Seattlesetters,

Bring on the Chessies? How confident are you in your dogs? I concede that you and your dogs would out-perform my dogs and I on the birds you mentioned, but I could still fly to your state with my dogs -- hunt public land -- and leave with birds. I reside in Kentucky -- not your typical " bird hunters bonanza" , where bobwhites, woodcock and ruffed grouse are the targets. Are you that confident in your dogs ability where you would do the same? I can say this without convicition, you would leave this state with no quail, no woodcock and maybe... maybe a grouse. And that' s after a five day hunt -- on public land of course!

Now I agree that your " typical" retriever breeds don' t " stack-up" to pointers when it comes to upland birds, but making such a broad statement -- as some have made on this board -- is to err. Woodcock are my -- and my dogs -- favorite bird and each season I have people hunting with me who own pointers. Why? It' s not that their dogs are poor hunters, my dogs are just more experienced. My dogs and I average a minimum of 130 days in the field per season -- thanks to my job -- and we have hunted as many as 150 days. Quite frankly, my dogs are in the field close to 200 days when you factor in pre-season conditioning (we start in mid June) and training if I decide to run in trials. I am not comparing my dogs to your' s or any other pointing breed -- just don' t act like a flusher " can' t" do the same work as a pointer. I remember reading about a poodle awhile back that I know will out-perform my dogs (and most retrievers) when it comes to waterfowl. Why can' t there be flusher/retrievers that can do the same in the uplands?