hunting lab and brittany together

dandrus1022 · Post by **dandrus1022** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:56 pm

Hey everyone,

I have a yellow lab that ive been hunting with for 3 years now he will be turning 5 this august. Im adding a briitany puppy to the mix this June. I've wanted a pointing dog for awhile now so I'm going to get a pup. What do you guys think about hunting them together? What training should i do if you think i can hunt them together? If not i will hunt them separate if that would be easier and or fair to both dogs. Let me know what you think

Thanks Dave

Gooseman07 · Post by **Gooseman07** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 6:01 am

I would think you can do it. I've heard of guys doing it. You will need to ensure the Brittany has steadiness when they go on point and you can allow the lab to flush if they know how to do that. You will need to give the Brit a retrieve every now and again to keep it from getting competitive and busting birds when they see the lab.

I would train the Brit to start, separately from the lab, build confidence in them then integrate together. You will be able to teach steadiness with the Brit alone better than if they are together. ou can use birds better this way. Start almost the day you come home with bird exposure. I could have had my pup steady this fall if I would have spent the time before the season. He learned a lot this fall.

dandrus1022 · Post by **dandrus1022** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:39 am

yeah im going to train the britt by herself and then integrate my lab into the mix. Ill just put my lab at heel when the britt goes on point and then send my lab in when im ready for the flush

Post by **Sharon** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:01 pm

That should work just fine.

dandrus1022 · Post by **dandrus1022** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:53 pm

Do you think 5 months old is young to start hunting the brittany?

luvthemud · Post by **luvthemud** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:59 pm

Hunting a pointer with a flusher can be a blast. As mentioned, just make sure to give to Brittany some retrieving action. I think a lot of praise for holding point while the lab flushes the bird is needed as well.

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:56 am

I have owned pointing dogs and retrievers for years, and do hunt the together, some. The pointer must honor the sitting retriever, and the retriever must honor the pointer when on point by sitting. On sight and command. Both must be trained to finished standards and kept there. Most find it more trouble than it is worth.

And to get a full day's hunt, I hunt them desperately. Putting the retrievers in the tight, heavy cover with high bird numbers and the pointers in the wide open areas where birds tend to be scarce. It is not better, just easier.

dandrus1022 · Post by **dandrus1022** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:24 am

thanks for the input everyone! I know ill have to do a lot of training but i think i can make it work

Grange · Post by **Grange** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:02 am

A pointing dog and a flusher is a fantastic combination and can be hard to beat in my opinion. I've been running my English setter with my lab since I got my setter 6 years ago. My lab is now closing in on 11 (June 2) and she can't hunt nearly as hard as she did during her prime, but man what a treat it is to hunt the two together. My setter ranges much farther than my lab so I watch my lab and listen to my setter's bell in the grouse woods and in the open I watch my lab and check in on my setter.

When a bird is pointed by my setter I usually call the lab into heel and then sit her away from the point while I work the bird. With a retrieve I will do different things. Sometimes I release both and wait to see who bring the bird back and other times I will release one of them for the retrieve. When my lab finds a bird generally my setter isn't near, but if she is I will whoa her if I see my lab get birdy and think a flush is imminent though she has been know to stop to the flush. My lab has also honored or backed my setter if the opportunity arises.

My parents brittanies hunt quite a bit with my lab as well and we use the same tactics as I do when it's just my setter.

dandrus1022 · Post by **dandrus1022** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 12:52 pm

How should i train my lab to stop when the brittany goes on point? i can see him just busting in and putting the bird up! Do you think that this combo will really work or should i hunt them seperate?

Grange · Post by **Grange** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:45 pm

Hunt them together. As long as the lab is well trained you'll be fine. When my setter or my parent's brittanies go on point I will heel my lab and then make her sit (and stay) away from the point while I work the bird.

Trekmoor · Post by **Trekmoor** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:20 am

I had labs and spaniels before I got a Brittany. It didn't take the flushing dogs very long to work out what it meant when the Brittany pointed and they often saw the point before I did in cover. When that happened they went in to flush the bird before I was in gun range sometimes.
Too much of that could make a pointing dog become a flushing dog ..... a long range flushing dog is not much use at all.

I had to train my labs to sit when they saw a point in much the same way as a pointing dog should honour another dogs point.

I now have cockers and a Brittany. I don't let the cockers hunt woods at the same time as the Brittany but I do let both breeds hunt together on open ground. I rarely have any problems while doing that because the Brittany hunts so far out that I see the points first and then call the cockers into heel.

Bill T.

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:28 am

Trekmoor wrote:I had labs and spaniels before I got a Brittany. It didn't take the flushing dogs very long to work out what it meant when the Brittany pointed and they often saw the point before I did in cover. When that happened they went in to flush the bird before I was in gun range sometimes.
Too much of that could make a pointing dog become a flushing dog ..... a long range flushing dog is not much use at all.

I had to train my labs to sit when they saw a point in much the same way as a pointing dog should honour another dogs point.

I now have cockers and a Brittany. I don't let the cockers hunt woods at the same time as the Brittany but I do let both breeds hunt together on open ground. I rarely have any problems while doing that because the Brittany hunts so far out that I see the points first and then call the cockers into heel.

Bill T.

+1 Understand Dandrus, Trekmoor has forgot more about sporting dog development than a majority of folks on this forum even know about the subject.
I also ran flushing dogs with my pointing dogs, commercially, and I looked at it as novelty for the folks I was guiding hunts for. Personally my dogs were all strong enough to get the job on their own so I rather enjoyed changing dogs and always being able to hunt fresh dogs.
A fresh dog in my IMHP were always more efficient then a pair of tired dogs.
That being said the training process of working different style of dogs together was very exciting and providing a chance to experiment with dissimilar exercises and routines that were necessary when working with Flushing and Pointing dogs in the field on birds in concert. With steadiness to wing and shot along with honoring,both as a bird dog and as a retriever. Many might question the amount of time and birds, when thought of as return on investment.

dandrus1022 · Post by **dandrus1022** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:43 am

thanks everyone! im going to hunt them together.

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