I' d like for you all to tell us about the best birddog you ever had. Why was he/she so great? What special thing made the difference between this dog and all the others?
I' d love for this thread to be only about birddogs, but I realize this is a small forum/community so if your story is about a lab or a Golden or a versatile, go ahead and tell it.
The things that make us love our dogs with all our hearts are universal...
That would be between an German Shorthair Pointer that was actually mine or my dad' s old English Springer. Traz (the SH) was a nice dog, little goofy at times but he was my puppy and never caused me any major problems. Radar (the ES) i grew up with and i was only a month older then he was. He was a sweet and good hunting dog. He died when we both were 15. So in short i' d say probably him but it is still very close
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Proud Daddy of Mini Red Hawk
Master of the Poof-B-Gone Pen
Your statement " I' d love for this thread to be only about bird dogs" sort of bewilders me. What is your definition of a bird dog? Retrievers, flushers, pointers -- these are all bird dogs if they hunt upland birds or waterfowl, just as trackers and sight-hounds are hunting dogs. Fact is, retrievers -- Labs to be exact, probably account for more game birds being shot than any of the other breeds combined.
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Chessies CAN do more than waterfowl!!!
No offense intended. Birddogs, in the classic sense, are dogs that throughout their history were bred solely for the purpose of finding and holding upland birds for the hunter. Setters and Pointers fit the description.
I, too, have hunted many upland birds over both retrievers and Springer Spaniels. In fact, my first hunting dogs were Springers, and I learned to hunt pheasants over them and a Golden Retriever. Sometimes, I consider flushers superior to birddogs when hunting those blasted roosters in some of their more inhospitable neighborhoods. I also find it hard to beat the Springer Spaniel as an all-around pheasant dog in any terrain.
I have also shot birds over " versatile" continental breeds such as the German Shorthair and Wirehair, Viszla, Weimaraner and Brittany. Many have been nice hunting partners.
Never could any of the above, though, find and handle birds with the style, class, speed and endurance of a well-bred birddog.
What was your goldens role in the phesant hunt you wrote of? I do not do much about upland hunting other than an occasional quail hunt with a buddy and his dogs or our annual Labor Day weekend dove hunt.
Was the golden a pointer, flusher, retriever........all?
caveman - The Golden worked as a flushing dog and was also quite a retriever of downed birds. He was almost as good as the Springer, and superior if a bird went down in water. He just didn' t hunt with the style, zest, animation or speed of the springer, which at times was nice because it was easier for a 10-year-old boy (me) to keep up with the slower, closer-range Golden.
Golden Retrievers are actually quite capable in the uplands and if your primary need is a waterfowl retriever but you may get out and hunt quail or pheasants every once in a while, the Golden Retriever is a fine choice.
my best dog i every had so far would have to be my old dog Spike. he was a german shorthair pointer. man that dog worked the field like no other, and use to find me bird from distances i have never seen. he was a very smart dog also always looked both ways before crossing the streets. that was the problem with him i could never keep him in the yard he would always take off(usual) but he always came home safe. i cant say this will be my best dog but we will have to see i just got a lab since i started waterfowl. this really was a big step in getting anoteher dog i really didnt want anotehr but my son convinced me and came home with one. so i will have to see how my littel lab does hunting. ill tell ya one thing he' s much easier to train and not quite as hyper as spike, but that dog will alwyas be in my memoies every time i hunt.
Mine would have to be my old GSP Max he died about 3 yrs. ago when he was in his prime he would start a slow walking point on a bird at about 30 yds with his head held high as he walked closer his head would start to come down and when he was close he locked up solid. retrieved great but one of his best qualities was he almost never lost a cripple we' ve lost him for 15-20 min at a time after he went after one and after abit here he would come back with it and if a bird went down that he didn' t see all I would have to do is get him in the general area and tell him dead bird and most generally he would find it. This was in the late 80' s early 90' s when CRP was plentiful I was taking 60 wild birds a tr myself and my huntin partners almost as many all over Max. He was also my first bird dog trained him myself
Had a Brittany Spanial about 18 years ago that was an awesome quail dog.
She not only pointed but caught 4 or 5 before they flushed. Beautiful dog. Had to give her away when i went into the Air Force.
Best upland dog I had was a Weimaraner. He worked well and pointed stylishly on pheasant, quail, sharptail and prairie chicken. He also did a heck of a job on ducks but breaking ice shortened his life. I have never seen a harder working dog. Best retriever I ever had was a black lab. I hope that my Chessie will be as good by this fall.
Best dog you ever had...
