All:

I'd like to purchase a new dog just for the purposes of retrieving downed birds. I'd like the dog to stay healed and then retrieve once a bird has gone down.

I've hunted many years with some friends without the use of a dog; however, we consistently lose birds that are just winged and subsequently run off.

Therefore, what would be your best recommendation for a retrieving dog to be used mainly for pheasant and blue quail. I've thought about getting a Lab but am open for any suggestions.

Thanks,

graybid

picking a dog is a very personnal choice abit like picking the right women,you don't want to be stuck with one that you don't like.i am by know means a dog expert only ever owning the one dog that i have at the moment,a weimaraner.when i came to choosing a breed i looked at black labs because they are just about born ready to go.but everyone i knew had a lab that they used and i wanted to be different.you have to pick a breed that you really enjoy and will fit in with your home life outside of hunting.it also comes down to what sort of hunting you do although i think most breeds a very versitile you might want something a little more specializied.if you are doing alot of upland hunting than a breed with abit of pointing in it would be a good idea.GSP's,Visla's or weimaraners are considered to breeds that will do everyting that you would require although i need to get my boy not going until i tell him to.but really the most important thing is a breed that you like because your the one who he/she is going to be living with.hope this helps and let us know what your decision is

Good advice about picking one that will fit with your family as well.

If you hunt without a dog, I guarantee you are missing birds that run around you. Hunting with a dog will bring home a lot more birds. I'd recommend getting a dog that can not only retrieve but can help find the bird in the first place. There are lots of breeds that can do this and fit into a home situation very well. I've used English Springer Spaniels and GSP's. Both adapt well to being inside with people but like any hunting dog, need to work off energy daily.

If retrieving only when sent, that is from a steady position, I think there is nothing in the world like a Lab. If on the other hand, you want fabulous retrieving, possible on leash blood tracking, pointing, and a great all around hunting companion, I recommend a Deutsch Drahthaar (German Wirehair), especially those dogs bred to the German standards. Contact VDD/GNA for a list of breeders and more info...Tom

http://www.vdd-gna.org/

Graybird:

You mention two very different kinds of birds -pheasant and quail - I never hunted quail regularly (except as I shot at natives in upstate NY in my long gone youth (I'm 76)and always retrieved quail by hand (the great thing about quail was that I either folded them in the air or a very rare "cripple" fell where I could run up and run him down) Pheasant were something else. From ownership and also shooting over someone else's dog, I came to love the Brittany Spaniel. My "Patches" would run after a "cripple" -and a pheasant can run like hell! - and wrestle with it and bring him back to me triumphantly. I think she killed more pheasants than I did! I owed her the credit and not my shooting!. Fact.

For what your are asking, I can't imagine any other dog than a lab or a springer spaniel. But I wonder how long it will be content to remain at heel when walking the fields? The big advantage of the Springer over the lab is that the Springer is smaller than the lab. Make no mistake tho, for purely marking falls and retrieving, the lab is king. I would question the labs abitily to track tho. There the wirehair/VDD and the Springer Spaniel excell. The problem with the shorthair is you may not care for the range some work at and few will be content to walk at heel while in the field.

I have never hunted a plantation but have read that on the southern plantation's, years past, pointer's were not used to retrieve down bird's. They found the bird's, the hunter shot the birds and either a lab or a springer spaniel rode the dog wagon to retrieve the bird's after the shooting was done.

To All:

Thanks for the comments from each and everyone of you.

I'll give you a little more info on my pheasant and quail hunting. I hunt mainly in the Oklahoma panhandle. We hunt many of the old homesteads where available water, food and cover are available. The good thing about hunting these areas is that areas hunted are usually small and can be easily hunted with a couple of blockers and 6-8 walkers. We've hunted these areas long enough I can just about tell you where the birds are going to be and what type of birds will flush.

The reason I fear taking a 'young' pointing dog hunting in this type of environment is because of the blue quail that we typically hunt. For those of you who have hunted blue or scaled quail, I don't have to tell you how fast those suckers get out of Dodge when you start walking. Therefore, I don't want to subject a young dog to the running nature of the quail and develop bad habits or potential problems because the quail run so bad.

Maybe some of you who have hunted blue quail before could give me some of your opinions on hunting dogs with blue quail in mind.

Thanks,

I have never hunted Blue Quail but I have Valley Quail. The same thing you said about Blue's can also be said about Vally's,, unless they are in heavy cover. In the more open cover the dogs seldom hold them. Problem is that the covey's are to large and if you bump one, you bump them all. Trained dog's usually learn to adjust.

When I hunted young dog's for Valley's, or any bird for that matter, never, never, ever, shoot a bird that flushes wild. To do so turns a good pointer into a to big a running flusher.

By letting the covey break up, the singles and small group's hold very well for a pointing dog.

The temperatures you hunt in may be a consideration as well. Here in the southwest, we often hunt in 100+ degree weather early in the season. That is tough on dogs but really tough on labs or other cold weather dogs. I'd look around at what others are hunting with and use that as a guide. Get and have trained a good dog and you won't need to worry too much about it busting birds. Even if it does bust a few, and it will, you'll be many birds ahead by having a good dog. I like german shorthairs in hotter weather but there are lots of capable breeds. Good luck, Harry

in my experience i believe the breed is call golden retriever

graybird,

I use my Labs for Pheasant and Quail and they are fantastic! I don't keep them at heel because they flush many Roosters that would have just set and let me walk by. I do teach my dogs to stay in close and you can tell the minute they hit the hot track. It is amazing how they can turn 90 degrees in mid stride when they get a whiff of a bird. I would not enjoy the hunt without my dog!!!!

Hawkeye47