docgeorge

I have owned:
1 lab
3 Irish Water Spaniels
1 American Water Spaniel
2 Chessies
2 Pointers
4 greyhounds
3 Whippet x Greyhounds
1 whippet
1 Staghound
1 GSP
3 Jagdterriers
My favorite all time dog was a greyhound. She was a retired racer and was the best combo of what I look for in a dog. If I still lived in the West I would have a couple.
My Lab lived 17.5 years. We hunted Ut, Id, Mt and Wy. She has flushed and retrieved Pheasants, chukar and grey partridge, blue, ruffed, sage, and sharptailed grouse, valley and Gambels quail ducks and geese. She wasn't very well trained but taught me about hunting a great dog.
The IWS jas gone the way of the Am cocker and Irish setter. 99% showbred and has lost it as a hunter. I love their looks and they could be a dog I could love if they could hunt.
American Water spaniels are a wonderful dog. The only drawback is the need for Pam Cooking spray so one can remove the burrs. I believe this is why the lab is so popular, minimal coat care. The lab fills the niche the AWS used to fill, catch-as-can flush and retrieve dog.
If I could resurect one dog it would be one of my Cessies, Clyde. 95 lbs of goose fetching desire. Doves and quail were too small so they were beneath him. He would fetch ducks and flush and fetch pheasants (he wasn't the best upland flusher) but he wanted to hunt geese. I wing-tipped a canada while jump shooting ducks. He, at my command, ran the 1/4 mile to make the retrieve through mud, catails, tules, bogs... One could follow his progress by the amount of stuff flying. He came back with the bird and was hooked. I had to start hunting geese to keep him happy. A great dog and my favorite sporting breed.
My pointers were too man aggressive but I have hunted with some great pointers and think, if I ever lost 50 or 60 IQ points, and started hunting with a pointing dog, I would hunt with pointers. I used a pointer to fetch ducks, and point all kinds of game.
Sighthounds are just a hoot. I ran jackrabbits with them and had way too much fun.
We have now come to my breed of choice, the jagdterrier. These, in my opinion, are the most versatile dogs one can find. Mine flush feathers, hooves, and fur. At about 20 lbs, give or take, one can hunt just about anything. Geese are too big but anything else is fair game. These dogs aren't for everyone. One has to train the dog to do what it does. If one will put forth effort one will be rewarded. They are tested in Europe just like other versatile breeds (DD, DK, weim DL,) so the breeding is there to hunt everything. These are my favorite dogs.

Dr Fatguy