ORIGINAL: mustad
ORIGINAL: SWOSUMike
ORIGINAL: mustad
but a well bred litter of dogs will ALL perform well in the woods.
I am not so sure about that. I think this depends hugely on the breed and what you are wanting to hunt.
That brings me to my question for the original poster. What exactly do you want to hunt? Birds, I guess? Small upland game like squirrels? The answer can make a big difference in what you need and how much you spend.
I hear what you're saying Mike, but would argue that there is no dependency on the breed nor what you want to hunt. The dependancy is what the breeder is trying to bring out in his dogs. If a good breeder is trying to make the best squirrel dogs, that's what you will get from every dog in his litter.
Hey Mustad,
I am sure you are right when it comes to bird dogs. They have been breeding them for a long time and therefore have some consistent results--especially the good breeders. But it just isn't so with squirrel dogs. They came from the old "all-purpose" dogs of thepre-World War II southern U.S. And only in the last 50 years or so have been specifically bred to tree squirrels without all the other"all-purpose" qualities these dogs used to have like stock work, etc. And the best breeders will even tell you that lots of pups don't turn out. Probably most of them do or at least would haveif they had been handled right. But some just don't. Treeing a squirrel is a very abstract thing for a dog to do. If you ever watch a squirrel in the woods while sitting on adeer stand, just watch how many limbs and trees they hit. For a dog to consistenly and naturally tell you which tree a squirrel ends up in time and time again after all that, and to have the drive to do it naturally, is pretty impressive. On the squirrel dog message boards, guys discuss the question of what percentage of pups turn out per litter all the time. It's always a busy topic, and the consensus seems to vary. But one thing squirrel dog men seem to realize is that there are plenty of culls out there even from nice litters. And I think that is also why what you pay for squirrel dogs can vary. A pup just isn't worth much--usually about $200--because there is simply no guarantees that they will make nice dogs, even if messed with. However, a nice finished squirrel dog can bring hundreds or thousands of dollars.
But when it comes to bird dogs, etc., I am sure you are very much correct. But this is why I say what breed the guy chooses and what game he decides to hunt can make a big difference in what he pays. If he wants to hunts birds with labs, he better have some money ready to fork over. Andthe odds of him getting a nice dog are probably high. However, if he wants a puppy in hopes of maybe getting a squirrel dog in the end, two bills or less is all the more he needs to buy a pup, but he still may end up with a worthless hunting dog. Therefore, what breed he chooses and what game he hunts will affect what he pays. This is all very good discussion stuff.