yaker

We had to put our lab down a few weeks a go and can stand liveing with out a dog.i am looking into getting a brittany would like to train it for grouse hunting.what are the disavantages and advantages of this breed? How huch can i expect to pay for a good dog? And how diffucult is it to train a bird dog, and what does it envolve? do brittanys like the water? i spend a lot of time fishing and trapping and always brought my lab along.i am a student and have plenty of time to work with the dog any info would be great.

beej99

Yaker,

I just spent the last couple of months determining the same thing....what kind of dog will be best. Once I determined a brittany, I had to find one. It took awhile, but found a few places with them. Some were incredible overpriced, some were good. Just two days ago I put down my deposit on a pup that should be born here in a couple of days. All I know is that I am extremely excited about this dog. From all teh research that I have done, they are great bird dogs, hunt close in to you, like the water (though not waterfowl dogs, occasionally people multi-task the brittany to do it)and are superb around the house. However, also from my research as I have never owned one, the brittany is supposed to be a dog that hunts smaller field and doesn't have the endurance to go on huge hunts. Don't know how true that is as most people with the brittany (not necessarily breeders) say that they are worn out hunting well before the dog. But, I mention this incase it will affect your taking the dog when you check your trap lines. Let me know if I can be of any help.

beej

drdan

Training a pointing dog is a lot of fun but it is a whole separate hobby in itself. The dog you end up has a lot to do with how much you were willing to spend on training. This is mostly in terms of your time but the actual monetary expenses can add up too. My favorite book on dog training is "Speed Train Your Own Bird Dog" by Larry Meuller who is the Outdoor Life dog editor. It has good section on choosing a pup. This might be good investment now as reading it will give you a good idea of what is involved in training a pointing dog. Even though they are more trouble than a lab, working with and hunting over pointing dogs is very addicting. It may be hard to believe now but almost all pointing dog hunters end up feeling that watching the dog work is even more fun than shooting the birds.

scottsman

Yaker...drdan is so right on about britts, I just bought a nice little britt, my first bird dog. And I also bought the book drdan told you about, dead on right! Great book, and he's right I think watching her work is as much fun as shooting, really shooting just seems to be icing on the cake. I don't think you can go wrong with a britt, and I'm also a Lab fan, but I love this little britt.

Oregon hunter

Brittany requires PATIENT owners in otherword the brittany can be timid. It is very easy to wreck a brittany compared to a lab during training processes. As far as swimming, I wouldn't take a brittany duck hunting in the winter, they get cold very easy and they need to move around to stay warm. I have witness a brittany lock up in the pond trying to retrieve a wood duck and the dog did not swim more then 40 yard total, this happen in 25 degree weather. I hunt with my drahthaar and my buddies brittanys for pheasant, quail, chukar and grouse and I like the brittany stamina. They are extremly hyper/active for first year to year and a half depending on how often you hunt or excerise the dog. I believe brittany are strictly for upland game and grouse hunting only.