charlie brown

I currently have no dog whatsoever. I am considering getting a bird dog to hunt for doves, chuckar, blue and ruffed grouse, and maybe sage grouse. I don't have large amounts of time to train, so a dog that is easily trained and that can retain what it was trained would be the best. I have had a Cocker Spaniel before, but we never used it for hunting. He was a family pet. I liked that dog. They seem to have very good temperments, and are easy to control and inteligent animals. They also seem to do very well if left alone for a while. But how do they do hunting. I know they were originally bred for it, but have never seen anyone around here actually using them for it. Any help would be great. Thanks, Marcial

h2oknine

I use my wife's Cocker when we hunt scalies she stays in close and she learned off of my labs which I use constently I take her just to get her out of the house. the only thing she doesn't do is retrieve she will however catch and pin them down until I get there. I believe after she goes I will get another one, but will look for an actual field bred cocker.

drfatguy

If you want a cocker, get one from hunting lines. Your best bet is an English cocker from field lines. Most American cockers have way too much coat. The English coat, from field lines, are harder and gather fewer burrs. If you get an English cocker you won't be sorry.

Dr Fatguy

missed_another

if you do not have alot of time FORGET THE DOG. because that is the one thing it takes to train a good hunting dog.

drfatguy

Missed_another,
How long does it take a day to train a dog? I see maybe 5-10 mins a day for puppy training. 10-20 mins for single marks (which is how one trans a spaniel). 10-20 for quartering (alternate retriever and quartering and the dog doesn't get bored). 20 mins for doubles. If one is honest with themselves, it is not hard to find the time or place to train. One could have a well trained dog if one would put in anywhere from 10mins to 1/2hour 4 days a week.

Dr Fatguy

missed_another

spaniels must be alot differant than beagles. hell it takes longer than that to teach my kids something. just kidding. but we have 3 beagles and have started many many more. we must be over training because we go for hours. an hour is about the shortest session we use. if the dogs are having fun then the longer sessions are the way to go. i think the key is to keep it fun. i just always think that when i hear someone say that they don't have much time to train before they get the dog. then usually the dog never gets trained. people always comment how good our dogs behave and are trained. they are both collar and whistle trained. this comes from hundreds of hours of training not minutes. ever been hunting with someone and they spend more time looking for their dogs than hunting. those are ussually the minute trained dogs. just my 2 cents.

drfatguy

Hounds are different than spaniels. Hounds are very independent and have to be. Spaniels actually want to obey. One doesn't see many hounds in obedience trials but spaniels do quite well. The time one spends isn't as important as consistently training a dog. One can do better training 10-20 mins a day every day than 2 hrs intermitently. The other side of the consistent coin is if one gives a command one makes sure the dog obeys, no matter what. I've seen dogs obey real well in the back yard and blow up in the field because the dog hadn't been taught to obey there. I mean what does it take to get a beag's attention? The trailing should come natural, so should the search. Isn't it more just breaking them off trash?

Dr Fatguy

TreestandEd

Dont get a dog

DFG I dont know how well your dogs are trained but I diagree. Regular exercise and training I put in 1.5 hours per day.Everyday.

rick_reno

My father had a cocker he used for bird hunting. Miserabe dog, I was happy to have it put down when he died.

Mite

How serious are you in getting a hunting dog versus a family dog? Would you give up considering a family dog if you could find a hunting dog? I don't know much about English Cockers but it seems like a pointer would be best in your situation. I would recommend an English Pointer or if you find one from a good field bloodline, German Shorthair Pointer. They're very instinctivenatural pointers. GSPs I hear are very hyper but very friendly. The EPs are generally mild mannered.

As to training, any dog you get will require some training and attention on your part. Getting a puppy is somewhat like raising a child, you have to devote a certain amount of time to it. At six months or so, take the puppy to a professional trainer but most will want it to be atleast yard trained. This is expensive, but if you can't devote time to train then your gonna pay.

Or another way to go is to buy a fully trained dog then spend time to bond with it. Again it's expensive.