Golden retriever

My 1st hunting dog was a golden retriever. I got him when he was two, but the former owner never trained him for hunting. He was a great pet, but just didn't have a nose for finding birds in cover. However, the biggest problem was keeping him dry (house dog) and away from stickers etc. Spent too much time pulling stickers after every hunt. Because of that, I have had labs ever since. Again, just personal opinion based on my years of experience...
 
CRP said:
My 1st hunting dog was a golden retriever. I got him when he was two, but the former owner never trained him for hunting. He was a great pet, but just didn't have a nose for finding birds in cover. However, the biggest problem was keeping him dry (house dog) and away from stickers etc. Spent too much time pulling stickers after every hunt. Because of that, I have had labs ever since. Again, just personal opinion based on my years of experience...
Click to expand...
Yeah I know, they they pick up more burrs than any other dog. Sometimes you have to cut them off with scissors.
 
CRP said:
My 1st hunting dog was a golden retriever. I got him when he was two, but the former owner never trained him for hunting. He was a great pet, but just didn't have a nose for finding birds in cover. However, the biggest problem was keeping him dry (house dog) and away from stickers etc. Spent too much time pulling stickers after every hunt. Because of that, I have had labs ever since. Again, just personal opinion based on my years of experience...
Click to expand...
Been there done that. You had a dog from pet/confirmation lines. The ones I have now have a coat that is extremely short. Again the field lines are wirery small dogs with a short coat. The bitch I’m running now has a bit of a fluffy tail that picks up a few burrs but otherwise has a very short coat. Weighs in the low 40s.
 
Each hunting season I look at my Goldens long hair as their armor. Especially the tail. If things get too bad I snip instead of brush.
Ive had some junk yard looking, rat tailed Goldens by season end many times. They look funny and my wife hates it but they grow it back fast and I try to limit the amount of pain I force them to endure.
 
Headin west said:
Goosemaster go in the search bar and type in Golden photo. This will bring you to a thread that many have posted pics of their goldens including myself. Warning if you look through the pics you will definitely be buying a Golden pup in the near future.
Click to expand...
I like the real light colored ones, long hair
 
Goosemaster said:
I know they make great pads, but I'm not all that sure about their hunting ability.
Click to expand...
Have killed hundreds of birds over mine the past several years. Best retrievers that I have ever hunted with, can hunt very long, and hard. Will run mine for multiple days straight with no breaks. Thrive in the cold. If you're going to be hunting a whole lot in warmer temps, that would be the biggest downside - they do not handle the heat well, but I've hunted them as cold as -25 windchills and they are happy as can be.
 
cyclonenation10 said:
Have killed hundreds of birds over mine the past several years. Best retrievers that I have ever hunted with, can hunt very long, and hard. Will run mine for multiple days straight with no breaks. Thrive in the cold. If you're going to be hunting a whole lot in warmer temps, that would be the biggest downside - they do not handle the heat well, but I've hunted them as cold as -25 windchills and they are happy as can be.
Click to expand...
I hunt the Canadian
 
My grand daughter just got a Golden puppy. as soon as we have a solid recall I'll get her out with my springer. Hopefully we will have 2 bird dogs for next season. Stay tuned.
 
I don't get why some guys don't just take there young dog hunting, instead of sitting around waiting for it to be trained when it could be out gaining real world hunting experience. Put them on birds when there at the steepest slope of the learning curve, You won't ruin him. And if he won't come perfect when you want, that's what a leash or shock collar is for but at least he's learning.
 
My first pheasant dog in 1990 was a Golden and he was also one of my best ! I was a new bird hunter at the time, and his instinct to retrieve, fine nose and hard drive helped make me a pheasant hunter worthy of the name. Didn't matter whether we were after roosters, quail, huns, sharptails, mallards or wood ducks, he was up for it. He was also a house dog and my family and little daughter (she's 34 now!) loved that dog. He died in 2001 and we all miss him still. I'd never hesitate to get another Golden if from a proven line of hunters.
 
Walkers Run said:
My grand daughter just got a Golden puppy. as soon as we have a solid recall I'll get her out with my springer. Hopefully we will have 2 bird dogs for next season. Stay tuned.
Click to expand...

hyresmack said:
I don't get why some guys don't just take there young dog hunting, instead of sitting around waiting for it to be trained when it could be out gaining real world hunting experience. Put them on birds when there at the steepest slope of the learning curve, You won't ruin him. And if he won't come perfect when you want, that's what a leash or shock collar is for but at least he's learning.
Click to expand...
Completely agree. I took my 5 month old golden with me all year last year. As long as their recall is fine and you're not worried about shooting, can't hurt a thing. Thousands of bird flushes, exposure to all sorts of shooting, different scenarios, etc. Builds a very confident dog in my opinion.
 
hyresmack said:
I don't get why some guys don't just take there young dog hunting, instead of sitting around waiting for it to be trained when it could be out gaining real world hunting experience. Put them on birds when there at the steepest slope of the learning curve, You won't ruin him. And if he won't come perfect when you want, that's what a leash or shock collar is for but at least he's learning.
Click to expand...
I agree. Got my first Boykin a little less than 4 years ago. She wasn't just my first bird dog, she was my first dog of any kind. (I'm 57 yrs old)
I knew nothing about training a bird dog (still don't) but I did know how to go hunting, a lot. So that's what we did, and she and I both learned through trial & error, emphasis on error. Just getting her into wild birds, over and over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top