Best Dogs

Birdman2

Birdman2

Well-known member
I'm sure most of us have had at least one outstanding dog. Let's hear about them. I have been fortunate enough to have 2 of them. First one was a French Brittany. She was great on Grouse, but outstanding on Quail. When she pointed you could tell if it was a single or a covey. If it was a Covey she would look away. She loved to hunt singles after the covey flush. Second one was an American Brittany. He was an excellent tracker. We almost never lost a hit bird. On one retrieve in KS, the bird dropped a foot and that dog went almost a quarter of a mile and brought the bird back. Damn I missed them...
 
I've been lucky to have had three great dogs, all Brittanys. Just one story: hunting a draw after some December snow with my second one. It was his first season. Bird numbers were down and my e-collar didn't work initially, so a rocky start to the season along with some questions in my mind about the dog. As we moved along the draw I saw a promising looking plum thicket at the fence line ahead. When we got close to it pheasants flushed in all directions. I dropped a leg with my first shot but it flew over the east horizon of the draw. My second shot dropped one in the draw. I found it, bagged it, and then looked around for my dog. Nowhere to be seen. I called. No dog. About a minute later he came trotting over the east horizon of the draw with a dead cock in his mouth. Dog doubts? Gone. And I had a double!
 
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So fifteen years or so ago I made the decision to buy a started Lab from a guy I knew in South Dakota. I kinda lucked into him as another guy had placed a deposit on him but he fell to me when his wife found out and nixed the deal. Buddy was a true flusher and a specimen of a dog at about 70#. In fact many that saw him doubted he was purebred as he was solid muscle. I had many amazing days with him, but one particular retrieve stands out. It was December and we were hunting a large grassy patch next to cut corn. There was 5-6 inches of snow, but it had drifted deep on the terraces of the field. You know those three + feet drifts that trick you into thinking you can walk on them but you can’t? I dumped a rooster at about 35yards onto one of the drifts and he immediately became a runner. Buddy caught sight of him and the chase was on. It was hardly fair as the 3lb bird was running with the drift and staying on top, the dog not so much. With every step he sunk to his chin. After a couple hundred yards the bird decided to jump Into the cut corn. His mistake as the dog caught him after exiting the snow. When he came back with the bird he could barely breathe. I couldn’t have been any prouder. He was a great companion and an awesome competitor. Unfortunately I had to put him down a year ago March. I still think of him often.
 
carptom1 said:
So fifteen years or so ago I made the decision to buy a started Lab from a guy I knew in South Dakota. I kinda lucked into him as another guy had placed a deposit on him but he fell to me when his wife found out and nixed the deal. Buddy was a true flusher and a specimen of a dog at about 70#. In fact many that saw him doubted he was purebred as he was solid muscle. I had many amazing days with him, but one particular retrieve stands out. It was December and we were hunting a large grassy patch next to cut corn. There was 5-6 inches of snow, but it had drifted deep on the terraces of the field. You know those three + feet drifts that trick you into thinking you can walk on them but you can’t? I dumped a rooster at about 35yards onto one of the drifts and he immediately became a runner. Buddy caught sight of him and the chase was on. It was hardly fair as the 3lb bird was running with the drift and staying on top, the dog not so much. With every step he sunk to his chin. After a couple hundred yards the bird decided to jump Into the cut corn. His mistake as the dog caught him after exiting the snow. When he came back with the bird he could barely breathe. I couldn’t have been any prouder. He was a great companion and an awesome competitor. Unfortunately I had to put him down a year ago March. I still think of him often.
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Buddy was a good one
 
Buddy knew how to hunt pheasants.
 
AKSkeeter said:
My current 7 year old lab is probably the most experienced as I now winter in Montana
and typically hunt her every weekday morning from Sept to mid-January.
She still gets to duck hunt up here in Alaska:
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Well...there was this dog, see? His name was Young Bert, the not-right dog; a German Wire-haired Pointer, he was.

and there was Mick, a field bred English Springer Spaniel, picked up by a pound in Southern Illinois, who came into my life when he was three years old.

Young Bert was energy incorporated and adventure prone.

Mick was a journeyman, almost a master grade, flushing dog. Never flashy, but just "doing the work."

I was blessed to have been associated with each of them, unique in their own ways.
 

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i was inexperienced as it gets at 14 and got a GSP who graced me and my hunting buddies with 1000’s of points and very few retrieves-for some reason that dog would only pick up a bird when wet from a crick. She would find them dead, and walk away. If they were alive still, another point. But the nose on her was awesome. Just trotted working the wind and I could tell what every muscle and movement meant and how far a away a bird was. I put her down at 13 in ‘09. Havent had another pointer til this year.
Been hunting behind a buddy’s English Setter the last 7-8 years or so. Muscled up stud who could cover serious ground and you better trust his point because there was a bird. Felt bad for my lab/springer because when he crossed in front and didnt lock up, I knew she had no action coming. Saw him on numerous occasions retrieve from over the horizon-you just didnt second guess him, you let him do what he did. Id be surprised if he had more than a hunt this year. Dog years suck!
An 11 month old GSP awaits in her kennel in the kitchen-we shall see….
 
Our best retrieve this past season was 2 yards.

2 rooster flushed at the edge of a cut bank of a creek...I shot a rare double.
First rooster to the right, second rooster to the left.
The problem was it was a 20 foot cliff at the cut bank.
So pup had to run downstream, swim across the creek and hunt up the second rooster.

In the meantime the first rooster, which landed upstream to the right in the creek,
had drifted and was pinned in the water along the cut bank right below me.
Had to handle the lab downstream, across the creek, back upstream,
then come-in whistle to swim across the creek to the cutbank below my feet.
A 2-yard retrieve horizontally, 20 feet vertically.
roosters_2yard_retrieve.jpg
 
Brittany from Shubert, Nebraska breeder in 1970, best nose on a dog I ever hunted over. Hunted over many dogs since that was faster, covered more ground and was better retrievers but never came close to having the nose.
 
My first purebred Weim was a bitch named Sheeba. She was small at 55ibs but pheasant crazy. Really I should say retrieve crazy.
She hunted close and trailed more then worked the air for scent. If she went on point there was 100% a creature there. Pheasant,coon rabbit,deer,fox but never a skunk.
Where she truly shined was retrieving. I can't recall ever losing a bird with her. If she went one way but you saw the bird go the other , you could bet she was correct.

I have previously told of her remarkable retrieves and her attempts to retrieve a live fox and a adult whitetail doe that I thought would be funny to tell her to fetch em up.

She is really the main reason I quit deer hunting. We would be going into a piece of ground and someone would approach us and say We have a deer that might be down out there. I would reply stay here and watch I will wave my hat when we locate your deer. It never took 5 minutes. This happened at least 10 times. Back then it was illegal to trail/track with a dog but we were pheasant hunting.
 
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Weimdogman said:
My first purebred Weim was a bitch named Sheeba. She was small at 55ibs but pheasant crazy. Really I should say retrieve crazy.
She hunted close and trailed more then worked the air for scent. If she went on point there was 100% a creature there. Pheasant,coon rabbit,deer,fox but never a skunk.
Where she truly shined was retrieving. I can't recall ever losing a bird with her. If she went one way but you saw the bird go the other , you could bet she was correct.

I have previously told of her remarkable retrieves and her attempts to retrieve a live fox and a adult whitetail doe that I thought would be funny to tell her to fetch em up.

She is really the main reason I quit deer hunting. We would be going into a piece of ground and someone would approach us and say We have a deer that might be down out there. I would reply stay here and watch I will wave my hat when we locate your deer. It never took 5 minutes. This happened at least 10 times. Back then it was illegal to trail/track with a dog but we were pheasant hunting.
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One more thing about that.. the 3 of us with 4 dogs were going into a 1/2 section of WPA. A group of 7 or 8 guys and 5 dogs were coming out. They questioned why we would go in after they came out? My buddy the diplomat said Well the dogs need some exercise and you guys probably missed a dozen birds. One of the other guys said well good luck with that and if those guys in the jacked up blazer come around tell them their deer isn't out there.
I said well if there is a deer we will find it.

We got a point on a hen not a 100 yards in . Shot a rooster 50 yards after that and found the deer well those guys were still on the road loading up.
 
At a AKC pointing dog hunt test. A older judge responded to my comment that I would hunt behind any mh titled dog but not every navhda ut dog.( I belong to both and hunt behind a ut with points towards sh.) He replied some people wouldn't hunt behind a jh,most people would hunt behind a sh,and everyone would hunt behind a mh. Some would willingly pay to hunt behind the mh.
 
Weimdogman said:
At a AKC pointing dog hunt test. A older judge responded to my comment that I would hunt behind any mh titled dog but not every navhda ut dog.( I belong to both and hunt behind a ut with points towards sh.) He replied some people wouldn't hunt behind a jh,most people would hunt behind a sh,and everyone would hunt behind a mh. Some would willingly pay to hunt behind the mh.
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Whats the difference in the pointer world? With retrievers, JH are single retrieves, no blind retrieves. Senior is double marks on land, double marks in water, land blind retrieve, water blind retrieve, honor another dogs work. Master Hunter is typically triple marks on land, triple marks on water, at least 2 blind retrieves (land and/or water), diversions, honoring.
 
AKSkeeter said:
Whats the difference in the pointer world? With retrievers, JH are single retrieves, no blind retrieves. Senior is double marks on land, double marks in water, land blind retrieve, water blind retrieve, honor another dogs work. Master Hunter is typically triple marks on land, triple marks on water, at least 2 blind retrieves (land and/or water), diversions, honoring.
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For starters all levels run with a bracemate so they need to allow another dog to work with them.

Jh has to search and point.
No shot birds for retrieves. Blank pistol is used and dog can't be gunshy.

Sh has to search and be steady on point and flush. Has to have a retrieve and must honor a point.

Master hunter has to do it all including steady to wing shot and fall. Retrieve to hand all with little to no commands.

AKC steady means don't creep,don't reposition at the shot unless clearly blocked by a gunner,judge,handler. Even then dog must move the absolute minimum and has to stop on their own. Mess up and leash up you are done. We had a fair mh not make it 2 minutes yesterday. Busted their first bird. That isn't always the dog's fault.

I had my dog on point and when I kicked up the bird it hooked back over the gunner right at the judge so safety called and no shot. I was supposed to fire a blank. I did but it was too late as second quail flushed right into my dogs mouth. The judges never saw but I leashed up. They said never had this happen before. We didn't see it but you are disqualifying yourself. I said the rules are the rules.
 
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AKSkeeter said:
Whats the difference in the pointer world? With retrievers, JH are single retrieves, no blind retrieves. Senior is double marks on land, double marks in water, land blind retrieve, water blind retrieve, honor another dogs work. Master Hunter is typically triple marks on land, triple marks on water, at least 2 blind retrieves (land and/or water), diversions, honoring.
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It is interesting that someone would just blindly toss the statement out they wouldn't hunt behind a JH. My boy is an APLA and AKC titled dog. Both are beginning level titles, but he is doing SH work on a regular basis. You would only know that if you hunted behind him. His pointing lab work also adds another dimension to his catalog of tricks to find and retrieve birds. I know a lot of the hunt test crowd does not respect the pointing labs, but some of the best dogs I have ever seen are highly titled pointing labs.
 
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