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Old 05-31-2003, 09:15 PM
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Hunters Edge
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Brighton MI USA
Posts: 29
Default RE: What kind of dog should I get

One that is right for you and your hunting style and/or situation. I personally like the versatile breeds and my personal breed of choice would be the GSP. Now this may not be yours so your going to have to take or look up all the knowledge of the different breeds you may consider and even watch them hunt or in hunt tests if possible. A good place to check to see if any are coming up or close to where you live is to check out different breed registration clubs and look when and where they are conducting the test www.navhda.org if your thinking or a retriever or a pointer www.akc.org and just a retriever www.hrc.org.

I guess first you need to decide if you want a pointing or a flushing dog/breed. Next after you have narrowed that is the dog going to be a house dog or kenneled outside. Many breeds are people orientated and have difficulty being kenneled and this may elliminate a few of your choices. After that I would look for the least amount of severe health problems that are genetic. I would also decide on a long or short haired dog depending on your preference. Mine is leaned toward short I hunted over a couple of brittanies when I was your age and hated taking 30 minutes after the hunt cleaning the dogs coat. Now some and maybe your one do not mind or actually enjoy this time with the dog, again it is a personal choice. Once you have narrowed it down to a few dogs and was impressed with the breeds you either hunted over and/or watched in a hunt test you should be able to make a personal descision. I would not buy a dog because it may be someone elses choice it should be yours and yours alone, your going to have to purchase it and food, vet bills, toys, training book or aid, kennel etc. etc. so your going to have a financial interest. More importantly if you have done your homework you will have a much larger interest in the bonding of the animal for many years.

Best of luck in the pup you choose or you may even want to purchase a started dog so good luck in YOUR decision. After you make a decision you are going to have to work on researching breeders and dogs. Make sure hips are OFA and certain breeds you will need knees or front anles as well also eye certs on some too. Certain breeds have heredatory risks and these precautions may help in preventing you to go through major bills and discomfort. Also ask for referals and any health problems in the past.
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