Hunting Dog

oh. i'm sorry, i thought you bought a dog that had "no desire or fire" and had an old one too and 3 dogs would be too much.

my old dogs have earned a place at my table and can stay as long as they like. i do start looking for a replacement when the time is getting close.

my gsp(avatar) no longer hunts ducks and can still work upland for a few hours at a time, but at 11 we are bringing in a new pup this fall.

my 4 year old lab has taken over the duck duties but i am 100% a pointer man on upland.

ya need to start a pup now as it takes 2-3 years to get a good dependable hunter.

at my age i don't have that much time to fart around anymore. :biggrin: :biggrin:

Both Ace and Duece were great, but I am thinking about skipping the puppy stage next time - kid will be in college, so nobody thinks little fecal machines are wonderful after the first week of clean-up

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i have been of that exact state of mind on several of my dog purchases in the past . the gsp i have was purchased at 15 mths. that was 10 years ago. i got burned on that deal though it eventually came out alright.

i've been in this bidness a lot of years. unfortuantely the cost of dogs has gone up drastically and as a result the training levels have decreased in proportion.

in the old days you had to produce a quality product in order to sell a good "started dog" .

with the flood of the "instant gratification " generation hitting the market with fat wallets and thin layersof grey matter . it is too easy to push anything that will "pick up a bumper" out there as a "duck dog"
:no: :no:

the other thread is a good example. you got guys that think they can find ducks as good as a dog. with the ones they have hunted around i can understand why they believe that.

when a pup went for $3-500 and a GOOD started dog was $1500 it was something i took advantage of.

now that pups from unproven lines and mediocre ability are being pushed at $1500 and "started??? " dogs are commanding 3-5 k , you've lost me.

i don't like the little crappers either and pups take a lot of time to get to what i call "started", but as long as i have to put a lot of time and a pile of money into somebody else's idea of "started " , i'll still go with the pup. at least i won'thave to fix as much crap :wink:

add to that my level or training knowledge and demands of a dog are more stingent than the average joes and i really have no choice.

you don't get this at 2 years without laying the right foundation :thumbsup:

glad you read the dog right!

actually the cocker, field and spingers all used to come from the same litters .

the smallest were used for woodcock(cocker) the field was used for upland(field) and the springer was used for heavy field and waterfowl, "springing" above the tall weeds and off banks into the water for a retrieve.( springer)

i have attended several spaniel comps and the american cocker , as well as the english, have their strong core of hunting enthusiasts. :thumbsup:

i wish everyone would have have your attitude about their dog.

at one of the clubs i hunt i have seens cockers, field, jack russel, border collies, and mixed breeds al hunting upland and the fella in the next trailer out there uses his springers for hunting ducks as well as pheasant.