ORIGINAL: seattlesetters
ORIGINAL: sproulman
ORIGINAL: seattlesetters
A well-bred English Setter should hold birds as long as it takes for the hunter to arrive. It should also have enough bird sense to pin down birds so they don't wander off.
And, a good bird dog should range out and find game for you. That's the main reason to have a bird dog.
not being smart, if dog RANGES out here in bigwoods of pa..something is going to happen to that dog, lost, yote,traps,and other things..
also you will get lost and hope your GPS gets you back..i agree, if you can see your dog all time,great..as for holding grouse here in bigwoods of pa.it aint going to happen after leaves are off..take care..
Strange..some of the nicest grouse dogs on Earth are English Setters bred right there in Pennsylvania. They win top trials all the time, and are some of the best bird dogs you will ever have the pleasure of hunting over.
Somehow, I don't recall those particular dogs being in sight very often...except when we walked in on their points to shoot birds.
i am giving you my PERSONEL VIEW..i have been in big woods here in pa.hunting grouse, turkeys, deer,trapping ,on and on..over 50 yrs at it ..
a dog that RANGES out in these woods and hunter that DOES not know his way around, is in for some bigtime pain..
i had 3 calls this year for LOST dogs and hunters that called me were LOST also trying to find the dog..
i dont know how those collar things would work in these high mountains..heck, our cb radios only work from hollow to hollow most of time do to big mountains and canopy..
i had my new GPS out this 2falls ago..i was in area that i did not know well..my dog went down over sidehill,1 hr before dark..he went after raccoon..so, i turned on the GPS, guess what, it would NOT work well down in hollow or under canopy of leaves on tree..
sproul almost did a job in my pants!!!! then i calmed down..
first i was stupid to take a year old puppy in that bigwoods that early in life and that close to dark..plain stupid..
next, i was stupid to not use COMPASS as backup..
over years that i have been out from dark of morning to midnight getting out of woods with dog,1 thing i have learned,older you get more FEAR you seem to get too..
a DOG that hunts close,that looks for you and comes back to see if you are there or he knows your location,NOT HIS is the most prized dog i want to hunt with in BIGWOODS..dog that is TOUGH ,is my baby..
yes, you are right,many good english setter kennels here in pa..here is some..lynnhill,warriorsmark,coverly kennels..
i am member of warriorsmark..english setter is great dog at the kennel preserve hunting, so are labs, pointers,etc..other than labs most have collars on them, hunters with electronic stuff..
LABS , no collars..others are way out in front all over place, thats way they are bred to hunt, labs hunt, they look back and see if seattlehunter is in view or close,they hunt 20 yds or so in front..THATS dog i want to hunt behind..
when i was 18 ,hell, i did not care if i went out in fog, over hills,coming out in dark under full moon,bears running by you, yotes howling,traps, deer in rut chasing you down path,on and on..
i had many breeds of dogs along..no flashlights, no GPS,just common sense on how to survive in bigwoods..
along i had dog ,usually a mix breed of some sort or beagles,long legged ones not those shorty ones..
now i am older and woods seems to over whelm me at times even tho i know areas i hunt very well..
when i am in there with laural over my head,yes, laural is unreal now its 8 ft high,i want dog that is LOOKING for me not me trying to find him/her..
if dog runs into ANYTHING i want one that can handle it and protect me too..
lab is the dog that i have found that meets all that i could ask..at preserve hunting i have a very different opinion on what dog i would hunt behind..
gps,english setters ,lab,are my favorite..but in bigwoods, well, as paul harvey says,GOOD DAY!!