Never had a hunting dog before and think it's time for me to get one.

I was thinking of a Bluetick for tracking deer,but i've never heard of them of being bird dogs.

Blueticks are not considered birddogs but any dog can be trained for it but you will be at a disadvantage in terms of training because the dogs instinct is to track big game. There are versatiles that will track game also but I doubt as good as one bred mainly for it but these versatiles are jack of all trades, fur and feather.

It sounds like you need a German Shorthair. A Bluetick will do what it's bred to do when you cut it loose; run, hunt, and stick to a trail no matter what (including you calling it back).

IMO: You're trying to buy one dog to do one too many jobs. It's like using your sports car to pull a plow. You can do it....but.

If you can't have two dogs, you'll end up a lot happier owningone dog that does a single taskreally well vs. a dog that is half a** at several jobs. Most importanly you're not being fair to the animal by asking it to do something it just isn't bred to do. Neither one of you will ever be happy.[&o]

Twelch:

What you are describing is exactly what the Deutsch drahthaar was developed to do. The drahthaar includes ancestors from the following breeds: Stichelhaar, Griffon, Pudlepointer, and Deutsch Kurzhaar (shorthair). The drahthaar was developed by the German foot hunter who wanted a pointer, a retriever that worked equally well on land and in the water, a blood tracker for big game recovery, a flusher, and a dog aggressive enough to bring down wounded big game. There are a number of U.S. breeders that conformto the strict breeding and testing regulations that were developed by the Verein Deutsch Drahthaar breeding organization.There are some great pictures posted on Group North America's web site showing the versatility of these dogs. You can view them at www.vdd-gna.org. If you have any questions regarding drahthaars I would be happy to try and answer them. Good luck with your search.

Wildflugel

I agree with Jill. I have had DD's for 15 years and what the dogs can do never ceases to amaze me. I have hunted Phesants, Quail, Rabbits, Geese, ducks and blood tracked a buck for a buddy that night, all of this in one day.
Scott

I will agree with the last 2 poster. Even though I raise a top notch breed of dog for pure blood tracking. If I was a bird hunter and wanted a tracking dog I would have a DD. I have trained with the SEHC of the VDD for several years now. I am very impressed with what these dogs can do. I have watched them dog rabbit drags in the morning, goto pointing quail that afternoon, then off to the pond to work ducks and cool off and end the day doing a 12 hr old track. Great dog for someone willing to put n the training.

Ken

I would also agree with a German versatile. I have a Pudelpointer (the original German versatile dog:-). I have filled my freezer along with a number of family members' with grouse, woodcock, snowshoe hare, ducks and canada geese. I have also received about 10 calls from people asking me to help them find deer they wounded either the same day or up to 2 days prior. The dog tracked the blood to every deer except one. The one exception was a very poor shot. The dog tracked the blood; most of the time being one drop every 50-100 yards for 2 miles; only to find a gut pile where another hunter had obviously finished and taken the deer.

I think it boils down to how you want to interact with your dog while you hunt; but if you're looking for a dog that will point, retreive, track; there is no substitute for a german dog. They have been doing this for hundreds of years not only because they love it; but also because they must.

+ 1 I absolutely love these dogs .

Is he asking for a deer dog? or a blood tracker? I have never saw a versatile breed that would run a deer track any real distance. Before they could bring the deer to gun, they will quit and return to the handler and hunt with him. They will run with a hound a little longer, but just are not genetically programmed to run a track for 3-8 hours at a time.