The Labrador Retriever can hunt virtually any feathered game, ducks as well as the upland birds, but can this dog be trained for deer? I have seen a deer-drive video from down South (Virginia, the Carolinas or Georgia) where there was a even black Lab in the mix of mostly hound-type breeds. California, where I live, is not dogs-for-big-game-hunting-friendly but current regs allow one dog per hunter during deer season with modern guns. The trouble is many here frown on dogs in the deer field. I went on a canned guided deer hunt once on a CA rancher's/guide's private spread and HIS policy was no dogs on the deer hunt. I have heard rumors that a Lab, famed for ducks, may also be trained to follow blood to recover a lost/down/wounded big-game animal. Some sources say chocolate Labs have been used to trail a deer like a hound. I don't know what coat color has to do with this supposed talent. Labs are routinely trained to sniff for bombs and trapped victims in buildings so I guess they could be trained for deer.

For deer, I would have a radio collar on my dog to ensure I don't lose him in the woods.

Speaking of permitting ONE DOG only during regular GUN deer season in CA, I have and will only hunt with modern guns. Smokepoles, air guns and Robin Hood weapons interest me not personally.

The American Foxhound can hunt virtually any hoof or fur bearing game but is rare and hard to find.

The black and tan coon hound can do the same as above but hounds bay and howl like the devil and I live in the suburbs.

I have been hunting deer and ground squirrels back in the 1990's, without any dog in the field, and have not hunted since. I am a dog lover and hunting without a dog for companionship if nothing else is never the same.

I am interested in taking up hunting again but I vowed only to do it with dogs if I am ever to do it again at all. Being in CA, I will have to choose the game to hunt that is the best fit in this State for dogs and the best-fitting dogs for my specific game here.

California is unhappily a very anti-hunting state as most may know. They just outlawed dogs for bear here not long ago out of asinine stupidity. Sacramento legislators here don't know a double-aught buck shell from scoring a double in the dove field.

Hound breeds for hunting mammals are virtually impossible to find here but Labrador Retrievers are coming out the ears here. Quite a few Californians still largely feel heart-warmed about hunting ducks and birds with "sweet, cuddly Labs". Feathered-game hunting seems to be the form of hunting that lefty-libs least hate. They don't like the notion of 'Bambi' or a 'cute teddy bear' being hounded, though.

CA offers lots of pheasant, dove and duck opportunities as well as ground squirrels but big game hunts here are now the utter pits.

I envy the South in that we don't do deer drives with loud baying and howling dogs here in the West.

I have finally concluded over my past 50 years in this world that HUNTING is not HUNTING without a dog in the field! There is just no charm without a canine companion leading a gun. As a matter of fact, I have to have a dog for anything I do that is fun out of doors.

I am just old-fashioned about some things. Guns and dogs just warm my soul.


So, my next hunting dogs will have to be the ever-popular Lab in black, my favorite color. I have owned four Labs over my 50 year lifetime only as companions and never trained them for the field.

Pointing Labradors -- the Ultimate in versatility.

.

Not looking for any because I've already got the most versatile dog on the planet--a Drahthaar will beat a Lab in anything and then some!

Does a pointing lab have to be bred that way or trained that way or both?

They don't look like attractive dogs so I will have to stick with the best hunting dog I fancy the looks of and is highly available in California.

the black Labrador Retriever of good hunting stock

***Hey, thanks so much for that really nice come back about my dog and that from a guy that doesn't have a dog and says he doesn't even hunt! Only in CA, LOL!!!

I'm not familiar with that breed. Do they point? He looks like he obviously doesn't mind the cold weather.

Yes Cal, they are a pointer/retriever when you use them on upland game like grouse, pheasant, or quail. Their true name is actually Deutsch Drahthaar, which translates to German Wirehair and they were created back in the late 1800s to early 1900s by breeding the Pudelpointer, Griffon, Stichelhaar, and Shorthair together. They come in many colors, but a lot of them are similar to mine with the GSP basic coloration. They are just as adept at water retrieves as on land, but the amazing thing is that they will chase and either tree or kill any furred game you want to hunt with them, as well as blood trail. Mine came out of a kennel in Georgia, but even though they have a short coat it has a very heavy undercoat and they really love the cold weather and snow like we have up here in MI.

I have hunting experience and retriever-owning experience but my past Lab. retrievers weren't hunted and I am new to feathered-game/wing-shooting.


I had to find homes for my retrievers and sell my hunting guns a few years ago due to economic hardships but I am making a comeback, money/career wise
and hunting fever is in my blood strong again. But no more pricey canned deer hunts for me ever again with lousy-tasting meat and no canine companionship to boot.

Speaking of hunting dog-less, CA just outlawed hounds for black bear here not long ago and now the damn things are infiltrating neighborhoods with children and pets in danger! Stupid idiots in Sacramento: that old fart, Gov. Brown, as in crap-Brown, we have to thank for that smooth move, Ex-lax! No respectable bear hunter will grab a gun and head for the woods dog-less.

I hate to say it, but I will choose hunting guns and hunting dogs only if I like the looks and feel of them.

I have owned four BYB Labs total and have never paid over $350 for an AKC backyard-bred pup.

I also had a beagle that I had to get rid of because he was a baying nuisance with his nose glued to the ground and I have sworn off
ownership of hound types ever since. I would enjoy hunting with another man's hounds in the field, though.

California can be difficult to find AFFORDABLE hunting opportunities for a working stiff.

It is probably not a breed that can be purchased locally in CA. ...Deleted by CalHunter..., we cannot not even find fox hound or coon hound breeders here in the West.