RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

Thanks Duck Killer!

I had forgotten that GSP's also make excellent duck retrievers.

Not having ever hunted over a GSP, or even examined one up close and personal, is their coat that much shorter than a lab's and therefore much better for the kind of temps I'll be hunting in here in Venezuela?

Also, is it your impression that, on average, GSP's tend not to have a 'hard mouth' problem, or is it more a matter of being able to break them of the bad habit more easily?

El Gringo

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

The GSP has a really short coat. However the lab isn't known for a having a long coat such as a golden, but its the weight that gives the lab the disadvantage in the upland fields and on warm days.

And as far as hard mouthing small birds, I would say you would have a better chance with a GSP than a lab, granted any dog will hard mouth if the owner doesn't know what he's doing. A word of advice from the get-go, do NOT ever play tug-a-war with your dog, do NOT snatch the dummy,bumper,bird,etc. from your dog quickly and lots of force. This is where you can CREATE hard mouth. Instead say "out" and push the dogs lip against its teeth behind the bird/bumper and the dog should release. After enough of those lessons you shouldn't have any problem.

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

Which part of SA are you moving to?

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

Thanks Duck Killer! I'm really in appreciation of the repsonses and experiences all you guys have. When I found this forum, I realized quickly it was one I wanted to join.

DuckStampede, I'm already here, and here is North-Eastern Venezuela in a city called Maturin. The city is just south of a chain of mountains that runs east-west along the northern coast of the country. A few hours drive to the south and west brings one into the Gran Savana which is an enormous expanse of grass lands mixed with wooded areas. South of that and one enters Amazon jungle.

The western side of Venezuela is pretty arid, while this region here is somewhat mixed, depending on elevations.

It's a fascinating country and one with lots of shooting opportunities. In a very short time I've already secured permission to hunt on tens of thousands of acres of farmland and cattle ranches to the west of here near the mountains. There's very little hunting pressure on game birds. The deer, however, as are numerous other decent-sized game animals, are hammered at night.[:o]

El Gringo

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

El Gringo,

I believe a lab or GSP will serve your interests very well-my preference is for a Lab simply based on the fact that you and I are about the same age-and although I visualize myself hunting 60 days a year-my knees are telling me that as time progresses that probably won't happen like it used to. Therefore I am getting a Lab early in 2005 because my limited expience tells me that when I am 56 in a few years and I can't get out and hunt as much as I would like-my dog will be more companion than hunter-Labs tend to mellow a little better strictly in my opinion. I do believe temps and terrain should be taken into account but in the temp range you are looking at neither dog will suffer since both have the same coat characteristics which is why they can retrieve ducks in cold water. If your dog is taught to hunt and force fetch in warm weather with dove and quail then I have found hard mouth is less of a problem since you train it out of them from the beginning. Again just an opinion on my part.

As far as a post you made in Upland game-I would love to trade you a hunt in Venezuela for a hunt in Nebraska. I put a trip together every other year for my friends and we have a wonderful time.

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

Consider that a deal!!!! I'm still learning when and where to hunt these birds but am figuring it out quickly. We can compare notes on schedules, seasons, etc, and formalize some plans.

Thanks!

El Gringo

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

Where in Nebraska are you guys planning on hunting? I live here in southeastern Nebraska and we have had a pretty good year so far, and its not even done yet! How much does in generally cost for a trip to Venezuala from the states?

RE: Help requested selecting a breed for my new hunting partner!
 

Duck Killer,

Flights to Venezuela vary depending on time of year, and of course, on how far in advance you buy the tickets.

Most flights originate out of Houston or Miami with a direct flight into Caracas. An additional alternative is to fly into Miami and then take Aeropostal, a Venezuelan National Airline down to Caracas. They sometime offer some excellent fares as compared to the U.S. carriers and because they're flying into Miami, they're required to meet all U.S. safety requirements. This is especially true since the local currency is frozen against the dollar at an artifically low rate. One can exchange dollars here and easily knock 25% off the cost of something that's priced at the 'official' exchange rate.

I just did a quick search using expedia.com and came up with roundtrip ticket prices out of Miami, in late January (30 days out) and came up with a tad over $400...so that should give you something to go on.

When it comes time to putting a hunting together, you guys need only get to Caracas, the rest of the trip will be on me.;)

El Gringo