Chasin Tom - I' d go hunting with you. That is, if you don' t mind setters.

Heck no I dont mind Setters. Like I said before, Labs, Pointers, and Setters are all good dogs. My dad had an English Setter when I was a kid, Man did that dog have some problems. Not long after he switched to GSP' s which I almost got into after my tour overseas. I had a friend who showed me his Vizsla and I was hooked. I got mine 5 years ago while I was on vaccation in Germany. Made a road trip to Hungary. Not knowing the breader was a little bit of a chance, but his dogs worked very well when he displayed their hunting ability. He did pick up one strange trait from his mother. When he sees a squirel watch out. This dog freaks. It would seem to the average person that the dog was possessed or that he was about to kill someone. But if I ever hunt somewhere that squirels are fare game I dont have a thing to worry about when it comes to the Vizsla.

Chasin Tom, I think one of the problems around here with Viszlas are, most are from lousy breeding and lost the hunting instinct. Don' t get me wrong there is a few excellent ones around but the rest is plain crap.

You see the lousy ones compared to the brits, GSP, EP, etc. and it leaves a bad impression on prospective dog owners.

Looks they are breeding for show and ruining another good hunting breed. JMO

And if anybody is interested in a Buddy pup, a guy in Phoenix is expecting a litter by November. Contact me and I give you the info.

awww Cmon now guys ! The best dog is MINE ! ! Shes a 8 month old Golden thats the best of everything. However, she excels at being my best friend, my wifes best friend, and my 2 sons best friend !

Bar none.... It just doesnt get any better than this !

I hope you all get the subliminal message in my post

I think the best dog is a Gordon setter i was lookin through here and i dont think i saw a single one! [:@] so yea and i have one that is 7-8 months old and i am 15 yrs old i had it trained in 2 weeks to do everything i wanted it to do..I have brought it pheasant hunting this last weekend ago and it pointed out 3 roosters and 1 hen! its a great dog!

Yea i just have to braag bout my dog again it retrieved a wood duck that was shot in a corn field one night and i was proud!

seattlesetters, it seems your observations are based on hunting chukars. Your big running setters would be less than useless to me in Ohio. The thickets, ravines, and briars the grouse live in require closer working dogs. The grouse would never hold for 45 minutes while I looked for my dog, either. Often times when the birds are in the bottoms, we would walk the edges & let the dogs work the nasty stuff. If a dog was to point in there, we' d have to go flush the bird. Hunting with Springers this isn' t the case. Shooting is much easier, as is the walking. I' ve hunted quail in fence rows with my dogs. After about a half hour they figured it out. Stay in the fence rows, not the fields. If the dogs got a little too far ahead, a toot on the whistle sat them down until we got closer. Finding wounded birds is something flushing dogs shine at. A running pheasant is every pointing dog' s nightmare. Easily handled by flushers. To say that some breeds are not bird dogs because they don' t fit your style is very close-minded. I' ve seen some pointing breeds that couldn' t find the birds already brought to bag by my Springers. My point is this, my dogs wouldn' t work for you. And yours wouldn' t work for me. It all boils down to what you require of a bird dog, and what pleases you. My vote goes for the English Springer Spaniel.

Phil - I think Springer Spaniels are terrific upland dogs...I have owned and hunted over them for 35 years. They work well for me on pheasants and on desert quail that would rather run than hold for a pointing dog.

Also, I' ve actually hunted grouse in Michigan, New Hampshire and here in the Northwest with my " big running" setters, and they have done just fine. They cut their range back very nicely and do a good job of pinning birds for the flush. They are awesome natural retrievers, too. In fact, I have sold a few pups to dedicated grouse hunters (some who hunt regularly in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and several New England states), and they have loved them. Some of these folks have even put down deposits on a few more pups. So I' m not convinced these dogs would be " less than useless" to you. To say so runs the risk of being close-minded, wouldn' t you agree?

I have had labrador retrievers all my life and am now breeding for nothing BUT working labs. As a former police officer I have had labs trained for narcotics dogs, search and rescue, federal and state level. So many in my area are trying to put out show dogs that look nice but don' t necessarily have the ability to do anything but look nice! In my honest opinion start by buying from an excellent field line breeder that is also checking hips, eyes (in the case of labs) or other medical problems that other breeds may have. Research a breed before you buy a pup and then put time and love into that pup. I guess I am getting a little off the subject.... But honestly for a good all around dog that can hunt, be a calm, great disposition companion, you cannot beat a lab. OF course I am bias now aren' t I? LOL However any of the sporting dogs, given the correct training and coming from a field line background, with proven abilities, can be a terrific hunter. Just depends on what you' re looking for and what you' re hunting.

I like brittany spaniels