I have a german shorthair pointer and they are supposed to retrieve. Instead of having to buy a nice expensive lab i washoping this dog would do the job. Has any1 heard of this being possible to train a german shorthair to retrieve ducks and geese??
My dog is half GSP and he does retrieve birds but I cannot get him to sit still in the blind. Not only that but GSP's are made for the field not the water. They do not have the thick undercoat like labs. If you could only have the dog retrieving on warmer days maybe it could work. What I do is when I hunt at my Grandparents house, I tie him up outside so he can see when I whack birds. When the bird is no longer crippled, I will let him off the leash and he will go get it for me. Not a bad system if you ask me.
I hunt with a guy who has a GSP. The thing is great for upland, and is fine goose hunting in fields when it is above 45 degrees, but any water work or colder temps and the thing freezes up in 15 min. If you want to hunt over water in NY I suggest you get another dog, or at the very least leave that one at home.
I have nothing against GSP's, they are wonderful upland hunters, but waterfowling around here is too cold and those dogs don't do well with these conditions. Looking out for your dog, I'm afraid you will endanger it if you try sending it on water retrieves much past the end of October.
German Shorthairs are considered a "Versitile Breed." They have been bred to Hunt, point, retrieve, track, etc,. Look into the NAVHDA (North American Versitile Hunting Dog Assn.) I had some contact with some of their members while looking for a dog for Grouse, right before I discovered Duck Hunting and pretty much stopped doing everything else, and everyone was extremely helpful.
There are people in that organization who will be able to help you out with training, and any questions you might have.
That being said, Harvey1b hit the nail on the head as far as the weather/temps in this state goes. Some of the Southern and Southwestern states that don't have the winters we have would be suitable for that dog, but with the air and water temps here combined with windchill, you really have to be careful about sending your dog into water. That short hair doesn't give them any protection from the water as compared to dogs who were bred for water retrieves. (Labs, Chessies, Flat-coated, curly-coated, Goldens, Nova Scotias, German Wirehair Pointers, etc.)
They absolutely can be used for waterfowl. As the other guys have mentioned, you need to be extremely careful when the mercury drops. Neoprene vest is a must. My buddy has only GSPs and does lots of ducking with them. His website is www.gsp-versatility.com . Give him a call or shoot him an e-mail and I'm sure he'd be happy to talk with you. You'll notice in the pics on his site, that a lot of the waterfowl pics with his dogs are earlier in the season though. His dogs are fantastic and are a pleasure to hunt over. I've had some spectacular hunts with him and his dogs.
Going out today to meet with a breeder about getting our nova scotia duck tolling retriever here from texas. Watched one win the agility contest on animal planet the other night, ended up being trained and from the same family that we are getting ours from.
For all that are in CNY, my family and I have 173 acres in Brewerton, and are discussing opening up a business where people can train their hunting dogs and field/duck/goose hunt. I'll update you on the progress.
He's literally five minutes from my house. Neat set up he's got there behind the house. Always has birds there. I've been wanting to ask him about that Mallard nesting box/tube he's got, and how it's worked out.
It is a nice setup he's got there. A marsh right in his backyard! You should just stop in and talk with him sometime. Tell him you know me. Unfortunately, he's hunting less and fishing more now. He bought a big boat and he's no Ontario all the time now. He's addicted to it.
I noticed he replaced the duck boat with a big white one a couple years ago. He's never outside when I drive by, otherwise I probably would've stopped by now. I'll keep and eye out for him.
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