Gun Dog Forum

I recently purchased a Blk.Lab...Why...It is the Gentlemans Bird dog...Seriously though I have always admired the Breed & hope he can save me some foot steps in the field & the water.

I know this is an old thread and all, but a recent post brought it back forward, so I had to voice my reason for staying with Britts.

Nothing better than bringing your Brittany (unassuming little waif of a dog) up to the line at an AF event.
"Since when do we allow ground-hogs to compete."
"Very funny! Nope she's a setter who had an unfortunately accident with my tractor."
"Handlers ready?"

Whistles blow after about 2 minutes, the Brit waif is 5 fields up the course and 2 fields ahead of the pointer rimming the field, and just loafing.
"Is that dog gonna run the whole course that way?"
"I dunno, she's feeling kinda sluggish, we think she might have lyme."

Look on the Pointer owners face = priceless. Yep... scouting our little Chloe, all 28lbs of her. Shame we have to requalify yearly for our Nationals, or we'd see more AF events.

Oh and the fact that the rest of the crew are so laid back helps, since we have all 7 of them in the house (13 now if you include the litter of 6 that are now all sold) make Britts a way better choice for us.

My 7 mo old Llewellin is my very first gun dog. I read up on a bunch of breeds but I love the classic look of the ES and read that Llewellins were soft dogs that are easy to train and they make good house dogs. I don't think my Llew read the same article. She's a bold stubborn goofy pup who steals everything in the house not nailed down and is a great papershredder. I'm crazy in love with her, she is personality plus. I think she will be great if we survive puppyhood.

Small Munsterlanders..................Why be normal?

Bracco Itliano

Honestly, a good friend of mine got one from someone who was moving out of town. I spent a lot of time at their house and played with him, a lot. What drew me to the breed was his intensity. We would play fetch and as soon as the ball was in your hand, he never took his eye off of it and no matter what happened around him, never lost focus. His wife dropped a pan in the kitchen and he never flinched. That look in his eye, that intensity, is what drew my to the breed. Maybe not the best reason, but I have no regrets. And I also lke the weimeraners, I think they are just as beautiful and my shorthair.

BigShooter wrote:There used to be a Gundog Forum limit of fifteen choices for surveys. Later surveys were allowed more options.

My grandfather's last hunting dog was a cocker. It's nice to hear folks are still using the breed for its intended purpose.

There are American Cockers for conformation and English Cockers for conformation and then there are Field-Bred English Cockers.

GSP and Boykin Spaniel

I have a vizsla, but he is atypical for a "velcro dog". I went with a vizsla because I wanted a good house dog with short hair. Did a lot of reading about GSP's and V's. Went with the V because I liked what I read and saw when I visited the breeder.

I say he is atypical because he hates being indoors. The only time he will willingly come in the house is to eat and sleep. He is a heck of a hunter though. He has a very strong drive and is extremely intense.

My wife has a boxer that is a certified therapy dog. Most laid-back boxer I have ever seen.

2 weeks ago I also added a GSP to the clan.

EP for the challenges

GWP - I like a bearded lady

Best of all worlds. Great family pets and exceptional at upland and waterfowl hunting. IMO labs are the best of the best

Vizsla - I wanted more hunt than the Weim I had but love the coat, the energy and the smarts. My wife doesn't like the energy as much. So I got a

Braque Francais as my second dog. Calm in the house, sweet as pie and an absolutely fabulous nose, excellent form in the field, retrieves like a champ and fearless in the water.

I clicked on the poll but forgot to make a post lol. English Springer Spaniel.

Corry

I was leaning towards a GSP. I can see the merits of a good GSP breeding, but I went with a setter...I hate to admit it, but the style won me over. That is class. Nice temperment and size too. it's worked well. If I hunted in places with any more burrs than we have, a slick coat would have been better, but at least he has a thinner coat with little undercoat.

I currently own 2 English Setters, and have hunted Setters for over 20 years. I like setters because:
1- They will get in the rough where the birds are.
2- Class & style on point.
3- They will hunt for me and not for themselves.
4- Temperment.
5- I own and hunt setters because they are what I think a birddog should be.

I can't really compare. Odin is my first hunting dog, a GSP, and currently a 7 month old hunting machine. I chose the breed because of the breeder/trainer I found, and because everything I read about them fit into what I wanted.

There has been no comparison, these guys are just the biggest sweethearts I've ever met.

My parents have always had labs, Even bred them for a while. I do waterfowl hunt every once in a while but I always liked going pheasant hunting with my uncle when I was little with his GSP. I was stuck on a GSP an Vizsla or a Weim. I wanted a pointer that I could use for waterfowl in a pinch. I picked the weim as it was the biggest of the bunch. Got my first bird with him yesterday and I think I made the right choice.

I have an English setter. She is my first bird dog and was a gift from my father-in-law who raised setters at the time. I am planning to get a GSP later this year because I have a good friend that swears by them. Love my setter, but the maintenance that long-haired dogs require around mud and burs in this part of the country is a drawback.

littleking wrote:two britts, there is something in a brittany's eyes that can melt the biggest of men.
There seems to be a light switch in my dogs, in the house they are like throw pillows, in the field they are orange rockets...

the size, the maintenance, the short yet long coat, and their efficient gait which allows them to hunt for miles and miles it what i love.

but of all things, it has to be the eyes.

on final thing, froglegs while laying on their belly will make anyone laugh.

I could have not said it better

I got a lab as my first dog 6 years ago. A lab was the perfect first dog for me. Easy to train and a great companion. I got a Hickox trained english pointer a year ago because I'm a quail hunter and I had been told they were the top athletes of the bird dogs. All I can say is WOW. I didn't expect a great companion dog out of the pointer, but she is beginning to prove me wrong. Contrary to their rep the pointer is soft , easily house broke, and easy to train new things. Shes also warming up and becoming a decent house dog much more quickly than the lab did. In fact, the pointer learns everything more quickly than the lab. This is just my sample of one of each. Ymmv.

I have a Yellow English Lab named Ryder. He just turned a year old on New Years Day. I always loved labs growing up, and couldn't wait to have one of my own.

I chose a Brittany because of the size, personality, and good looks. My family had Labs growing up so if I had to pick my favorite retriever it would be a lab.

3Britts wrote:

displaced_texan wrote:

3Britts wrote: And lets face it, they are, as my wife puts it, just better looing than the other gundogs. Proof of the good looking part is seen in the following story. My 14 year old son wanted to get the attention of a certain girl done the road so he took our male Britt for a walk past her house. His friend saw him walking by and decided to join his with his gsp. When they were passing the girl's house, they noticed that she was outside talking to several of her girlfiends. They all came over and started petting our Britt and ignored the gsp. Three girls focusing on one dogs and his owner. Now, those are odds any boy can live with.

Looks are subjective. My wife loves the way my EPs look, and thinks Britts (and other dock tailed breeds) look funny.

(I know it's an old post, but I rarely venture over here and felt like being difficult )

I would say that you should get your wife to an eye doctor quickly.

Now that you mention it, I think she's due...

I will be getting my first hunting dog this summer, an English Springer Spaniel. I chose this breed because it seemed to have everything I was looking for in a hunting dog. They are good on pheasant, grouse, woodcock, and ducks/geese. They are not to big and are great looking dogs. They have the right temperament. Plus my wife loves them since she had one when she was a little girl.

I plan on trying out a variety of breeds over the years but for my first I chose a springer.

gwgdog66 wrote:GSP's Great dogs, both hunting and as family pets. Get two and you don't need a TV, they will keep you entertained

x 1

A Large Munsterlander because I hunted with a friend who owns them. Seem to be pretty versatile gun dogs.

Mine is 6 months old now and showing good progress.

(Always had labs before, love them. This LM is really special though)

I listed Brittany since I can only pick one. The truth I also have a German Shorthair, but I will try and sell him this year. Both dogs are about 1 1/2 years old and very birdy and good dogs. I truly think the Shorthair is a little better between my two, but the reason I am keeping the Brittany is probably got a lot to do with my age. I am in my mid 50s and the smaller dog is just a little easier to handle and control. Plus when I bring them in the house he calms down much quicker. They both do a good job of calming down it just seems the Brittany is a naturally calmer dog. I will make no claims to this being the norm for the breeds just my two dogs.

Don

Choose only one? What kind of BS is that?

Currently at 2 Pointers, GSP, Vizsla, 2 Chessies, and a pack 'o beagles.

Love 'em all but the V is my heart dog.

RoostersMom wrote:Choose only one? What kind of BS is that?

Currently at 2 Pointers, GSP, Vizsla, 2 Chessies, and a pack 'o beagles.

Love 'em all but the V is my heart dog.

Limitation of the software back in 2008. Otherwise the GSP owners would've started adding on all of the additional GSPs they own & the poll would be lookin' a lot different.

Springers! They do it all exceptionally well and it's more fun than anything else.

Also, the game and terrain I hunt dictate having a versatile dog with a good nose and an exceptionally strong retrieve.

With a golden retriever as a best friend for most of my childhood I thought I would have a golden the rest of my life. Living situations forced me to find a dog under 35lbs. refusing to have a dog that couldn't work for it meals I stumbled upon field Bred English cockers. My Dixie Lou has Boggled my mind and captured my heart with her tenacity Drive and complete devotion. (plus I only go through 1 bag of food a month) so far Dixie has retrieved pheasants, ducks, roughed Grouse(main species) and 3 Canada Geese. No honkers from water though, I know my dogs limitations. If you want a plucky little dog to hunt with you all day then curl up in your lap at night an ECS is the only way to go.

10month old Brittney Spaniel, had wiemarners in past but wanted smaller breed easier to lift over fences. Was keen on the Murray River curly coat retriever ( Australian bred curley coat http://mrccr.org/) liked spaniels high energy, always look busy.Wanting to hunt and learn over different style of dog. Was wanting to break the trend of duck hunting with something other then standard curley coat retriever labradors and GSP's

Gun dog breeds: Two Labs, two Irish Red Setters, one Brittany
Why: Labs for hunting the thick nasty cover and Setters and a Brit for the bigger, open areas. And because they all are great house pets, family dogs, and great company 24/7.

Fran Seagren wrote:Gun dog breeds: Two Labs, two Irish Red Setters, one Brittany
Why: Labs for hunting the thick nasty cover and Setters and a Brit for the bigger, open areas. And because they all are great house pets, family dogs, and great company 24/7.

Hi Fran...Ghost from the past...
Benny and still kicking.
Just registered with this site and will be a place I will hang my hat.
Right now I have two Labs and just acquired a GSP puppy from good stock. I have had many journeys in my life and am ready to begin another. Life is good.

We went with a GSP because of the versatility and then my wife said she didn't want anything with long hair. I was also able to find a really good deal on a good pup. This is my first bird dog so I am learning a lot.

GSP because it’s What my buddy had who I hunted with and was mostly familiar with. Prior to my GSP I had previously had two labs and a Belgium mal that I had for work. So far I’ve been very impressed with my GSP and looking to add another to the fleet

I have two Golden Retrievers. We, myself and two adult son's primarily hunt waterfowl, Goldens handle the cold and sometimes ice filled water better than other dogs. I do use them on pheasant and quail at times. They both have great noses, very good at marking a fall, have soft mouth and of course, they retriever to hand! They are trained to stay within 50' of where I am. Therefore, they act as a flushing dog on upland game...

a GSP, a Lab X GWP cross and a Lab. They fit the bill for both upland and the Lab X GWP and Lab for waterfowl.

ChrisW74 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:42 am

We went with a GSP because of the versatility and then my wife said she didn't want anything with long hair. I was also able to find a really good deal on a good pup. This is my first bird dog so I am learning a lot.

That s one great looking pup!

I'd always figured I've had my share of GSP's and figured my last would be a GSP. Tied for my all time favorite dogs is a Springer, old Skipper, and my old GSP, Hannah, God I miss them today and Skip has been gone since the early 80's and Hannah about 20 yr now. But I can also find something I like in most breeds. My last dog is a Red Setter! Little female I call Sis! My last because I'm hoping to out live her by one day; I'm getting pretty long in the tooth! Having found them at a trial I wasn't real enthused about I have been overwhelmed by them. Only one fault I can find in them. Having had white dog's all my life, a red dog is hard to find! Other than that they have the style of an E Setter, the brains and trainability of the Shorthair and the ability to take training on par with the Shorthair and really easy to train.

Picking puppy's is easy with them. Unless they have on a colored collar, you'll likely never pick the same one twice! They mostly all look the same! When I first looked at Stormy at 6wks, he had on a blue collar and when I went back at 8wks I think he still had it on! Who knows, maybe Craig switched them to see if anyone was paying attention. When I went to get Sis I put a deposit down about a year ahead and told them I wanted one with little or no white and they could pick it for me. Got back there and went out to the kennel and the lady reached down and grabbed pup and that was Sis. Not a clue how she even knew which were female's and which were males! These Red Setter's are a very special breed to me but ya never know, I just might out live a GSP yet!

I have a GSP and a Springer. Will probably own a GSP the rest of my life simply because they fit my bill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unfortunately, my setter died recently; I've had setters, beagles and GSPs. So at present, I have my 5th jack russell terrier- have rescued 5. They are common in shelters as they are very cute pups ,but not a dog for an inexperienced dog trainer - they will take over!
Undecided whether I will start with a new sporting breed. I have Parkinson's so not sure I can give a new dog the daily training and exercise it would need. The JRT says ,"Don't do it!"

Welcome to the forum.

Sharon wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 16, 2020 2:51 pm

Unfortunately, my setter died recently; I've had setters, beagles and GSPs. So at present, I have my 5th jack russell terrier- have rescued 5. They are common in shelters as they are very cute pups ,but not a dog for an inexperienced dog trainer - they will take over!
Undecided whether I will start with a new sporting breed. I have Parkinson's so not sure I can give a new dog the daily training and exercise it would need. The JRT says ,"Don't do it!"

Welcome to the forum.

No time like the present! Think I may have to start a “Get Sharon a pup”, go fund me page together.

Weims. I hunt pheasants in S.Dak. most of my hunting is late in the season. I have hunted behind gsp.,labs.,brits.,setters eng&red,& viz.
My weims have fit the total package better then all others.

I need a close working dog that can power thru vegatation,brush,and snow. Smaller dogs can go down and under but can get stuck in a "tunnel" of their own making ,or get worn out swimming thru the snow/brush. I send them in so I dont have to,so having to go get them out is a big negative.

Labs over heat to easily for any early season work and my weims can handle any cold water retrieves I care to be involved in!

Long hair needs too much attention- my weims need zero attention , so any is too much.

Strong retrieve is a must. Water,land, and a combo of both- sloughs -waterways-creek/river bottoms.

We have two Golden Retrievers! they are very family friendly and great companion dogs. I hunt waterfowl in a state where we frequently have to break ice in a pond, to set up an early morning hunt. Goldens, tolerate cold water and cold weather in general. All our pups are field bred Goldens and we run them in hunt tests to keep their skills up to par. I also hunt Pheasant, Quail, and Dove....our Goldens have good noses and stalk and flush game. They do this within 40-50 Yds. of where we are hunting. All we have to do is watch the dogs until they get 'birdy', then move in quickly to get a shot on the flush...

Timewise65 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:38 am

We have two Golden Retrievers! they are very family friendly and great companion dogs. I hunt waterfowl in a state where we frequently have to break ice in a pond, to set up an early morning hunt. Goldens, tolerate cold water and cold weather in general. All our pups are field bred Goldens and we run them in hunt tests to keep their skills up to par. I also hunt Pheasant, Quail, and Dove....our Goldens have good noses and stalk and flush game. They do this within 40-50 Yds. of where we are hunting. All we have to do is watch the dogs until they get 'birdy', then move in quickly to get a shot on the flush...

My sister and brother in-law wanted a Golden pup and I had them get a top brass dog. My parents had one too. A lot of misconception about just how capable, athletic and smart a field bred Golden actually is. Small sample size but the ones I have followed upland hunting have all had incredible noses.

Garrison wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 17, 2020 9:48 pm

Sharon wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 16, 2020 2:51 pm

Unfortunately, my setter died recently; I've had setters, beagles and GSPs. So at present, I have my 5th jack russell terrier- have rescued 5. They are common in shelters as they are very cute pups ,but not a dog for an inexperienced dog trainer - they will take over!
Undecided whether I will start with a new sporting breed. I have Parkinson's so not sure I can give a new dog the daily training and exercise it would need. The JRT says ,"Don't do it!"

Welcome to the forum.

No time like the present! Think I may have to start a “Get Sharon a pup”, go fund me page together.

LOL I have lots of money, but poor health. Is there a fund for improved health?

Sharon wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 24, 2020 1:40 pm

Garrison wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 17, 2020 9:48 pm

Sharon wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 16, 2020 2:51 pm

Unfortunately, my setter died recently; I've had setters, beagles and GSPs. So at present, I have my 5th jack russell terrier- have rescued 5. They are common in shelters as they are very cute pups ,but not a dog for an inexperienced dog trainer - they will take over!
Undecided whether I will start with a new sporting breed. I have Parkinson's so not sure I can give a new dog the daily training and exercise it would need. The JRT says ,"Don't do it!"

Welcome to the forum.

No time like the present! Think I may have to start a “Get Sharon a pup”, go fund me page together.

LOL I have lots of money, but poor health. Is there a fund for improved health?

If you find one, sign me up too!

Garrison wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 19, 2020 10:07 am

Timewise65 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:38 am

We have two Golden Retrievers! they are very family friendly and great companion dogs. I hunt waterfowl in a state where we frequently have to break ice in a pond, to set up an early morning hunt. Goldens, tolerate cold water and cold weather in general. All our pups are field bred Goldens and we run them in hunt tests to keep their skills up to par. I also hunt Pheasant, Quail, and Dove....our Goldens have good noses and stalk and flush game. They do this within 40-50 Yds. of where we are hunting. All we have to do is watch the dogs until they get 'birdy', then move in quickly to get a shot on the flush...

My sister and brother in-law wanted a Golden pup and I had them get a top brass dog. My parents had one too. A lot of misconception about just how capable, athletic and smart a field bred Golden actually is. Small sample size but the ones I have followed upland hunting have all had incredible noses.

Good comments, we have found Golden's to be 'top dogs' when your priorities are family dogs, waterfowl dogs, and upland dogs are your priorities in that order.

As you know Top Brass blood lines, are generally fine field bred dogs....hopefully that pup worked out for your Sister and Brother in law...

I’m sure it was probably said but I’m too lazy to read through the whole post. Pointers are the ultimate out of the box bird dogs! They are the only breed as 7-8 week old pups that act like minnie adults, especially the fiddler bred variety. This comes from a guy that had his first pointer when I was 10 and now own 2 GSPS and 4 pointers. As far. As pointers not being well behaved family dogs.... that’s funny. All my pointers actually love people too much! All of the upland dogs breeds are great and have come a long ways and as far as the retrieving breeds go,I have one black lab and he is a super intelligent duck/goose dog that my 16 year old handles beautifully. (And if you like your upland birds flushed for you he is great)!