What dog??

shootingkid

Hi there,

Was wondering if u guys got any advice.Im new to shooting, I have a 6 year old labrador, he,s only a pet and im now thinking of getting a springer or springador for hunting. do u no if this dog would suit me, what time of year i should get the pup and if i should house the 2 dogs together.

what are ur thoughts also on buy a trained dog or giving the dog to a trainer?

doyle61

it depends on the type of ground your going to shoot over, what style of shooting you want to do etc etc. springer is a good dog to get. i have a cocker and find them a lot calmer than the springer which suits me. whichever dog you get though ild be on the lookout for one now. in my opinion, obediance training is a must and it'll make your life so much easier in the future.

shootingkid

Thanks doyle61 will be just using it for rough shooting on the land round were i live, pheasants mainly

Glensman

For pheasant I would suggest a Pointer, English or German...

shootingkid

Thanks glensman was out with a friend last season who had a german pointer (the hairy one) which he was still training. was a plessure to watch. sadly he sold him round that time but will look into it and will give him a call for a chat.

EPointer=Birdss

Would agree Glensman, (go figure on a pointer) but for your 1st dog a springer might be more forgiving to inexperience on your side.
Pointers are a lot of dog for someone just getting into it.:eek:

If you do go for one & read/research til it becomes repetative & put in alot of effort & he turns out ok then I personally see no comparision but thoroughly enjoy the traits of both for different days/ grounds etc

jwshooter

for a new guy , that never trained a dog or hunted one . a springer would be my advice.
A HPR might be a hand full , also with the beet gone terrain is not what it was.

shootingkid

Thanks EPointer will take ur advice on board and will talk to a few i no with a springer and pointer and see what they say aswell.

p.s liked ur headcam videos on youtube goodshots

shootingkid

thanks jwshooter any thoughts on buying a dog fully trained

Wolfhillbilly

shootingkid wrote: »

thanks jwshooter any thoughts on buying a dog fully trained

I always enjoyed training my own dog. There's a real sense of satisfaction there when you take him out and shoot your first bird over him. My advice would be to have a go at the training. Yes you'll make mistakes (I did anyway, and still do) but there is dfinitle more satisfaction and a better bond with the dog.
Fully-trained dogs can also be quite expensive. There is a fully-trained red setter for sale in Co Louth at the minute and the owner is looking 1800 euro - not cheap.
Saying that, I paid 300 sterling for a pup about three years ago, fed, reared and drove it and it turned out to be useless!!

shootingkid

Thanks billy all taken on board, have heard that alot through my enquireis.

irish setter

maybe i'm missing something that the springer owners could inform me about but is there not alot more training involved in a springer than a setter or pointer. if i was advising a newbe i'd say go for the setter pointer first.

shootingkid

irish setter have a relative who bred red setters all his life and his son is now doing the same think he will be getting a visit from me son
thanks

jwshooter

read as much as you can ,10-20 mins a day is plenty to train a pup . springer's are so handy to train .
i had a two over the years .if i did not use my wire hairs for stalking i would have a springer again ,i might even still .as there lovely dogs.

moan 77

Got a llewellen setter a tri colour 3 years ago had a lot of dogs( english and german pointers, red setters, springers, labs and a mix of the above) down the years with some sucess not great sucess must be said, i got her at the start of the a season she was only 6 months old so had the season written off but held some hope for the last month or so, but she showed great promise in the trails i had before i bought her and from day one she started to set like a dream and is still at it thank god, ok she has picked up one or two bad habits but that my fault got lazy cause she was so good i let thing slip and building a house didnt help going to bred off her next time in season pup should be crackers, spent 700 euro on her you get for what you pay most of the time other dogs most spent ranging from 100 old pound to 250 euro

EPointer=Birdss

irish setter wrote: »

maybe i'm missing something that the springer owners could inform me about but is there not alot more training involved in a springer than a setter or pointer. if i was advising a newbe i'd say go for the setter pointer first.

You have a point (:)) on the training side IS, pointers/setters do a lot of training themselves once well bred, i.e. range, point etc (not all of course)

I found having trained the pointer & a springer now within a year of each other that the pointer has a lot more free will & independance by the shere nature of how they hunt & can be a handful.
Springers do require a fair bit of handling & prob more commands but if he's staying in range you nearly always get a shot. A lot of obedience in em alright but I'm finding the Springer very easy train by comparison.

Alot of young dogs in the club at the moment, & the springers have all being hunting & getting a few a birds in thier 1st season & makes em more keen - could ruin a pointing dog if too eager yourself.

Pointers/setters take longer to settle down too & this chap seems eager to get going. He'll shoot birds over a springer next season if he gets one now (provided he can hit em ) but would be suprised if he shoots over a pointing dog til the following year as odds are it won't be steady on birds anyway...

All depends on what level of dog you want, trial standard or with some flaws by trial standard that you can live with... :rolleyes:

My money is on a flushing dog - but if you get bitten (puns every where in this post!) by the pointer/setting dog breeds I doubt you'd go back if mainly pheasants you shoot.

I do bit of wildfowling & woodcock myself & love working over springers but for pheasants you can't beat a good pointing dog IMO...!

In summary my thoughts are if you want to shoot birds next year I'd say go for the springer.
If you are more patient & will put in the training & can wait possibly another year go for a setting dog.
Also go for a pup as way more rewarding... Good luck..;)

doyle61

as the lads said ild go for a pup. ok, so sometimes a pup doesnt work out which is disapointing, but it is very rewarding training them and generally speeking yould be unluckey to get a rubbish dog. also in my opinion im usually very sceptical about "fully trained dogs for sale". the thing i ask myself is why on earth would someone put all that time and effort into training a dog and then just sell it??? he might have been training it for trials and its just not up to that standard, but that means theres a LOT of dogs out there that didnt make it which sounds fishey to me. far as im concerned a lot of them are just not good eneough full stop.
whichever type you choose ild start looking now (for next season) and have at least obediance training done with it. if the hunting is in him/her it'll come but a controllable dog makes life so much easier and enjoyable

irish setter

doyle61 wrote: »

as the lads said ild go for a pup. ok, so sometimes a pup doesnt work out which is disapointing, but it is very rewarding training them and generally speeking yould be unluckey to get a rubbish dog. also in my opinion im usually very sceptical about "fully trained dogs for sale". the thing i ask myself is why on earth would someone put all that time and effort into training a dog and then just sell it??? he might have been training it for trials and its just not up to that standard, but that means theres a LOT of dogs out there that didnt make it which sounds fishey to me. far as im concerned a lot of them are just not good eneough full stop.
whichever type you choose ild start looking now (for next season) and have at least obediance training done with it. if the hunting is in him/her it'll come but a controllable dog makes life so much easier and enjoyable

there is a chance that i could be selling a fully trained dog and you wouldn't get a better shooting dog. the reason is he has everything but he might be wanting for a little pace. i know of a great pointer trained for field trials who tended to back cast when pressured by another dog and had to be sold. them faults wouldn't make the slightest difference in a shooting dog. but your right you could be sold a dud if your not careful.
e-pointer good points. sorry for yet another pun

doyle61

best one ive ever heard is from the uncle. basicaly he knows this chap that bought a fully trained springer off a lad from somewhere in connamara. well anyway he brought it back home and went out for a shot the next day and it wouldnt do a fecking thing:mad: so he rang the lad he bought it from. turned out the dog was trained in irish:D:D
dont know if its true or not but good story anyway haha

ferrete

i would personally be prone two a half bred spinger spaniel with the cocker spaniel

dooner

I work Labs
your best bet is to talk to as many breeders as possible they should be able to advise you which dog would suit you. make sure the dog is from working stock see both parents if possible as half the job is done its in the dog to work a breeder will be often be happy to help and advise you with training or put you in touch with local gundog clubs talk to people who have dogs you like we all love giving advise and encouraging new comers
Good luck I hope you have many happy years with your dog

cavan shooter

I love springers, and I know what lads say that you have to walk every field with them, but I like the excercise and the anticipation waiting for something to rise. My springer is a pet as well, and it doesnt affect his hunting abilities. I got it from a good friend who didnt regester his Father he cost me €150 to cover injections etc. I got him as a pup and I would recommend a pup because you really build up a trust and get to know his personality. \it takes 10 minutes a day and its woryh it

elius

A german short haired pointer would be my choice. Got a 3yr old for free last november (first dog) that refused to hunt for the previous owner. And it was a long process that tried my patience at the best of times but after 20 mins a day till christmas differant dog still not 100% but 100 times better than it was. Will happily hunt, point retreive all day long and her biggest problem was ranging out she happily does this no within reason she even gets excited when she see the gun.

irish setter

i'm of the opinion that too much thought is put into which breed of dog to use. if you get a good dog of whatever breed he will do the job for you. i like irish setters and the reason is the first dog i ever shot over was my friends red setter. a great dog, and i think most people will stick to their first experience with a good dog. thats why i'd never push irish setters on anyone starting out, instead i'd say go for one they liked the look of and liked the style of hunting