Do you get a commission for these dogs you attempt to sell, crackin'?

obbie, Over 50 years I've owned and trained about all kinds of pointers except Brits. I hunt tough country and I've just seen too many Brits give up in the sand burrs and cactus, so I've just never acquired one.

I've hunted behind some Brits in Kansas and Nebraska that did OK on pheasants, but I don't think you'd go wrong with a shorthair. There is a lot of variance in the ranges within the breed, so do your homework and get a pup or dog that fits you. DON'T mail order a pup because some pro recommends it.

Find some folks near you and ask to watch the parents work. Most apples don't fall too far from the tree and the pups will likely work similar. UNLESS, some knucklehead has bred a big runnin dog with a bootlicker thinkin' he will get a medium-range dog. That doesn't happen. Some dogs will take after one parent and some after the other. That won't likely happen unless you buy from a backyard breeder.

I have a couple of shorthairs that are hunted primarily on wild runnin' bobs, but they have no trouble adapting to pheasants. One is a big medium-range male and the other is about as big running bitch as you'll see for a shorthair. For Iowa, I'd get a medium-range dog.

I love the looks of Vizlas and have thought about getting one. My experience with them is very limited, but I've judged a couple and although they were beautiful physical specimens I wouldn't have hauled either one home if you'd given them to me.

I've hunted behind some guide Vizlas on pheasant in Kansas that did a good job hunting small coverts and were absolutely great on retrieving and cripples.

But, like Crackin said, if you get a Vizla, make sure it comes from hunting lines. The pool of good hunting Vizlas is much smaller than GSP's.

One of my dog's dam is out of Cajun's Kennels in Iowa and she and her mama are good dogs. I'll put her up against most EP's and setters on wild runnin bobs anyday.

I'm not a pro and have never used one although I know a couple that sorta wrote the books on dog training. But I've been around a lot of dogs in a half-century of bird hunting and my advice to the inexperienced is that training dogs isn't nearly as complicated as some make it out to be.

Get a good-blooded dog that fits your needs, teach it to whoa and you have a meat dog. And really, that's all most hunters expect.