Gun Dog Forum

stonegripper · Post by **stonegripper** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:39 am

I want something that can run weekend field trials/hunt tests on Sat and go wild bird hunting on Sunday in southern Iowa.

He (or she) must point and retrieve...backing is nice for my buddies.

Must look good. Roan is a favorite, so is solid liver. No matter, just look good. At the end of the day, calm enough to ride in the front seat of the pickup...cause all the birds are in the back...and sleep with one of my kids at night.

gonehuntin' · Post by **gonehuntin'** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 8:28 am

I want a dog that's a ball of fire in the field and an old shoe in the house. A loving, easy going personality, extreme intelligence and tractability. Four words; desire, tractability, intelligence, personality. For me, a great dog must have all of these.[/i]

Billy Ray · Post by **Billy Ray** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:55 am

Nose, not all dogs are the same. I've seem some that couldn't smell a fart in a car.

A strong point, can't stand a dog with no style.

Big runner, can't stand boot lickers.

Versatile, love it when they dispatch the vermin (coons, coyotes etc.)

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:12 am

What they said, plus a way of going that makes you stand up and take notice.

Wish that there was a gene for avoiding skunks that could be bred for....

Best, Greg J.

Hotpepper · Post by **Hotpepper** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:54 am

Bidibility

Nose

Intelligence

Social Skills

Bird dogs parents

Kinda simple for me, looks in there somewhere.

To please with a great nose in what I have owned and bred for 20 years. Have to be a part of the family.

Pepper

zodiakgsps · Post by **zodiakgsps** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:27 pm

Greg Jennings wrote:What they said, plus a way of going that makes you stand up and take notice.

Wish that there was a gene for avoiding skunks that could be bred for....

Best, Greg J.

If you ever find that, let me know! My young male has been sprayed 3 times in 2 weeks now........(yet he doesn't bother groundhogs???)
I pretty much can only repeat what has been said already....biddability, style, nose, goes in the field but laid-back around the house, I like a good moving dog, snappy, flashy. Being interested in finishing a dual, I also look at structure, although this comes second to ability.

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:33 pm

zodiakgsps wrote:If you ever find that, let me know! My young male has been sprayed 3 times in 2 weeks now........(yet he doesn't bother groundhogs???)

We've been sprayed 6 times in the 2 years that we've lived here. We had a near miss last night. I've never seen so many skunks in my life!

Best, Greg J.

Sonny Hawkins · Post by **Sonny Hawkins** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 4:06 pm

Be careful, thoes SKUNKS can carry RABIES.

Sonny

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:33 pm

One of the reasons that there are so many skunks here is that there isn't nearly as much rabies in the skunks and racoon populations here. That's at least partially because the state of Ohio distributes packages of rabies vaccine in a form that the skunks and racoons eat and are thus vaccinated.

Racoons galore here too. Never seen so many in all my days in TN and AL.

Best, Greg J.

bondoron · Post by **bondoron** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:39 pm

Desire, temperament, biddabilty, strong nose. I want a dog that gets out there and just rips it up. In the field, or in the woods.

Billy Ray · Post by **Billy Ray** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:49 pm

bondoron wrote: I want a dog that gets out there and just rips it up.

Yep, I have to make my dog quit, he ALWAYS goes balls out. It's all he knows.

warn · Post by **warn** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:35 pm

i agree with just about everything said although for me first and foremost my dog as to be extremely friendly and a great family dog or it has no place at my house. I will probably never enter a trial but i still desire and expect a good hunting dog that hunts for me and not him/her self.

bird · Post by **bird** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:54 pm

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 8:05 pm

How about a good looking bundle of excitement. The rest I can train for and try to bring everything in to control.

Ezzy

bondoron · Post by **bondoron** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 8:55 pm

ezzy333 wrote:How about a good looking bundle of excitement. The rest I can train for and try to bring everything in to control.

Ezzy

True to a point. Hard to train temperament and nose though.

Billy Ray · Post by **Billy Ray** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 8:59 pm

As well as style and range and overall natural ability. You can take run out but not put it in. It either has it or not. As far as style I see alot of dogs that look like they might be peeing as opposed to pointing.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:09 pm

As far as style I see alot of dogs that look like they might be peeing as opposed to pointing.

And there isn't a thing wrong with that if they hit the scent at full run and stopped on a dime or even switched ends in mid air. Not every good point is with head high. Like I said it should be exciting and slamming into point is one of the most exciting pieces of work you can see.

I had one of the first Brits I ever owned go on point in mid-air as she jumped across a small creek. She landed with the bird directly under her and her head wasn't high but it was something you would never forget.

Ezzy

bird · Post by **bird** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:36 pm

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:46 pm

Thank you Bird. I stand corrected. you are doing a good job.

Ezzy

TrueBlu Shorthairs · Post by **TrueBlu Shorthairs** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:18 am

BIRDDOG, BIRDDOG, BIRDDOG!! Did I mention BIRDDOG!??

Dog can have all the run in the world, look great moving, be as trainable as Seattle Slew, have the speed of Jeff Gordon, and the style of Nadia Comoneci, but if the dog ain't a birddog it ain't a dog. If the dog is a birddog, it's desire to find birds will make it run and do all the other things it needs to succeed, whether hunting or competing.

tfbirddog2 · Post by **tfbirddog2** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:03 am

I want personality, temperment, natural desire to do everything.No roan not a big fan, I like more white.Good boxie looking head. No half mile rangers, Big runners medium range. Would love to find the no skunk gene I guess thats why I would not breed my little liver female she been sprayed three times in four years.

Sonny Hawkins · Post by **Sonny Hawkins** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:59 pm

Hey BIRD, You just about made me CRY.

Sonny

Don · Post by **Don** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:13 pm

I've really had to think about this. Just about every dog I've ever had was bought on the strength of it's breeding. Early on, all those red marks on a pedigree really impressed me, they don't any more. What I like now is pup's out of well proven field blood. I don't recognize the line, I don't buy. Usually I've seen one or both parents work. Don't care any farther back than that, blood starts getting diluted pretty quick. I don't buy mother/son, father/daughter or sibling/sibling pup's either.

I like to seperate the males and females then take out the ones I don't think I'd want to look at then from whats left, take the one I want to look at most.

My new setter pup was not picked by me. I told the breeder that I wanted an orange and white male, mostly white, and to pick me one. I'm well aware that some people can look at pup's and grade them but I can't. To me a 7wk old pup just acts like a 7wk old pup; they sort of look like one too!

Don · Post by **Don** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:15 pm

I should add that I think the place to look for the things you want in a pup is in the parents, not the pup.

Don · Post by **Don** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:12 pm

Darn! The question was dog, not pup! See what happens when you think to long?

I need a dog that is lean and fast. It must be athletic. I like good range, say 300 to 400yds in a hunting dog depending on cover. The dog must be biddable, not interested in a test of wills with the dog. Must be willing to take training, neither to hard nor to soft. If I had to have one, I'll take the soft dog long as it's not hard headed. Nothing worse that a soft but hard dog! I detest both the poker tail and a sickle tail. I want the tail to look like if flows out of the body rather than an appendage someone stuck on as a after thought. I like the dog to stand up on point. I've seen to many that crouch no matter the distance to the bird, yuck!

I like dark pads, I think they are tuffer in the country I hunt in. And I like lots of white. They are easier to see in cover and not slowed down by heat as much.

The dog must be intense. But I also think that many people train intensity out of the dog. That is hard to put back in! You can stroke and style all you want. assuming you get the dog standing up, you still can't replace intensity you take out. With well bred dogs, I think that many of the things we don't like were either trained in or taken out in the training process. The things we do like were there all along and we didn't mess with them. The physical atributes were either there or not and we can't do anything about them, they don't show up to well in a pup; they come out in a dog.

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birddog?