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Getting a good all around dog

10K views 29 replies 20 participants last post by  tstrong 
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#1 ·
three part question. 1) I am thinking of getting a dog for hunting. all I do is Goose, duck and pheasant hunt. any suggestions of what kind of dog I should get that could handle doing all three?

2) when should I buy (how long before the season)

3) should I buy male or female?
 
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#2 ·
I've been training/hunting for years and here's my take.

I've bred labs and only labs, and our blacks worked great for all three species. Just tougher to find a better dog in my opinion.

I found getting a dog in the middle of the winter is good, as you can give it a lot of attention and by the time they're 3-5 months old you can start training when it gets nice in the spring. After working on the dog you can give it some time in the fall hunting, but with patience of course. ;)

I've always preferred females myself.
 
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#3 ·
I agree labs are without a question the best all around hunting dogs. I have been hunting and training for years as well and there is not a better dog out there than the good old fasion black lab. I feel that the best time to get a puppy is right now, or mabye even a month sooner. I like to introduce dogs to water early. During this time of your you also have an abundance of dove,teal, and other birds to introduce your new puppy to birds. this will put your puppy at about 14 months old for it's first duck season. I personally prefer a male though females are easier to train in my opinion. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
Go with a Lab and buy it around augest. at about 6 to 9 weeks old. I breed Labs and have them for sale about that time if your interested let me know. My dogs an awsome hunter for geese,ducks, and phesant. I would go with a black or chocolate of camoflauge. If your calling in ducks and you yave a blonde dog sitting by the shore the ducks may get weary.
I'd go with a female allthough a nudered male is not too bad.... Males will pee on anything that he can pee on.

Mallyard 8)
 
#6 ·
I have a golden retriever and I love her to death. She hunts both Pheasant and Duck great and is the easiest to train of any dog I have ever seen. I am sure good hunting labs are easier to find than Goldens bred to hunt, but if you look hard you can find some great kennels with outstanding dogs that are not only great hunters, but the best of family dogs. However, I can't knock a good lab.
 
#8 ·
I would probably agree that a Chessy or Lab is the best waterfowl dog but best all around, i don't think so. I am getting my German Wirehaired Pointer puppy in a month and i have heard great things about them. Most say they are wonderful waterfowl dogs and are without a doubt one of the best upland game hunters. So in my opinion a breed like this is much more versatile if you plan to hunt waterfowl and upland game.
 
#9 ·
I would buy anything but a lab, everybody else has one, at least around here, and they are good hunting dogs, but so are allot of other breeds, theres just a ton more labs around, I don't think a lab is any better or easeir to train, actually I've trained a bunch of dogs, and every chesapeake that I've had learned way faster than every lab, I guess it's probably a matter of opinion, but I've had alot of dogs, labs included, and they by far weren't the best, and any large dog should be able to bring back a goose. or anything else for that matter.
 
#10 ·
chesies are a volitile breed that won't take near the pressure a lab will . tend to shut down after corrections during training . my 70 lb chocolate male has retrieved all my geese this year just fine and recently started pointing pheasants so for an all round upland ,water and family dog the lab can't be beat in this shooters mind
 
#11 ·
I've seen some dogs **** down like that under pressure, but never a chessie, all the chessie's I've trained have been actually easy, pick stuff up pretty quick, some people say there hard headed, but I'd say I'd rather have a dog that rememberd stuff I taught it verses a lab that tends to forget lessons from time to time, and besides, any hunting dog period in my mind should be able to bring back a large goose. there all big enough too.
 
#12 ·
i have a golden retriever and he is a very good hunting and family dog. He is excellent at retrieving krippled birds far out in the lakes. He also is good in the field for pheasants and other game. i would get the dog in the middle or at the end of the season and train him all year so you can be ready for next season.
 
#14 ·
i dont think that chessies necessarily fold under pressure it is just that in my opinoin that they dont respond to heavy handed training, and then dont respect those who do not treat them with respect. Chessies take correction fine what they dont take well is punishment during training. The chessie usually shuts down to a trainer who has lost thier cool and is frustrated and i gaurentee that they can read that you are.[/quote]
 
#15 ·
Avoid the temptation and don't get a dog around the holidays (Thanksgiving -New Years).
I happen to be a Lab person , they fill the bill for what you want to hunt, but that being said there are other breeds that could do what you want too. But make mine a lab.
As far as male or female it doesn't matter too much as long as you do your homework and find a good breeder that breeds for the traights you want in a dog. Make sure you get gaurantee on hips, elbows and eyes. Look around ask alot of questions. One traight I see that is being overlooked is a good nose. Does the breeder stand by the dog sold to you to hunt ,that is the ability to scent birds? Again do your homework, there are breeders out there that do.
 
#17 ·
This forum is biased toward labs, and rightly so, since most users are waterfowlers. However, I think the best all-around hunting dog is a Vizsla. This breed is a Hungarian pointer, that does PHENONENALLY on upland birds. It points and retrieves beautifully. I have also trained mine for water retieves, so he is also a great waterfowling dog.

For more info, check into vizslas on the AKC site or at the Vizsla Club of America site (www.vca.org).
 
#19 ·
Really thick, waterproof coats protect most water retrievers from severe cold. Vizslas can handle the water, but I would not keep mine in severely cold water for extended times. Thorough drying and vest or blanket coverage would also help. Also, there is a wire-haired type vizsla that may be better. I don't know much on it though.
 
#20 ·
me myself I have a Lab he is a great all around dog and is extreamly hard working I am not going to say they are the best dogs out there because there is a lot of breeds but for me he is just what I wanted. AND skendus the www.vca.org is the Vanished Children's Alliance just so you know. :smile:
 
#22 ·
I would suggest that you take an all-around look at your situation. Do you have the room for a large dog? Do you have experience training dogs? What is your temper like?
A lab is a great dog for a whole lot of reasons, a golden is also a great dog and maybe a little better in the uplands than a lab. Goldens have a sweeter nature in general and can't handle being leaned on like a lab or chessie. Chessies may well be the ultimate waterfowlers dog but can be tougher to train and are more often than not are great big bruisers.

There are other really good breeds out there that are harder to locate litters from. I hunt with an American Water Spaniel because the breed suits my needs best. Compact size, independent minded, natural ability and not at all particular as to what we are after. Works for me, but likely not for a lot of others.
 
#23 ·
You can never go wrong with a lab, especially with your description of ducks, geese and pheasants.

The only thing I would add to the lab picture is they are fantastic with kids and great companions. When they make them stop shedding, they will enter godlike status.

Spend as much time as possible with the dog, and not just training. Take it everywhere, inside, outside, to stores, whatever you can get away with. It pays dividends down the road when the dog has had all these experiences. And as anyone will tell you, a lab pup is quite a chick magnet. Chauvinistic statement, but true. :thumbsup:
 
#24 ·
well said NEsodak, i love it when people can see that other dogs are well, even when they don't own one, instead of bashing every other breed, ttt, nowday's I'd say your way worse off, and you can go very very wrong buying a lab, just for the fact that they are way over bred, you can still get good ones, but you have to know your labs, watch wich dogs are being bred, and know breeders, and they are still not the undisputed king of bird dogs, your better off buying a rare breed thats been bred carefully by people that love the breed, not trying to make money, there's allot of breeds that are just as well suited if not way better than a lab, but people get labs cause there buddy said they were the best. wrong reason to get one.
 
#25 ·
phillipstd said:
well said NEsodak
While I agree with the tone of your post, I disagree with some of the details. Lab's aren't 'overbred'. You make it sound as if there is some sort of dilution in the breed itself. A problem is the popularity of the breed, which I think is really what you were alluding to. So many people think that you can buy any old lab from the classifieds or someone they know and end up with a working retriever with little to no effort. This couldn't be further from the truth. If you want a working lab then you should buy from a reputable breeder that is offering a puppies from a proven pedigree for hunting.

And the advice on getting a 'rare' breed couldn't be more wrong to the novice trainer. First, they are probably NOT going to be cheaper. Second, if will be harder to understand up front what the characteristics of the breed will be. Third, it will be harder to find specific advice on how to train that dog. 'Rare' breeds are great if you are an EXPERIENCED trainer.

Just my opinion........
 
#26 ·
I agree with you to a point, I just see a bunch of people, freinds of freinds, people here, wherever I duck hunt, and what not buying these labs at great deals, from freinds, and expecting them to be great hunters without training them, or even if they try to train them, and their not, and allot of them have health problems too, and then they say their going to breed them and sell the pups to make money for a new gun or whatever, it all does stem from their popularity, and just like every other popular dog breed, the breed suffers from it, I've trained lots of dogs, and by far, the more rare the breed the more true the dog to it's correct disposition and attitude, there might be differences between each breed as far as training goes, but I feel that it's very minor, I would think even a first timer could overcome that with ease, I don't think dogs should be 200 dollars, the more something costs the more effort you will put into it to turn it into what it's supposed to be, you don't take a 40k car through the brush, ya know what I'm getting at, I just think that labs as a breed have been suffering for a while, and allot, almost all hunters think they can get one and it will live a long healthy life as a great gun dog, and it's just not as true as if they got a more rare breed. True?? I think so anyway's, thanks for not bashing me too bad :salude:

I've been goin off about the lab thing for a while, but It's still happening and it's still bothering me.
 
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