Labrador for rough shooting?

Hunter21

Mate wants a gun dog and he is interested in a Labrador but is wondering are they any good for rough shooting?
Would they flush birds or are they just used as a retriever that walks to heel all the time?

TriggerPL

Hunter21 wrote: »

Mate wants a gun dog and he is interested in a Labrador but is wondering are they any good for rough shooting?
Would they flush birds or are they just used as a retriever that walks to heel all the time?

Flush, beat cover , retrieve , track deer pretty much everything bar shoot them for you mate

J.R.

My first dog was a labrador. then a springer & now a cocker.

All three will pretty much do the same, as stated in last post.......hunt, flush, retrieve & track.

The labrador can have some difficulty getting into very thick, overgrown cover but its no big deal.

The only reason I went for a smaller dog (when labrador died at 15) was size.....moved house and living in the city with smaller garden so wanted a smaller dog......labrador needs a good bit of space & plenty of exercise.

Your friend will have no problems with a labrador (from working strain) .....very loyal, intelligent and quick to learn plus very strong swimmers.

Only problem I can think of with a labrador is when they are kept indoors............shed hair and it's impossible to remove from fabric.....practically 'sews' itself in.

Grizzly 45

Only other thing with Labs and coats is ,as they have a naturally oily coat for waterproofing,it has to be given a good grooming once a week.IOW run a comb thru it for five mins:),and best get them dried off and cleaned before you bring them inside if wet as they have a distinctive wet smell which can be upsetting to the lady of the house.:)

323

Asked the same question a few years ago, friends father, 50 odd years rough shooting said they will do everything, plus bull their way into cover that would stop a bulldozer. Has worked out great, working and for the kids.

As for grooming, a few including vet commented on the coat condition of my present one. She was last washed with a dog shampoo about 2 years ago, when about 10 months old and coat is perfect. Just wash her off with a garden hose when muddy and sometimes wiper her down.

Dalken

I had Labs when it was mostly duck shooting I was doing, they're natuarlly stronger retrievers than Springers particularly in choppy cold water. They are decent hunters and usually have good noses but where the Springer comes into his own is in thick cover, so if you plan on doing much Woodcock shooting or beating heavy cover generally I recommend a Springer. Springers are the quintessential roughshooting dog. Also I found Labs can be a bit stuborn to train, 'sulky' is how I would describe them.

Alchemist2

One of the best rough shooting dogs i owned was a black lab, small enough in comparison to many lines out there absolutely brilliant dog save one thing, would only ever get 3 good hours hunting out of him as he would run outta steam, he was very full on and as has been said like a dozer in cover

TriggerPL

Dalken wrote: »

I had Labs when it was mostly duck shooting I was doing, they're natuarlly stronger retrievers than Springers particularly in choppy cold water. They are decent hunters and usually have good noses but where the Springer comes into his own is in thick cover, so if you plan on doing much Woodcock shooting or beating heavy cover generally I recommend a Springer. Springers are the quintessential roughshooting dog. Also I found Labs can be a bit stuborn to train, 'sulky' is how I would describe them.

Agree with most of this apart from the sulky part and the heavy cover ,

Lab will hit any cover but not for as long as the springer , as pointed out in the last post 3 or 4 hours tops and not 2 or 3 day in a row .

I find spaniel alot more sulky when been corrected during training

charlie10

friend of mine has two lab bittchs who will hunt ANY cover and i mean ANY and have serious noses for phesants . they will run the length of a ditch any length only thing i find these particular labs are a bit slow but they are thorough.i have seen them stand on there back legs and look into an ivy covered tree one day and two seconds later cock broke roaring

Theshooter2012

Any dog will flush if you train it right. My father started hunting in 70's and he hunted over a collie sheepdog it was just very good at commands. But a lab will show a hunt like a springer you will notice a good dog on a hunt easily but others it is quite hard. In other words a lab will flush but if it is a good dog you will know it has a scent and you will be ready for the bird.

Dalken

TriggerPL wrote: »

Agree with most of this apart from the sulky part and the heavy cover ,

Lab will hit any cover but not for as long as the springer , as pointed out in the last post 3 or 4 hours tops and not 2 or 3 day in a row .

I find spaniel alot more sulky when been corrected during training

So u would say a Lab is generally a better heavy cover beater than a Springer, despite, as you point out, they have a limited battery?

TriggerPL

Dalken wrote: »

TriggerPL wrote: »

Agree with most of this apart from the sulky part and the heavy cover ,

Lab will hit any cover but not for as long as the springer , as pointed out in the last post 3 or 4 hours tops and not 2 or 3 day in a row .

I find spaniel alot more sulky when been corrected during training

So u would say a Lab is generally a better heavy cover beater than a Springer, despite, as you point out, they have a limited battery?

No what I'm saying is a lab will hit cover as gud as any spaniel but don't have the staying power of a gud spaniel ,

I normally beat woodcock with my lab and spaniel neither have problems hitting cover but the spaniel will come into his own after about 3 hours ,

superlite

I hunt a black bitch lab and have to say she misses nothing, will go into any cover provided there's a bird there, naturally they slow up as the day goes on and are not as busy as springers, I've a springer aswell who covers everything regardless if there's a bird or not, lab tends to conserve energy and let the nose do most of the work, if she's on a scent there's no stopping. Excellent dogs

superlite

Theshooter2012 wrote: »

Any dog will flush if you train it right. My father started hunting in 70's and he hunted over a collie sheepdog it was just very good at commands. But a lab will show a hunt like a springer you will notice a good dog on a hunt easily but others it is quite hard. In other words a lab will flush but if it is a good dog you will know it has a scent and you will be ready for the bird.

I agree with that, when my lab is on there's a distinct difference in behaviour and shell have you ready, with my springer it could happen any time

Dalken

TriggerPL wrote: »

No what I'm saying is a lab will hit cover as gud as any spaniel but don't have the staying power of a gud spaniel ,

I normally beat woodcock with my lab and spaniel neither have problems hitting cover but the spaniel will come into his own after about 3 hours ,

Okay, think we're on the same page here TriggerPL.. For this mans needs I'd recommend a Spaniel.