open country

Any answers you get will not prove anything, just as yours do not. There are way to many variables that aren't being considered such as terrain and cover, how fast you are walking, how many birds did you contact or how many did the dog encounter. What was the temp and humidity, was it a good scenting day or not, when was the dog fed and watered? What condition is the dog in and has it been exercised regularly? Each of these points will make a difference

Not sure I was trying to prove anything. Certainly wasn't trying to be scientific.

I always think that's interesting too. I hunt mainly woods for grouse-woodcock and over many years, mine averages 7.5mph average on an all day hunt. She's not much different on the prairies because it's one dog hunting all day.

Based on when I condition her on a bike, if I were only hunting her an hour or so at a time, I'd expect her to average 10-11 mph.

Breed is DD.

I appreciate, utilize and highly value a few of the functions of the Astro-type units but I certainly appreciate and value looking around me on a day afield far more than looking down at a handheld unit for minutia.
Perhaps, one day a heads-up display on a helmet face screen will be offered to the dog-owing birdhunter.....the helmet in blaze orange, of course.
It should sell like flapjacks.

Apart from that, it can be a shame when minutia is used to reckon a dog or breed somehow better in some measure.
Competition can be very subtle.

When out hunting I look at it to see where my out of sight dog is. Or use the tone instead of a whistle. I like quiet peaceful away from people time, out with the dog. But when I get home I crack a beer and check out the different hunts and dog info.

No subtle competition. Figured the setters and pointers would be the fastest with the shorthairs somewhere in the middle.

I wonder if one breed is more prone to making left turns on a run, the NASCAR of dog beeds perhaps......I reckon one could count the turns with a mapping program.

I do figger that dog fitness plays into speed and speed maintained over Time....or hunter fitness and preference, for that matter.
Let's just ignore dog age.
As to setter and pointers in your assumption, greg.....do you count in the dual setters to the setter mix when making that assumption?

I see that minutia can be fun....and one never runs out of it.
Minutia Away!

A lot of variation in setters just as there is in shorthairs.

The average speed of my GSP dog hunting is not that great, maybe 7mph, but they can run all day at that speed. Now my GSP Sleddog when trained up was running at about 21 mph, but could only maintain that speed for about a half an hour.

Depends on terrain and such but in 6" of snow over and through sage brush my girl Kate will run 10-12 mph according to Garmin.



This is a friends dog I am breeding Kate to soon and I don't know what mph speed Garmin would give him here, but he was clocked doing 26mpg and is his regular galloping speed during workouts.



Now, no dog can keep this kind of speed going all day obviously, and it shows how there could be just too many variables as Ezzy said.

I don't see this as a competetive thread, but an informative one. No, we don't look at our Astro's continuously all day. At the end of the day you look at the dog infor page and it shows how far they've run and at what average speed. So, if you're on a five day SD hunt, you may found your dog has run 100 miles at a 7mph average. Personally, I find that interesting, no competetive.

Thanks. I got beat up a little on this one. If anything my pup needs to slow down a bit. At 18 months she's a little excited the first part of the day.

During hunts my little setter will usually average 7-8mph while putting on 10-20 'dog miles' over the span of a few hours hunting. When running the bike trails in the summer she'll average 12-13 mph while putting on 8-10 miles. Typically my brothers GWP's (60# & 70#) will have an extra mile or two at the end of the day but they are twice as big as my setter (30#). All three dogs are in great shape.

SCT, that second picture is pure art in motion. The muscle definition is great - very nice!

GunDogAdventures wrote:SCT, that second picture is pure art in motion. The muscle definition is great - very nice!

I agree. He's quite the bird dog also. I did not take the photo though.

I have two GSP's and one pointer. My pointer in the chukar hills averages about 6-9 mph. About the same as my GSP's. Alot does depend on how many birds he finds, standing on point for 15 minutes can skew the data.

Hmm...haven't paid attention to average speed before. I will watch this weekend and report. I did notice that my gsp spends the vast majority of the time left of me when hunting.

My 2 year old Irish will average about 10-11mph over a hunt of about 30miles, on longer days 45-60 miles he is down to about 8-9mph

My 2 yr old GSP averages 7.5 mph. Doesn't seem to matter whether it's the first or last spot of the day, stays about the same. I usually hunt flat ground in Eastern NC but did notice while hunting in PA in some hilly terrain he averaged the same. I don't pay much attention to the Alpha when I'm hunting but do like to geek out with it once I get home. I always like to see how far I traveled compared to my dog.

greg jacobs wrote:Just wondering what average ground speed the different breeds are showing on the gps. I hunt 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours then move to a new spot. So the dog gets some rest between hunts.

german shorthair. First hunt 12.5 mph later in the day 10 to 10.5 mph in open country

I mostly hunt chukar. My setters average sped is right around the same as your GSP. But when I take him out for a run, it's faster.

This is an interesting topic, even if we can't really gain much useful information. And honestly, I sometimes wish my dog would slow down a little.

Curious if you guys are using the start a bew hunt function , and ending the hunt, or if you are just strapping the collars on and going hunting?

Every time I start a new DAY, I reset the collar. I am interested in the average speed per day, not per hunt. I used to keep a journal of both but found it of no value.

I got out and hit 1 spot Friday 3.5 hours one hunt. She was at 12 mph hunting huns but we dropped into a canyon to hunt quail on our way back down. Her average dropped from 12 to 8 mph average for the morning. The time was about split. That must have her down at 4 mph down in the brush. The reason I'm trying to learn more about speed and range is I'm going to get a new pup in a couple years. The more I learn the more likely I will of getting what suits my needs for hunting and venues. A little knowledge sure can't hurt. As for my current pup she is what she is and training is the tool that I have right now. I'm in the process of reeling her back in a little. However at 18 months getting the gun and bag out lights the fuse. Opening the door launches her. Discovered what happens around 900 yard. It changes to .5 miles. Want a little closer working dog for the next one. That will give me a little variety in range when out hunting. And different dogs for different venues. This was our hunting area friday. There is a spring up higher that keeps the brush and trees and quail going.

SCT wrote:Depends on terrain and such but in 6" of snow over and through sage brush my girl Kate will run 10-12 mph according to Garmin.



This is a friends dog I am breeding Kate to soon and I don't know what mph speed Garmin would give him here, but he was clocked doing 26mpg and is his regular galloping speed during workouts.



Now, no dog can keep this kind of speed going all day obviously, and it shows how there could be just too many variables as Ezzy said.

I like so much speed and Kate is beautiful running. Your friend dog is fantastic!!

Thank you Oscar, should make a nice litter eh?

Steve

SCT wrote:Depends on terrain and such but in 6" of snow over and through sage brush my girl Kate will run 10-12 mph according to Garmin.



This is a friends dog I am breeding Kate to soon and I don't know what mph speed Garmin would give him here, but he was clocked doing 26mpg and is his regular galloping speed during workouts.



Now, no dog can keep this kind of speed going all day obviously, and it shows how there could be just too many variables as Ezzy said.

Steve who is the dog in the bottom pic? I've seen that pic before?

birdogg42, He is Certified Sam, Donny Gerstner's male out of Miller's Online. He's got Miller's White Powder on top and bottom along with Additions Go Boy.

Steve Tait

That's what I thought. He's a good looking dude! Good luck with your litter.

Mike

I note the speed but really appreciate being able to see the dogs patterns. Also found it interesting to see my "closer working" dog puts on as many miles as my "bigger running" dog. They just do it differently.

Retiredbirddogman wrote:I note the speed but really appreciate being able to see the dogs patterns. Also found it interesting to see my "closer working" dog puts on as many miles as my "bigger running" dog. They just do it differently.

That is an interesting observation.

I just looked at my new garmin 320 today. Anyway the readout said 7.3 mph, for whatever that is worth.

I have run two different dogs using the unit, on several different days, maybe a total of 10-20 hours of running. Both are horseback shooting dogs of the pointer persuasion. One is a fairly handy dog and the other is a screamer. All of it has been on foot and I have been making an effort to keep the dogs in close. The terrain was flat and partially muddy(it has been wet here), the cover was light to moderate, mostly pretty open but mixed with stands of woods. I average two finds per hour down, because that is about how long I typically run them and that is how many birds I plant, so some of the time...they are standing still.

Most of the time they are most definitely going at a much slower pace than I see from horseback, but I am mostly working on patterning and having them keep in touch with me.

RayG

I have a Llewellin that is 24" tall and less than 40 lbs. He is fast and big running.
He has slowed down some as his miles get up over 20. He is often in the upper 30's to 40 miles in a days hunt.





I have also seen several close working dogs that put down as many miles as some of the bigger running dogs.

SetterNut wrote:I have a Llewellin that is 24" tall and less than 40 lbs. He is fast and big running.
He has slowed down some as his miles get up over 20. He is often in the upper 30's to 40 miles in a days hunt.





I have also seen several close working dogs that put down as many miles as some of the bigger running dogs.

That dog doesn't run, he flies. 28 miles and 12+ average. I don't think I've ever had one that fast for that long. I love watching those small dogs; they always seem faster than they really are!

Speed is great but if they don't have the nose to match their feet then it is all for not.