Next dog

[gwl79902]

I have 2 black labs and love them. My old dog is almost 14 but doing well. I hate to even think about our next dog but I am. My 7 year old is a small lab about 45 pounds and I love it. I no longer hunt waterfowl so am thinking of a pointing breed. I would like a smaller dog, pointing, family dog is a must, trainable.

Sounds like a lab. I like chuckar hunting and think a pointing breed would do better. What about GWP? My wife does not like the look but if I got a slick coat it may pass. French Brit? I just do not know about the long hair and burrs. English setters? Again the long hair. What about pointing lab? Is that more of a trained in thing or breed in? I tried to get my younger dog to pause on birds and it did not work. I have also thought gsp but the males I have been around were hipper but the females were great

So my list now is
Pointing lab
French Brit
English setter (lewellin)
German wire hair pointer
German shorthair pointer

 

[BruinPoint]

I would at least consider a female weimaraner from proven hunting lines. Good in the house, legit pointers/hunters, strong retrievers, and tend to work close. Solid chukar/pheasant dogs. I say female but if you're a strong-willed, consistent, experienced handler a male would be alright too. If a weimaraner isn't your bag Brittanies and wirehairs seem to fit your requirements the best.

 

[NEhunter]

I currently have a lab and am looking hard at a Deutsche drahthaar for my next dog. Very driven hunting dogs that can pretty much do it all.

 

[weedwacker42]

I have a 6 year old pointing lab and love him. Great with family, but when it's on...it's on! He's getting better and better every year. He does both upland (pheasant and quail around here) and waterfowl. Last weekend we were pheasant hunting with a group of 10, my dog, a WHP, and a GSP. These guys don't normally use dogs so they walk pretty (really too) fast. They walk over a lot of birds. Pointers can sometimes struggle around here because birds like to run, but that makes a retriever good to have. I'm was just trying to keep up with these guys and look back 30 yards behind the line and see my dog locked up solid in CRP. I turn and head over to him thinking the worst, that he's mousing or on an old roost. Get to within 5 yards and tell him to fetch and he flushes a nice rooster. Bang at 15 yards. Retrieve and deliver to hand. Mind you, its not a 3 legged GSP point, but pointing labs are getting better and better as the breed matures. (Thanks for letting me tell that story! Lol. It was just one of those bird dog owner moments that you love to brag about!)

 

[gwl79902]

I know how you feel weed wackier one tome I shot a moutain quail and watched it go forever before it dropped. I sent my old dog on a blind and she just nailed it. I just wish someone else was there to see it. Dogs sure add a lot to life. I have never thought of a Weimaramer. I hope it is a long time before I lose the old dog, but I know it will just a few short years. I still hunter for very short trips. She gets so happy but she falls a lot.

My younger dog is very dominate over her so I have been thinking of a male dog next to try to avoid fights. not sure if I want the marking

 

[lintond]

I hunt upland quite a bit in the winter chasing chukars, huns, quail, and the occasional pheasant. I have a GWP and have hunted over a dozen or so different GWP (admitting my bias). My roommate also has a Brittney that is showing signs of being a good hunter, and I've also hunted over a GSP. I love my GWP and he has a NOSE! Can't wait until is 100% broke. My dog isn't small, nickname Horsie, but he is on the larger side of the breed. Both the GWP and Brittney are good house dogs, however the Brittney is a lot smaller and wins the cuter dog award. By golly I'm a man though so I like my ugly dog. lol I also hunt waterfowl, so I liked the versatility of the GWP.

What might you decide on a breed is decide what style of upland hunting do you like? Do you want a big running dog, a smaller running dog, or a flusher?

 

[gwl79902]

I have gotten into hunting grouse as well so I would like a dog that hunts reasonable close. But on chuckar and Huns I would prefer it work out further. Growing up he had a Brit and he was smart enough to figure out where he needed to be based on cover.

 

[husky390]

How much time do you have to exercise the dog and do you have a place to let it run off leash on a daily or every other day basis? I have a GSP but had owned Retrievers before that and it's been an eye opening experience owning a GSP. All of my Retrievers were content with a 45 minute walk. That's a warm up for my GSP. I've ran her in fields all day, she'd sleep through the 1/2 hour drive home and be ready to go again once we got home. We've taken her on 8 mile hikes for us, she's probably covered double that, and she's rarin to go the next day. They have an abundant amount of energy and if they do not receive adequate exercise they will expend it in a negative manner, read, destroying your couch, carpet, etc. You'll also have to be careful if you have very small children as they can get very excitable and run around the house at mach 3 and accidentally knock a kid over.

I have an 8 year old female, she adores kids, is gun shy but has a high prey drive and is relentless with rabbits, squirrels, or cats that run. In my very limited experience with the breed and my very humble opinion, If you have the time to train it and properly exercise them, they're great dogs. If you don't, I'd stick with a lab. We're going to get another GSP as I've always wanted to hunt over one but we also plan to get another lab in a year or two. Good luck with your search.

 

[charvey9]

I've been converted to a Golden Retriever guy, but had a lot of different pointers in the family growing up. All were high strung, which is one of the reasons I enjoy Goldens now.

However, my best friend has a brit that I have been very impressed with. Mild mannered, minds well, and hunts hard. Great little dog. If I were going to try a pointer, that would be my first choice.

 

[BroodBuster]

I think a brit is an excellent choice for someone mainly hunting chucker.

My buddy has a pointing lab and although I've never seen him point he's an excellent hunter. But he shines best in tearing up thick cover and sort of runs wild in open terrain whereas my britt really shines in the open terrain and not so much in the thick cover.

I met my first French Britt last weekend. Very cool looking being all black with a little white ticking. The all black face threw me for a minute but watching her she seemed just like any American Britt that I've owned and seen. So I wouldn't have an issue getting either as long as it's from a good breeder.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I had a lab for 10 years. I bought a GWP when I replaced him and could not be happier. Mine isn't very big, 50 pounds. We live in town and he spends a lot of time in the house. He is a wonderful dog. He is very smart and mischievous, and can be a little headstrong with my wife and kids.

I absolutely love hunting with him. He has an outstanding nose and will cover a lot of ground. He works relatively close in heavy cover, but will range out to 2-400 yards when I'm chukar hunting. That's what they were bred to do, don't let that intimidate you.

He sheds less than my lab did, but does shed some. He has a very harsh coat and doesn't pick up too many birds. Very hardy dog and can tolerate a lot of cold. I've hunted ducks with him well below freezing, although I hunt him with a neoprene vest.

He likes exercise, loves to run with me. I keep him on leash because the trails I run have a lot of other people and dogs. His favorite exercise if I can get him out where he can run while I mountain bike.

Great personality dogs. They love attention and like to be around their owner.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I've only had Chocolate Labs for the last 25 years or so now. Great hunting, retrieving, rafting, fishing, camp, family dogs. Our current little girl is an English and is nice and compact. She weighs in right at #50.

 

[Hungarydog]

No one has mentioned Vizslas. I'm biased but they are the perfect dog. They are moderate size, short fine coat, great family dogs, tend to hunt to their surroundings ( run moderately big in open terrain and shorten up in heavy cover) and don't have alot of genetic health issues. Whatever breed you decide on do lots of research on breeders and lines. There's a big difference in pointing breeds between field and show lines.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Whatever breed you decide on do lots of research on breeders and lines. There's a big difference in pointing breeds between field and show lines.

Read this several times over. Find a breeder that uses their dogs like you want to use them.

 

[Bmcox86]

I have a 4 year old setter, we Chuckar hunted eastern Washington a lot before we moved up here this year and he was awesome on the chuckar hills. They range and cover a lot of ground, but he can turn it off and sleep next to me watching tv on the couch when he comes inside. I shave him twice a year so hair isn't a big deal.

 

[gwl79902]

Man a lot of good dogs out there!

 

[RallySquirrel]

Reading your post, it sounds like you are looking to upland hunting. I agree that labs are not going to produce the results you are hoping for. No offense to the point lab folks but they are like racing pick ups. Yes, you can get them to go fast, but does it look right?

I grew up with labs and currently own three GSP's. Will they lay down on the front porch and stay there while you mow the lawn. HECK NO! Then again, they wouldn't be much as bird finders if they spent their time polishing my boots. I need them to go find the bird and hold them until I get their.

I have hunting MO, KS, IA, SD and IL with my dogs for quail, grouse, pheasants, ducks and geese. The short hair breeds (GSP, Vislas, Wiems) will be burr free. The wire hairs (DD/GWP, Griffons) will, for the most part, be burr free. The setters, britts, GLP will find every single burr in the field for you.

As foot hunter, not horseback field trailer, I would be looking for a breeding that fits my needs. The NAVHDA folks and the many of the german breed clubs do a nice job of developing dogs for this purpose. If you want a dog that may head over hill and dale, maybe AKC or American Field Trial lines are more up you alley.

Personally, I would stick with some of the more common stuff out there (ex: GSP) just because there is a better chance you will land with a decent dog. Some of the other continental breeds tend to have smaller breeding pools to choose from (spinone, wirehair vislas, etc).

One good thing about looking at the continental/versatile breeds is they tend to not have the health issues which have really become prevalent in labs and goldens. No hip issues to worry about for sure.

If you are looking for a real all around dog, I would look seriously at the DD. The german club as done a fantastic job of keeping the breed true to its purpose. They point, track, retrieve well and do better in colder climates than the shorthairs.

I have been involved with NAVHDA for several years and would be happy to point you to some better breeders if I can.

Great luck on picking your next best friend!

 

[gwl79902]

thanks for the NAVDA idea. I will keep thaat in mind. I would love to hear of any good breeders, esp if they are on the west coast. My wife is not into thte fuzzy dog thing but I know slick coats are not uncommon in both GWP and DD. I think she would warm up to that. I do not get it as I am as about as ugly as they get.

 

[RallySquirrel]

We have that same conversation in my house and I am also not sure what is wrong with the beard? I have one, why shouldn't the dog! At any rate, I am better versed with the GSP's and I know these folks carry a good reputation and would be closer to you than some of the breeders I know here in the Midwest.

http://www.garbonita.com/

http://www.outlandergsp.com

As for a DD, Linda might have some of the best stock in the world. She imports and breeds the best to the best. I have seen some of her product and it is lights out. She is not messing around though and has a long waiting list. She is no where near you but you have to go to the best it you want the best. Also. was thinking about your comment on the smooth coat verse longer coats in this breed. That can be tough to judge a lot of times but sometimes the breeder will be able to identify a pup who may have less furnishings.

http://www.tapferenherzen.com/aboutus.html

 

[Jason Snyder]

http://www.bonepointkennels.com/

Great Wirehair breeders, located in eastern Oregon.