Breed Bias

muddycreek · Post by **muddycreek** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:50 am

Sorry but I'm gonna vent a little. Why do so many have such a breed bias. I am the first to admit I have my favorites (GSP & Springers) but a good dog is a good dog, and a bad one is still bad.

THis comes from a recent conversation with a friend where I was talking about getting another dog. Well he is a died in the wool lab guy, and anything else is not a hunting dog. I reminded him that we hunt two distinctly different types of cover and a lab is not the best choice for ME. I live in KS and the smallest piece of cover I hunted last year was an 80 acre piece of CRP, but they are typically a quarter or more. Well he lives in MN, never hunted anywhere else, and hunts ditches sloughs and small patches of cover. I currently have a GSP and a lab and I have hunted the GSP about 3x more than the lab. I will be the first to admit she is far from perfect, but she did a good job in KS, ND, MN, and OK last year.

What I do not get is why some people are so "bleep" closed minded, and Lab guys see to be the worst! Sorry for venting, but I do feel better now. Gotta go there is a litter of setters that I am going to look at today, should be fun!

Rick Hall · Post by **Rick Hall** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:55 am

Believe it's what they call "the human condition" - or sumpin' like that.

tfbirddog2 · Post by **tfbirddog2** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:10 am

You are not the oly to feel this way, We have had more lab guys come through our hunting lodge dead set that there is no other hunting breed and then 10 or 15 minutes into a hunt behind GSPs and britts and they say things like I didnt know they were such good hunters and such.I also get alot of your GSPs ar so loving and gentle.So I do understand your venting totally.I will admit infront of the church though I still couldnt bring myself right know to do the Britt thing but I am not bagging them anymore that is do to opening my mind up to forgetting the bad ones I hunted with growing up.

Rick Hall · Post by **Rick Hall** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:37 am

tfbirddog2 wrote:I will admit infront of the church though I still couldnt bring myself right know to do the Britt thing...

First Chessies, now Britts. You and I are gonna have to throw down:

Which was taken just moments before the Britt crossed the farm lane to stick a woodcock (That he may have been focused on while I made him pose?):

(Just kiddin' about that "throw down" stuff, btw. I'm old and fat enough to much prefer letting my mutts speak for themselves.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:39 am

When you get someone that is a breed bias and is an arrogant hindend about it

just consider the source and remember the poor dog can't choose the owner

bean1031 · Post by **bean1031** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:51 pm

not here. I look at all the pictures of all the pointer and setters and such and think "bleep", I wish my dog could hunt like that!

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:28 pm

How about....

BIRDDOGS RULE

markj · Post by **markj** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:29 pm

My cousin is the same way, funny how he and his kid crowd over when my GSp gets on point

his lab cant find its own rear end

runs overbirds, mine gets em on point they tell me "that bird must have moved "

Funny how his kid wants a lab after seeing my dogs in action. Must be his breeding

I am personally biased towards good hunting dogs, dont have time to hunt behind a bad dog.... too old for that stuff...

Dont get me wrong, I have hunted with some fine labs in my day one that learned to point rock solid from growing up with my shorthairs and hunting with him most of his days. Was so funny seeing that 120 lb lad go on point honoring my shorthairs points. I really do miss dogs like that that have gone to the great hunting grounds... I retain them memories tho and fondly reminice when sitting on my deck and hearing the rooster pheas crow like right now

right outside my doors

quail will start calling soon, I love it.

Loke · Post by **Loke** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:13 pm

There are a lot of breeds that I don't have personal experience with. I have seen a bunch of "the greatest __________ dog in the world" that would bust out of the blind when you picked up your shotgun, couldn't find a bird if it stepped on it, or had whatever bad trait you would like to fill in the blank with. I am the first to admit that I am not the greatest trainer in the world. But I am trying. My dog is far from finished. But we are trying. It is human nature to overlook the faults in our dogs (and kids), and want to believe that our dogs (or kids) are better than the other guy's. This goes along with breed bias as well. (Or truck, or shotgun, or basketball team, or whatever.) If my dog or truck or shotgun or basketball team or kid is better or faster, or smarter or better looking than the other guy's, then that must make me better, faster, smarter, or better looking as well.

tfbirddog2 · Post by **tfbirddog2** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:25 am

Like am letting on here I used to be a little bias but I not much anymore.Right now I have a pointer pup out in the pen never said Id not own one, but he was a give me and little dude is straight up full of style and my wife is peved that I am giving him away, he five minutes after he was in the backyard he was pointing on the wing.Never thought I would have given a EP a thought but my good friend has two of them and them turned me around on the breed like he and my in-laws did with britts too.I think a true birddogger sees the birddog before the breed so to say cause for me if it will point, hold it let me flush,I shot it brings it back to hand, load it up and lets hit the field.

bobman · Post by **bobman** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:24 am

I think you answered the question in the first post, most guys that have tunnel vision have no experience with the other breed just hearsay, and most of them hunt the same local areas everyyear and the dog thats popular in a region usaully is best for that region, pointers in the south, setters in the frozen north, wirehairs and labs in North dakota cattail slough country.

I upland hunt all those types of places and my dogs pointers and shorthairs are better in some cases and sometimes not....

labs are pretty handy ina cold wet cattail slough phez hunt...

sjohnny · Post by **sjohnny** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:50 am

My wife cracks me up. She's a vet tech - she has a list of breeds she can't stand (and it's growing). Anytime someone mentions one of those breeds or we see one on Animal Planet she says they're all psychotic.

I tend to be biased against some of the more popular breeds because the popularity tends to ruin them. The trend toward smaller and smaller Yorkies has resulted in dogs that have to have a c-section to deliver their one or two puppies. Labs are still riding on the reputation of being a "great family dog" but so many unscrupulous/irresponsible breeders are cranking out $100 AKC Labs that are unhealthy/mean/stupid and people are still scooping them up because of the previous reputation. I hate to see stuff like that happen.

John

Post by **ezzy333** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:12 am

I tend to be biased against some of the more popular breeds because the popularity tends to ruin them. The trend toward smaller and smaller Yorkies has resulted in dogs that have to have a c-section to deliver their one or two puppies. Labs are still riding on the reputation of being a "great family dog" but so many unscrupulous/irresponsible breeders are cranking out $100 AKC Labs that are unhealthy/mean/stupid and people are still scooping them up because of the previous reputation. I hate to see stuff like that happen.

I hear this premis quite often but have not noticed it in real life. I think if you would actually study this whole thing you will find the "unpopular" breeds with a small gene pool actually get "ruined" faster.

The other thing about this is our concept of ruined. It seems in most cases what we are really saying is some people are breeding for traits that we don't. Have you noticed that with field trial people show breeders are ruining the breed and the same is true with show breeders. All of this when both traits need to be bred for if we are going to improve or even maintain our breeds so they can perform in the manner that they were intended.

In the unpopular breeds it may only take a couple of breeders to chnge the breed while in a popular one it will take hundreds.

Ezzy

Rick Hall · Post by **Rick Hall** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:10 pm

I'm wit' ezzy. Only thing that ever ruined a breed for anything was lack of interest in breeding for whatever that thing was. Kazillions of Labs are being breed for reasons other than their field attributes, but it's never been easier to find a Lab with fine field attributes because so many other are, in fact, breeding for them.

sjohnny · Post by **sjohnny** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:49 pm

I agree that there are a lot of good quality labs out there but there are also a ton of people breeding labs with genetics that lend themselves toward health and temperament problems because they are so popular that someone will buy them simply because of the lab reputation. The people trying to make a buck by breeding problem dogs are the real problem.

John

EWSIV · Post by **EWSIV** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 2:30 pm

It doesn't bother me if someone thinks their breed is the best in the world. Anyone foolish enough to put down another breed is not worth my time.

mit · Post by **mit** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:00 pm

Everyone has 'the best dog in the world'. we love our dogs, we love our breeds but I also love all dogs.

I just think there are a lot of narrow minded people in the world & nothing you can say will change their mind.

BigShooter · Post by **BigShooter** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:12 pm

I admit I 'm very biased towards a "very well trained" gun dog with a good nose of any breed but I do not crticize not so well trained dogs or their owners.

Furthermore I do get my hackles up if:

1. The owner of a poorly trained and/or poor nosed gun dog attempts to criticize any other trainer, owner or dog.

2. The owner of a gun dog that works close wants to complain about a very well trained dog that runs big or vice versa.

Mark

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