Best upland bird dog?

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Good evening gentlemen I was wondering if there are any upland bird hunters among us and if so what breeds you gentleman are using. I'm considering a springer spaniel as from my reading there quite versatile and could due double duty for pheasant as well as puddle ducks in the fall.

Have any of you had much experience with cross training and if so which breeds do you recommend? to this point I've always gunned labs but after the passing my last one this spring decided to try something different. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Saul]

I do quite a bit of upland hunting (actually, far more than any other type of hunting). While I am not a dog person, my absolute favorite bird dog is the Vizsla. A stellar pointer, whip smart, and incredibly loving. Probably the ultimate hunter/companion/family dog you can get.

 

[Tanks]

My father was a big bird hunter when not in Africa. He trained Gordon Setters for upland game and also for quail and pheasant.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

My father was a big bird hunter when not in Africa. He trained Gordon Setters for upland game and also for quail and pheasant.

I've never heard of the breed I will have to read about them. Thanks

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

I do quite a bit of upland hunting (actually, far more than any other type of hunting). While I am not a dog person, my absolute favorite bird dog is the Vizsla. A stellar pointer, whip smart, and incredibly loving. Probably the ultimate hunter/companion/family dog you can get.

Thanks for your reply , do they take to the water as well or strickly a field dog?

 

[IdaRam]

I’ve always had Labs, primarily for waterfowl but I have always cross trained them for upland birds too. Several have been really good and others mediocre to not very good.
I have several friends with Shorthairs and I really like them, but I have never owned or trained one.
I tend to prefer a hard charging, high powered dog that will take some pressure without turning to mush. Just my training style and preference. I would consider general breed personality types and traits and try to match your hunting and training style to a breed that seems like a good fit. Then open your wallet and hedge your bet by seeking out the best breeder and bloodline you can find, regardless of the price tag. Over the course of the lifetime of the dog, the purchase price is usually not even close to the largest expense. And I’m sure you already know that having owned dogs before
If/when I get back into the K9 game it will be with another Lab. They are just the right breed for me.
Also, sorry about the passing of your last pooch. They leave a hole that takes a while to fill, especially the great ones.
I’ll be looking forward to hearing what you end up deciding. Best of luck!

 

[Hutch01]

Down here in Texas we hunt quail birds even when there aren’t any to chase. Kind of a religion. Preferred breeds are pointers and GSPs. Tight coats shed the briars and goat heads. Rattlesnakes, porcupines and polecats are prevalent. The pointers tend to stay off these rodents better than the GSPs. Also I’ve found the pointers to be slightly more hearty in hot conditions which we have even in Jan. We usually don’t hunt until Christmas after rattlers are ‘put up’. I may have hijacked the thread since we aren’t technically ‘upland’. Anyway these points are still relevant.

 

[Red Leg]

For a pure quail dog, I prefer English pointers. They are short on the whole love and companionship thing, but nothing on four legs can vacuum a five acre pasture quicker or more efficiently. The best all purpose dogs, which sounds like what would best for you, would be one of the European breeds. They are bred to point, retrieve, trail blood, and be great companions. I currently own Vizslas. They are smart (sometimes too much so), willing, and able to do a bit of everything. I have owned Wire haired pointing Griffons, German short and wire hairs, and all can be fabulous all purpose dogs and great friends for the length of their lives. I miss them all. The one caution is to purchase such a dog from a breeder who specializes in hunters rather than pets.

 

[wipartimer]

I've been really blessed to have had some phenomenal labs. The few I've had out produced every other dog we've pheasant hunted with, and were awesome duck dogs too. The problem with labs is there popularity, everyone is breeding and selling them, so it can be a crap shoot on what you get.

 

[Petey J]

Which breed of bird dog is like asking which rifle. Everybody has got an answer, and you'll probably never get any one of them to change their mind.

With that being said, the BEST breed ever is the Italian Spinone. You'll never find a better dog for upland, waterfowl, blood tracking, and being a part of the family. Ours sleep on the bed at night, is great with our almost 11 month old daughter (super gentle and loving), but fantastic in the field as a pointing dog for any upland birds, retrieves all shot birds on land and water, can track on land and water. Once while goose hunting, we crippled one that sailed 200 yards across the lake. We saw it land and go into the bank. An hour later, we got to the area by boat, I sent my first Spinone, Omar, on a blind retrieve. He jumped into the water from the boat, swam to shore and started running the bank. After 2 minutes he took off across the land. I called but he didn't respond. 30 seconds later here he comes, from 150 yards off the edge of the water with the goose.

Now that I've got my bias out of the way. If you are really looking for a versatile dog that can do fur and feather on land and water, look at any of the breeds recognized by the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. What you're taking about is exactly what NAVHDA does.

Plus, through the local chapters, you can find help training your own dog, or they can help you find a quality professional trainer who specializes in versatile dogs. There are chapters all across the U.S. and Canada. And our testing system is about testing and verifying traits and training, not a competition. This fosters cooperation, because everyone can be successful and my dog doing well doesn't diminish your dog's accomplishments.

Their website is navhda.org.

But still, get a Spinone.

 

[BRICKBURN]

....... I'm considering a springer spaniel as from my reading there quite versatile and could due double duty for pheasant as well as puddle ducks in the fall.
......

I love my Springers. I’ll skip the best debate.

There are some excellent Springer breeders in your neck of the woods. If you want some names send me a PM.

I don’t take my Spaniels hunting in the ocean, but they will hunt and flush everything from Turkey to Woodcock and bring back Canada’s and puddle ducks, rabbits and Hares.

My 6 month old retrieving, after tracking, a wounded Hungarian Partridge. She had never seen or smelled one before. She will be a winner.

They are certainly capable of finding Pheasants.

 

[Alexandro Faria]

I've shot over a lot of different breeds and my favourite thus far are German Pointers (short or wired). They're also amazingly versatile and as far as personality goes, they are awesome dogs (well, the ones I have known were). Springers are also great, guess it depends on personal preference, like with most things. I will say that I've hunted birds in the snow, so I won't comment on those sort of conditions.

The sweetheart bellow had such potential, sadly she was taken early thanks to a Cape Cobra.

 

[BB416]

I prefer a dog that will do it all. Water, thick stuff , point, retrieve , fur, fowl, blood track. Deutsch Drahthaar for me. He also kills every snake he can finds!

 

[Tucketed]

Look up Pudlepointer. It’s a versatile breed, NAVHDA. It’s a wonderful home family dog and it’s drive is incredible. I have had many labs and other pointers but Pudlepointers have an incredible personality and are extremely intelligent. The other plus is they don’t shed.

 

[CoElkHunter]

German Shorthairs. My father in law has three. Excellent for pheasant and quail hunting. They can run all day even at 8000 ft elevation when we were hunting Sage Grouse in northwestern Colorado.

 

[Jeffro]

Stick with the lab. Before I got into hunting dogs, I used to talk to all the hunters I ran into in SK, MT, and ND. As I had never had any kind of dog due to an animal-hating father, I had no preconceived notion. Of course, these hunters had a great variety of dogs among them, but when I asked them to choose only one dog, almost all recommended the lab. They were correct. I hunt upland more now than waterfowl (two o'clock journeys to set up decoys has lost its appeal). My buddies from Wisconsin, Idaho, and Michigan who come to Montana to hunt pheasant base their dates on when my dog will be there. Their spaniels, Weimaraners, etc. certainly hunt, but they always say they get more birds hunting over the lab, because he will go into cover the others won't or can't enter, and he can do ten hours every day without wearing out. My SK buddies' labs are the same. I guess terrain might be more decisive than anything else. If the dog has to bust ten foot cattails, thorny tangles, and the like, I believe the lab has no equal. I do wish they would shed less though! They are not ideal if there are allergies in the house, because of the constant shedding.

 

[Jeffro]

I should have looked at your location. The lab is the dog for you. The only other dog that can take cold water, and very cold conditions as well is the chessie. Both were bred to be cold weather dogs.

 

[Bearbait1]

There are lots of great dog breeds, I have had 2 Duesch Drahthar and will be getting another. As already mentioned, make sure you get a dog bred for hunting and not as a show dog.

 

[Saul]

Thanks for your reply , do they take to the water as well or strickly a field dog?

I consider them strictly a field dog, and that is where they truly shine. They do not have the coat for cold water.

 

[Buckdog]

I highly suggest that you stick with labs you are in the north. And my personal opinion is springers are a ROYAL POS PIA! useless even the worst lab I have had was a million times better field dog than a springer. My best friend has had 2 of those POS and my father had one. All they do is run like the wind never settle down back and forth all over the place and occasionally bump into some game. Can you tell I hate SPRINGERS! Crap gets matted in the coat, etc etc Stick with the lab my friend you know what they can do and how to train.