Hi,
I am wondering if a mixed breed dog, say German Wirehair and Lab would still be a good hunting dog? Since they both have the instinct to hunt will they be a good hunter?

We can't really afford an expensive hunting dog right now but have found this mix....is it worth a try?

YES! I am a proud Lab owner. But one of the best dogs I have ever hunted with was a chessie lab mix. He was awesome. But if you watch around the paper you should be able to get a "Pure Bred" for not to much. But you do get what you pay for.

I have a GSP/Whiem that will hunt with the best of them.

The initial price that you pay for a dog is the least of your expenses.
If you can't afford a more expensive dog, how are you going to be able to afford
the numerous other costs that go along with dog ownership.
My advice is to wait untill you can afford to do it right.


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I agree with Doc. Besides, you can get a reliable hunting dog for cheap. Heck, daleh is advertising free setters on another forum; although they will probably be bastards with 90 degrees tails.

Thanks for the replies!

And to those who thought we couldn't afford to have a dog if we didn't want to pay for a purebreed........We take our pets to the vet regularly and feed them quality food. We are just a single income family and with fuel at 4.30 a gallon and food up 45% we have to make sure that we use our extra income accordingly. We had watched for a purebreed and have found them for 1200-1500, a little much for our family.


SOOOOOOOO..... we got a Wirehair Pointer that is crossed with a treeing walker. He is about 13 weeks and seems to be a pretty mellow dog. He is already pointing at local wildlife, so I think he will be a great hunter and be ready for the fall season. I will post a picture of him later, we think he is quite handsome!

Afford to do it right? Your definition of right may not be someone elses. I've seen several mixed breed dogs become excellent hunting dogs, it just takes the right training and patience, just like a pure bred dog needs training and patience.

You seem to have missed the most important sentence of my post :

"If you can't afford a more expensive dog, how are you going to be able to afford the numerous other costs that go along with dog ownership."

No bigdeal now, he has his pup.


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I have treeing walkers (for coon)and beagles(for rabbit) and I have never give over $200 for a pup and they areall at least UKC registered and out of good hunting stock. I also have a 1/2 lab 1/2 omcba cur that was given to my wife that has turned out to make a fine squirrel dog. It doesn't matter how a dog is bred if it doesn't have the brains to hunt it won't make it in the woods.

That's why dogs coming out of puppy mills are so consistent in their hunting abilities. How a dog is bred has everything to do with how it will perform in the woods. I hear often people saying "I found a dog in the pound that turned out to be a great hunting dog" or "this mutt points as well as any pointer." Whether that's true, who knows; but a well bred litter of dogs will ALL perform well in the woods. Bottom line, you get what you pay for.

I think your $ 1200 - $ 1500 numbers are too high. You could easily get a GWP from a hunting background or a Drahthaar for under $ 1,000.

Best of luck with your pup dodge.