What' s the best birddog?? I' m partial to German Shorhairs. Just like the way they work. It' s hard to beat a good pointer though.

oops..probably shoulda posted this on the sportingdog forum huh?? sorry.

Since over 90% of the winners in the history of field trialing in the United States have been either Pointers or English Setters, we must consider these two breeds the cream of the crop.

I would have to say the best birddog can change from day to day and from application to application. If you are running American Field All-Age field trials, you better get a Pointer. There are a few English Setters out there that display true all-age range (which, if you' ve never been to a trial like this, is way the hell out there, so far, in fact, that mounted scouts often lose dogs for hours at a time), but you are better off with a Pointer.

For Shooting Dog stakes (which is still way the hell out there, just not quite as far), Setters can compete and some would say they may even be a touch better.

For walking field trials such as NSTRA, you will see more Setters winning than Pointers, but good examples in both breeds. You will even see some nice Brittanies and Shorthairs in these smaller-field events.

There are definitely more strains of Setters than anything else: Grouse dogs, big dogs, small dogs, horseback dogs, foot hunting dogs, prairie dogs, brush dogs, quail dogs, chukar dogs, pheasant dogs, you name it, there is a type of English Setter out there for just about everything. They also make about the best house pet of any breed, not just birddogs. So from these measures, my vote would go to the English Setter.

But I wouldn' t turn down an Elhew Pointer, either! I would consider one of these the ultimate birddog, although most hunters would be happier with a shorter-ranging dog.

The English Setter is also the most most beautiful of all dog breeds, and that doesn' t hurt, either.

the best bird dog would depend on the situation.

The best bird dog would in my eyes are the continental or versatile breeds. In this catagory I would again narrow it down to the GSP.

For what I have seen it is easy to get a good hunting dog from the stock available. The breed is a natural and also very biddable. They hold there own in whatever test/trial they enter but more importantly they are still a foot hunters companion. They also are at home in the marsh to make many retrieves from the duck blind.

On a note of maintenance they are pretty maintenance free most times after a duck hunt with a black soot a simple spray of the hose will do the job. After an upland hunt it is time to clean birds with other dogs it is a half hour job of cleaning burrs from the dogs coat.

Another plus is the tracking ability of the versatile breeds unfortanetly for most upland hunters they realize this to late with a downed crippled bird. In times like this in the past the lord.earl, king etc.. would use a retriever to get the bird. Later the middle class not being able to afford more than one dog produced dogs to it all, these were called the continental breeds. These dogs were trained/bred to track blood of big game animals for recovery, to work upland and point game, to work and hunt waterfowl and above all to retrieve downed game.

It boils down to each their own so if your looking for a dog take the time and either hunt over them if this opportunity does not exist. Take time out to watch AKC hunt tests, NAVHDA tests, and/or NSTRA trials all of which are leaned toward the foot hunter. NAVHDA has the only water portion to their tests. I believe the weim club and gsp club have started a water test but not to the point of NAVHDA testing format. Also I would also stress it is more in the breeding of a few than the breed itself so if you choose a certain breed do your homework and make sure you get what your looking for.

I belong to an English Springer Spaniel Field Trial club. I own Labrador Retrievers. I love to see Shorthairs work.

I cannot simply say this one or that is the best. With an unbiased opinion, I would recommend to anyone trying to make a decission on breed to visit some AKC field tests. Please keep in mind that very few breeds actually use live birds. As well, some breeds at tests are not even required to retrieve the birds. This i my $0.02
worth, and it is only that. The best dog is the one that works best for your situation and works well for YOU.

As I am more of a waterfowler, I prefer Labradors.

I have hunted over alot of breeds and the best by far have been the Labs. I am partial to the blacks personally, but a friend has a red lab that is a kick a$$ hunter as well. The best working labs are the pointing labs. They have all the retriever instinct you can ask for and they will hold a good point. Now I know that true pointer men (and women) will scoff at the " pointing" lab idea, but I have a great one and he has held 45 second points for me.

If I had to pick a pointer, I' d pick a Gordon setter, I have hunted with a couple of good ones as well and they know how to work.

Bottom line. A good dog is born AND made. I have seen many a good dog turned bad by mis handling and poor training, but it is rare to train a dog that just does not have it.

if your going to hunt ok. area a lab wont work to warm to open stay with a pointing breed, while labs are great waterfowlers and close upland dogs, they wont stay with a gsp in your area.
and labs dont hunt chukars!!!

Well Randy I see you still are of the opinion that Labs don' t hunt chuckars. I live 5 hours from the nearest chuckar hunting. I hunt the same places you do a lot of times. We still bag plenty of chuckars, and valley quail. You need to look up my buddy in Huntington. He flat out stacks up the chuckars and huns with his yellow lab. I hunted the first 5 days of chuckar season within spittin distance of your home, and the last 5 days down in the Steens, with lots of days in between. Took home a pretty good bunch every time. Nothing magical about chuckars. They can be hunted effectively with any halfway trained bird dog. Just bring your hiking boots and water bottle.