BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[Don Fischer]

Welcome to BGH!

[Full Draw]

I hunt with English Pointers, but they think anywhere in the same county is in range. One fellow I hunt with uses German Wirehairs and they stay much closer (80-100yds). They retreive very well and he uses them for waterfowl as well. Great all around dogs.

[WiskeyJaR]

check out the Large Munsterlanders, great family dogs and good birds dogs.
By breed they hunt closer the the handler then most breeds, my 6 month old runs about 150-200 FEET. which is good for me, as I tend to walk slower then most. Was with a trainer just theother day, he had two springers. When we where walking the field, his Springers tended to run further then my L.M. But that could be because mine is still a pup yet, but she was working the field hard, just not as far out as the springers.

Here is a short description of the L.M.


http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/largemunsterlander.htm

[granite]

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. I have hunted with spaniels and really like the energy that they have. English pointers are also great dogs so are german shorthair/wirehairs. I love labs , they are best all around dogs I think. But my favorite for pheasants is the Vizla also known as the hungarian pointer. These dogs have a ton of energy and they use it to run down birds. Very strong pointers . They love to hunt more than any dog I have ever seen and they try harder to please you. A trick my dad taught me is to take a wing with you when you go to pick a puppy. Put the wing in a bag and see if any of the puppies smell the wing in the bag. This will help to identify the pups with the best sense of smell. Next take the wing out and see if any respond , wave it a little put it on the floor and just watch how they interact with the wing. Dogs that are birdy will be interested in the wing. Fresh wings work the best.
I hope this helps you to find a new little friend that will lick your face and catch all the birds you drop. Good Luck

[WAcoyotehunter]

Get a border collie- they'll hunt all day and put the cows away when you get home,... then play fetch, chase the cat, wrestle with the kids, and bark at the coyotes at night. Talk about brains and energy!
I started this dog by playing fetch with a fozen roadkill quail...i praised her for showing interest and it was off to the races. She's hell on quail, but has trouble retieving pheasants.

[Whelland]

One of the best bird dogs I ever hunted over was my uncle's german shepard. His name was Rex and thinking of that dog brings back so many fine memories from my youth that I could write a book about him. I even killed my 1st pheasant over that dog.

I've hunted over muts, raised a few german shorthair's, and hunted with black labs, and spaniel's. I don't think I've hunted with any bad dogs.....but I have hunted with some bad master's.

[moseslakehunter]

German Shorthair Pointer. I have hunted birds in most the western states and have hunted with most of the major breeds. GSP is my choice hands down. It is true that you can get an exceptional dog from most if not any of the breeds but on average I believe the GSP is the way to go for any upland birds. Points, retrieves, great nose, smart, and loyal.

[Pappy]

If you do not plan on hunting a dog very much maybe you better stay with a lab or a brittany. Brits are easy to train, they are small and will work all day. If your planning to hunt in the hills for quail or chucker you better off leaving the lab at home. They can not take the heat very well in high country. German shorthairs are good dogs too. You better have a large yard and plan on spending a lot of time with that breed of dog. They are very high strung. I have own a Pointer and several other breeds of dogs. The brits are easy to train, eats less food and less mess to clean up after wards. They will hunt all day and wil stay close it you spend a little time with them. My brit who is 7 months old stays with in 30 yards of me. Where I hunt the birds do not hold like those bob whites on those plantation hunts. Engough said, They are all good dogs, Use the dog for what it is ment for.
Pappy

[frontier]

I have owned both Britanys and English Pointers. The britany was already full grown when I got him and he had a tendency to range and flush. He very seldom would point for me and would never retrieve. After he got to old to hunt, I got myself an English Pointer pup, I took him on his first hunt when he was about 6 or 7 months old. I could see that he had a great nose but it took him quite a while to get used to the gun shots. When he was about 1 year old he ran into another dog and hurt his shoulder very bad. I took him to the vet and was told that he may be able to fix his shoulder but that the nerves were damaged and he may never use the leg again. He said that there was about a 60% chance that he would recover completely but a 40% chance that he would loose all of the feeling in his leg and not walk on it anymore. It was a very easy decision for me because I was very attached to this young dog already. I paid the nearly $800 for the surgery and after a couple of days I brought him home. At this time $800 dollars was almost my complete savings, being that I was just out of high school, going to college and working part time.


After working with him and getting him to walk with a leash, I let him walk on his own and waited for the day that he would run again. This day came and I couldn't wait to take him out hunting. A friend and I went to our public hunting area that has a few chuckars and some pheasants if you are lucky. We let him hunt and just followed him. It seems that he also got attached to me and would not range beyond 50 yards. if he saw me stop he would stop and wait for me to pet him and he would continue hunting. That day my friend and I shot 4 pheasants and 2 chuckars off of him and they were all steady points that he held until we got to him and with the pet he waited for he would flush them. My friend wanted to buy him from me after seing how he hunted. He said in all his years he had never seen an English Pointer that hunted like him! I told him that this dog and I have a special bond and I would never sell him. After many years of great hunts, he died of old age. I hav'nt gotten a dog since. Maybe someday I will get another dog when my sons get older, but I know there will never be another dog like him!


Frontier

[Don Fischer]

Welcome to BGH Frontier.

I would like to think that every pup I ever sold got a home like yours!