Which Dog & Why

scuttlebutt

If you had a choice of one Gun Dog , what would you pick and Why ?

endasmail

personally i would go with the setters,because of there nose and enthusiam for the hunt,also they respond well to directions IMO

jwshooter

wire hair german s as there more intelligent then a lot of people i know

terminator2

you cant beat a good springer

pull..

oh a good springer all the way,great dog for cover etc,general great all rounder.

pm.

scuttlebutt wrote: »

If you had a choice of one Gun Dog , what would you pick and Why ?

Define a gun dog? what do you want the dog to do ? i have a lab a great retriver and wont let 2 much pass his nose. but recently i bought a llewelyn setter, ive seen them hunt and couldnt belive my eyes when i saw him trail a bird then set it, my father had springers all his life but imo you would want to be an athlete to keep up with them

foxhunter

German Pointer because Im too lazy to run after anything else:D:D

LOUTHSHOOTER

I have a Cocker and an Irish setter.Cant beat the Cocker for flushing from cover while the setter is great on open ground.Put the 2 of them in a field and its a joy to behold:p

stevoman

LOUTHSHOOTER wrote: »

I have a Cocker and an Irish setter.Cant beat the Cocker for flushing from cover while the setter is great on open ground.Put the 2 of them in a field and its a joy to behold:p

i agree. Im taking on a springer alobf with my setter this year and plan to work them both together. traditionally they say it doesnt work, but i think its a good combo.

Vegeta

Be very careful running a flushing dog and a setting dog together. If you have control over both dogs there is no problem.

What can happen is if the setter sets the flushing dog may eventually make the connection that there is a bird near the setter and sprint up to his position. This may cause some wild flushes a long way out of gun shot

We run a lab and a setter. Lab is at heel 80% of the time so we don't need to worry about the above.

Setter and springer could be hard work if the springer is not too found of obeying the return, stay or sit commands.

If the springer is good it will be some fun to shoot over them. I must bring a video recorder out before the end of January and show the setter and lab working actually. It's pretty cool stuff.

If I had to have one dog it would be a close call between an ESS or a German Wire Haired Pointer (never shot over the pointer but from what I have seen they are impressive). They're just good all rounders. Hunt, retrieve, beat cover, ok on water. Pointer points too.

greenpeter

I think the best hunting dog is a springer because of the area where i live is full of very heavy cover. I think the perfect combo is lab & springer thats what we use but if i had to pick between the two i'd keep the springer.

macadam

Nothing as bold and as brave as the ESS, for a small dog they have some B@lls

mallards

Horses for courses maybe. For ground that resembles a jungle then a ESS or a cocker. For more open ground with some rough stuff then any HPR. For the open boglands a pointer or setter. For water work or driven then a lab. I've seen all these dogs in each others situations and some did very well. But by and large they were bred for these individual purposes and they suit them best.
For me personaly it has to be a HPR, either the German shorthair, Brittany or Vizla.

Mallards

whitser

pound for pound and as an all rounder you cant/wont beat a springer spaniel.

J. Ramone

I have a lab, best choice for me as my friend has always had english setters and the two make probably the best combination. My bitch is just 2 years old now so it's her first real season. After about 40 excellent retrieves she's pretty well mastered the basics already. Has pulled off some amazing retrieves from forrestry plantation heavily entangled with briars and has taken running cocks off open ground with greyhound like efficiency.

My friends setter is as good as any I've seen which is not surprising considering the amount of work and out of season training he gets. He's also a good retriever as well. My lab is always called back once there is a set. This is never a problem as I never let her hunt beyond 20 yards of me. She's not content to keep to heel but I hope to put some work in here in the long evenings. In wood or scrub the extra dog results in a couple of bonus birds. I would be happy to hunt only with a lab where birds are in plentyful supply but where birds take some work to find, it would be hard to beat a well experienced setter in my view.

My first dog which died of old age a couple of years ago of old age was a german pointer bitch who never pointed pheasants but would rather unsteadily point snipe. She was a faithful dear and always hunted close. As she was a great retreiver on water, I had some great duck shooting with her. I felt sorry for her on the way home in the boat due to her lack of coat. I used to wrap her up as best I could. I intend revisiting some of the old haunts with my lab next season.

I think whatever breed any of us have, once you have the right connection built with trust, a days shooting involves so much more than shooting.

sniper83

personally speaking lads if id only one dog to pick in the morning and leave the rest at home it would always have to be a ESS, for an all rounder its hard to beat them and for woodcock shooting their in a league of their own!!;)

LOUTHSHOOTER

I couldnt knock a good springer but for their hardness and tenacity id take a cocker any day.Ok there harder to train and very stubborn but when u put the work they are unbeatable in any type of cover.but everyone to there own

Mellor

I've been very impressed with my new Britany. 7 months old and already has the head down. Set on his first cock recently

doghunter

hi mellor, just wondering had you much hassle finding a brittany breeder? i'll be looking for a dog in a month or so and i'm seriously thinking about getting one. How do you find them temperment wise?

Mellor

I had no trouble finding one, there appears to be two well known britany dealers in the country, one in cork and one in laois. I contacted David Hayes in Laois (came accross on the net backed up by a mention on here). The whole process was incredibably easy. One factor that really swung me was the fact that it was a gundog breeder, as opposed to a dog breeder. It might not matter, but can only help.
http://www.brittanyspaniels.ie/

cantona1111

I got my first dog this year, a german short haired pointer and he is perfect for me, great in open ground

Dusty87

You'll all probably laugh but ive a retriever/shepherd. Will rise anything around and although a litle slow on the retrieve, will always bring the bird straight to my feet. I know a man shooting over 20 years and he swears by the llewelyns.

pullandbang

From experience of my own dogs and my shooting mate's dogs - the lab is probably one of the best all rounders. I'm shooting over two GSP's at the moment and they are brilliant but they lack the water retrieving ability of a good labrador.
My previous lab was pure class in terms of hunting like a pointer, passing nothing and never losing a shot bird - either land or water.
I like shooting over the pointers and get more pleasure from watching them work than the actual shooting itself. There's nothing like seeing your dog latch onto scent from a distance, trail the bird and then lock onto the point until you catch up and send him in.
However, if I did a bit more duck shooting than I do, and could only have one dog, then it would have to be a lab.

macnab

I have agonised over this issue for a few months as its my first hunting dog, I have finally decided to go for a springer, I cant wait.

homerhop

Springers for me, always hunted with a pair. Loved watching them work together.

Wolfhillbilly

irish setters for me. I have always liked them looks-wise and hunting-wise. There has been just about every type of pointing dog in our household over the years from irish, English (Llewelyn), one Gordon, a GSP or two, English pointers, a pointer/lab cross and to be honest they yall had their plus points. Never had a springer as I never considered them compatible with a pointing dog so I'm surprised to hear htat a few of you are hunting with a flushing/pointing team.
Basically if you get a good dog, it's a good dog, no matter what breed it is. You can get a bad one in any breed, and no matter what you do, you'll make it into a good one.
On another note, does anyone shoot or know of anyone who shoots with an Irish Water Spaniel?
I haven't seen one in years. I used to meet a bloke with one about three or four years ago but ran into him last week and it had died and he replaced it with a lab.
There was also a shooter here in Belfast that always had one although I have to say that any time I was out with him I was never that impressed. I remember about five years ago at one of the game fairs i was speaking to a a member of the IWS Society of Ireland who were trying to keep a distinct working breed, but I haven't seen or heard of them since.

Double Barrel

Hillbilly,

Check your PM's.

Double Barrel

Irish Setters - field bred - are adaptable, intelligent and have great temperment, can be trained to do just about anything that is required of a gundog and are quick studies. Setters are instinctive and they remember what they learn.
They are fast and wide ranging, use the ground with intelligence, searching the wind for the faintest scent. Their history is tied to the mountains, moors and red grouse and their great strenth as a natural galloper-looper allows the IS to cover ground at speed.
Properly trained they are excellent retrievers on land and water, fur and feather.

German Wirehair an intelligent, mentally flexible dog with an outstanding nose, determined search, and aggressive disposition toward predators . Painstaking tracker, especially on blood. On shot and wounded game they are thorough, presistent and methodical gundog. Will work heavy cover all day if need be and are excellent water dogs. Hard working dogs.
IS & GW are very biddable, and full of heart, with an almost uncanny ability to reason. They have the ability to shift gears and adjust their hunting style to suite a variety of game and conditions. In a word, versatile.

jwshooter

ole turlo , will be delighted you posting his no on hear ,i would delete it and pm it if the guy wants it.
i would put my GWP pup against any dog in the land for hunting cover ,i can hit a squash ball into the wood in front of my house she will spend 20 mins looking for it and keep going back till she does find it .
for some one that is into all aspects of field sports there the only dog .
there is only one thing that stumps her, why the fxxk cant she climb the tree after the cat .
some thing the cat is rather happy about .

Double Barrel

Spot on JW.
Up most of the night with a cow calving.

cavan shooter

I have a 14 week springer pup at present and so far he is keen and very playful. I cant knock the springer

deerhunter1

scuttlebutt wrote: »

If you had a choice of one Gun Dog , what would you pick and Why ?

Springer
Springer & Lab great combo

BUACHAILL

For me it depends on what your a shooting

I mainly shoot deer, I swear by Alpine Dachsbrake's , only about 15 in the country I believe and I was lucky to get one of them, unbelievable on blood scent.

One recorded in Austria tracking a deer 5 km away in a river
Very head strong dog though.

jwshooter

BUACHAILL wrote: »

For me it depends on what your a shooting

I mainly shoot deer, I swear by Alpine Dachsbrake's , only about 15 in the country I believe and I was lucky to get one of them, unbelievable on blood scent.

One recorded in Austria tracking a deer 5 km away in a river
Very head strong dog though.

lovely dogs also very quite in there manner a few friends have them

BUACHAILL

yeah a gorgeous dog

Very quiet in their manner around humans, not so much in the forest
Can be hard to manage when they get a scent, sometimes they run away with themselves and ignore your command, not very often mind

jwshooter

BUACHAILL wrote: »

yeah a gorgeous dog

Very quiet in their manner around humans, not so much in the forest
Can be hard to manage when they get a scent, sometimes they run away with themselves and ignore your command, not very often mind

i seen one clear a valley of deer in 10 mins a few years ago it chased a calf for a mile or more .
the dog was happy but no one else
what part are you in

BUACHAILL

Living in Wicklow !!

I am assuming here we know the same people with these dogs, not many out there !!

jwshooter

BUACHAILL wrote: »

Living in Wicklow !!

I am assuming here we know the same people with these dogs, not many out there !!

you have me thinking now who you are .did your dog come from a guy that came home from germany.

BUACHAILL

happens to live in Galway ?

jwshooter

galway and wicklow well for you two nice county's

BUACHAILL

ha no the guy who had dogs now lives in Galway !!
Im in Wicklow

Have you anything to do with Coillte?