kdvollmer

GSP OR ENGLISH SETTER????????????

I am currently looking for a new dog to work as both hunting companion and family pet. I have narrowed my search to English Setters and SP's. I currently live in Georgia, and most of my hunting will be upland game birds, with the occasional trip south to shoot some ducks.
When I was younger I worked at a kennel that bred English Setters in Michigan, and am very familiar with the breed in the field. I owned a beautiful female from the Wire bloodline. A wonderful dog, but i never got to see her in a real home environment as I was single, and she stayed at the Kennel with her siblings. Since Then I have had the opportunity to hunt over a pair ofGSP'sand I fell in love with them in the field environment. Both are full of energy, and great hunters. I have several trusted friends back home that all swear by the setters, but everything I read, and get online seems to point toward the GSP.
How do these two dogs compare in the HOME environment, with children, and everything else. My kids are 5 and 1.

Broek

Just by reading your post, it sounds like you want a GSP. Get what you want and not what someone tells you to get. Gook luck!

rihmfire

IHAVE AN ENGLISH SETTER, AND OF ALL THE DOGS I HAVE KNOWN...OF ALL BREEDS...ENGLISH SETTER SEEM TO BESMARTER AND A BETTER FAMILY PET...HE'S VERY CALM WHILE INDOORS AND LOVES TO CLOSE TO ANYONE ON THE COUCH OR BED...HE'S NEVER HAD AN ACCIDENT IN THE HOUSE...GREAT WATCH DOG...AND LISTENS, VERY OBEDIENT AND WILL DO ANYTHING I ASK.. THEY ARE CLOSE WORKERS IN THE
FIELD, WHICH I LIKE....CAUSE I AM GETTING TO OLD AND FAT TO BE CHASING AFTER A DOG...
http://s97.photobucket.com/albums/l210/ronrihm/?action=view&current=vacation001.jpg

A COUPLE OF MY FRIENDS HAVE GERMAN SHORTHAIR POINTERS AND THESE DOGS ARE FULL OF ENERGY....AND ARE ALWAYS
BOUNCING OF THE WALLS...VERY AGRESSIVE AND ALWAYS ON THE MOVE. BUT THEY ARE GREAT HUNTING DOGS...

Phil from Maine

Any and all hunting dogs have to have a lot of energy regardless of the breed. Who in the heck would want a hunting dog that runs and finds a tree or brush pile to lay in? Most every bird dog I know of can make a good family pet. I love the style and looks of the setters. For me seeing and watching a setter work in the field is hard to compare to. Regaurdless of the type of setter you choose they a can be a great family dog as well as hunters.

daleh

A Setter will love you and your children. always being non agressive.
No Matter What.
Alotbetter bird dog for wild quail.May not be the right choice if you want something to run loose. A GSP is a better preserve dog for the most. Closer, retrieves better, some may work for waterfowl.
However, our American GSP has been breed to English Pointers to devolpe a better, more natural bird dog. Pointers are more aggressive and most of them i would never allow in the house, much less be around my kids.
You really need to think about how much you will actually hunt. Some folks buy a dog thinking they are going to hunt alot. When the facts are they have not hunted in manyyears oronly go a few times,and will more than likely not have a chance to get away to hunt except for aonce or twice a year.
Is that really fair for a true hunting breed.
I Think Not.

Cara

I have no idea where these descriptions of 'aggressive' pointers are coming from. We have a GSP who is around a year old, and he is extremely gentle and careful. He is affectionate but not overwhelming, and mostly likes to justsit on your feetrather than jump all over people. He has been exceptional with every child he has met, and is very calm and docile around them. You can take anything from him, he will not growl. Like any largedog I'd imagine he might accidentally knock a very small child over, but there is no malice to him whatsoever. Temperament-wise i'd trust himwith a childover our Black Lab/Golden, Bloodhound and Black Mouth Cur put together.

He is exuberant and does need to run a lot, but he is calm indoors. I think a GSP would become problematic if kept alone outside (as with any dog).Any dog will come up with bad habits to entertain itself ifnot givenenough stimulation. Ours does not do well alone, but I believe this is because he was a rescue and has bonded very closely with myself and the other dogs. He is completely submissive with other dogs.

Any breed of dog will be aggressive if you buy one that is poorly bred and/or allow it to behave in an aggressive manner. Whichever dog you get, make sure the dog AND the children know the rules on how to treat each other, and you should not have problems.

daleh

Cara,
Congrats on your Docile Dog.
Did you Know that the first test they give at a shelter was to take a bowl of food away from a dog that may not have eaten in several days or seen a bowl of food in weeks?
Do you know what happens if the dog growls? It is Killed.......
No One in the history of the world has ever got a good bird dog from a shelter.
A Pet is A Pet.A Bird Dog is something Special. A Part of Hunting Heratige and a Costly Rewarding Relationship that should be valued for a long time.

Cara

No dog should show aggression to family members or those it is familiar with, end of story. Temperament is key to any good working partnership; a vicious dog is a liability, not a joy. How can owning an aggressive animal be a 'rewarding relationship'? Costly, yes, in terms of medical bills. Like the majority of your arguments, I can see no common sense in tolerating aggression from an animal that will be a family member for 10yrs+.

The dog in question was found as a young puppy, and grew up in a small town pound until his time was almost up. Unlike those who would turn their nose up at a dog that didn't cost hundreds of dollars, I chose to take him in and give him a chance. Who was his previous owner? Most likely a hunter. Who bred him? Probably someone selling bird dogs. It disgusts me that some who claim to be 'dog people' lose allcompassion if a dog does not have papers.

To claim that rescue dogs can never make goodbird dogs is an ignorant, sweeping judgement. Nine times out of ten, the owner is the reasonthe dog has ended up in that predicament, the dog has done nothing wrong. Rather than discarding a dog before even giving it a chance, I prefer to look at its potential. If you expect little from any animal, that is what you will get. Equally, buying a registereddog is no guarantee that it will be talented. A dog will only be as good as its handler. He is not ahunting dog because he has not been trained to be. Instead he is in training for Search and Rescue, and doing very well, particularly in the recovery of human remains.My two working dogs were also found in the pound. There is nothing more special than an animal that can save human life.

In his time off he is an excellent pet, which you seem to consider a disparaging term. Just consider how much time you spend hunting versus the amount of down time relaxing with the dog as a family pet.Temperament is key to a long-lasting, enjoyable relationship. Aggressive behaviour is no more acceptable than a lack of drive to work.To breed such dogs is to do the breed adisservice. Where is the sense in spending hours training a dog that will end up being euthanized for biting?

All hunting breeds were bred fortemperament as well as ability. To be an excellent working partner, a dog mustbe agood companion. Without companionship and mutual affection, there is no foundation for a working relationship or a desire to please. It is also the most rewarding part of owning any dog.

sproulman

all breeds have dog that will bite..

not trying to steer you away from setter but if you hunt ducks, no good..

i would get a SMALL lab..
setters are fine, but they shed hair bad inhome and burrs in woods....

gsp, i dont know much about them so cant offer opinion.....

dont let me steer you away from setter,only my opinion what i would do....

outdoorslover

I can tell you, from MUCH experience with my English Setter, that they are the gentlest creatures you will find. Mine will allow my niece, who's 2 years old, to pet him and I know he wouldn't harm anyone. The only thing he gets aggressive towards is pheasants and basically any bird, plain and simple. Mine has hunted ducks with me as well.I don't hunt ducks in the typical areas(lakes etc.),but I would doubt if you could use them to retrieve from deep water. Mine is not afraid of water but would take a lot of training to be able to do that. I would say, just guessing, that GSPs are much better waterfowl dogs.

Setters are far more mild mannered than the GSPs and they have much nicer coats and are basically nicer to watch. They only complaint I have with them is that they are rather stubborn at times and do not retrieve easily. They shed like crazy as well, another consideration to keep in mind if you don't like hair on everything.

good luck with your choice. Get what you want. I don't think you'll be disapointed with the Setter though