Brittany or Springer Spaniel for pheasants?

And that is why I love hunting the EB...fur and feather...to my reckoning the most versatile of the versatiles...no thats not right...the bestest gundog in the world :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Edited to add: inspite of my passion for the breed, there is nothing like seeing other gundog breeds at work...they are all beautiful dogs and each breed has its specialities all of which I appreciate.
 
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Lets put our dogs side-by-side on the bank of the lake and throw one dummy and send 'em both. I'll let Daisy do my talking for me.BOOM!!! YOU JUST GOT SHADOWED!!!

You forgot the part where you say you will bring your dogs up and kick my arse:D

All kidding aside, I think before I got married to a breed I would try to get out and watch some dogs work. I would Imagine if you went our and watched Ken's springers, or Zeb's britt it would leave you as screwed up as before. I would imagine it would leave you wanting one of each. There are many variations in breeds of dogs. Most of our opinions on here are based on our own little world. Good luck in your search, and know time and effort makes a good dog.
 
Lets put our dogs side-by-side on the bank of the lake and throw one dummy and send 'em both. I'll let Daisy do my talking for me.BOOM!!! YOU JUST GOT SHADOWED!!!

You forgot the part where you say you will bring your dogs up and kick my arse:D

All kidding aside, I think before I got married to a breed I would try to get out and watch some dogs work. I would Imagine if you went our and watched Ken's springers, or Zeb's britt it would leave you as screwed up as before. I would imagine it would leave you wanting one of each. There are many variations in breeds of dogs. Most of our opinions on here are based on our own little world. Good luck in your search, and know time and effort makes a good dog.

I'll take that bet with Odie;)
 
Ctom my definition of retrieving is "as good as any lab" on my site.;) They can back it up as well.:cheers:

I have no doubt, maybe better:). The dig was mainly directed at pointers. I have a couple buddies that have pointers that are decent retrievers. It just isn't quite the same:).
 
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I will always need a retriever for my jump shooting Mallards in nasty cover. Sometimes wounded in the cattails often on the far side of the water. My 4 year old Lab Star is the best of the best. :)

My 15 month old Britt has great instincts for pointing and going after the down birds. We have to work on the retrieving.. I'm not sure if it's a big deal. I'll have Star wherever a retrieve is required.

1 week away, next trip, gonna be a great time with the pups. :cheers:
 
I would go with a springer. Watching a pointer work and hold a bird is truly a great site. But pheasants are a running bird. They only fly when they have to. I just find that a flushing dog is more versatile for all types of cover. Huns, Quail, Sharp tail etc.... = pointer have the upper hand. Pheasants = Flusher.
 
I have shot a lot of sharptails and pheasants in the company of pointers and setters. Like many hundred?, of those approximately 10% held to flush, most got up when pressured from a long way back, a a lot were indicated by the dog, who was working it, and maybe 25% were held staunch, some had to be relocated, to flush. Bobwhite quail a different story. I am now experimenting with a Lab, I am sure he is a better retriever, but I have had a lot of pointers and setters who produced a dead bird, either by finding one and waiting or returned to bare groud and dropped, and one who got close enough to leap up and throw it to you before hurrying on hunting, and a few big pointer males who don't have any interest in dead birds, only the next covey.
 
IMO breed performance in field trials would not be a sound basis for choosing between a Brit and a Springer for open country wild pheasant hunting. If you're going to club and reserve hunt and trial, get a Springer. If you want an open country wild bird finder, the Brit's the one.
 
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My 15 month old Britt has great instincts for pointing and going after the down birds. We have to work on the retrieving.. I'm not sure if it's a big deal.

It is a big deal. Don't rely on another of your dogs to do the retrieving. I did just that one time and it was a huge mistake. If your Britt doesn't start picking up the retrieving this season I would highly recommend you spend the money and send him/her to a professional for Force Fetch/Trained Retrieve.

PM me if you want to discuss this more.
 
Brittany or springer

French spaniel from Minnesota French Spaniels (Paul) Check em' out. Great dog, especially for someone who doesn't know anything about dogs or pheasant hunting, like me.
 
IMO breed performance in field trials would not be a sound basis for choosing between a Brit and a Springer for open country wild pheasant hunting. If you're going to club hunt and trial, get a Springer. If you want an open country wild bird finder, the Brit's the one.

And there you have it, Ken. You've got some excellent trial and club dogs. But if you ever decide to hunt wild pheasants, you'd better get a pointy dog.
 
LOL I hear ya, some people live a sheltered life. LMAO:cheers: This is why I am asking to be removed as a mod and stop using this forum. It gets old. Fast

FC, I don't want to see you go as a Mod but I do understand where you are coming from. Some of this back and forth banter starts to get old after awhile. So much the same old crap just a different day. But you have to just ignore the bulk of it because there are some good things posted here also. Plus I've met a lot of UPH members and they have all been really swell people.
 
LOL I hear ya, some people live a sheltered life. LMAO:cheers: This is why I am asking to be removed as a mod and stop using this forum. It gets old. Fast

nah, hang in there. it is the way internet forums work. guy asks "A or B" and some people just feel the need to say "get C". :thumbsup:
 
A or B or C

Ya got a whole bunch of dog lubbers on this site. You can't expect anything different. Just the way it is. Reading posts on this site got me through a pretty dang long winter, and I learned a lot along the way. Better than most of the crap on TV. Best not to take it to heart.
 
To the OP, tell ya what. Dont believe a dam thing you hear mostly on here. Bickering back and fourth about rover being better then lassie, one is a close worker garbage. If you are serious, skip past all this jabber and go to see some good dogs work. If you were near me I could show you several springers in action this hunting season. Won't have pups because we are booked till 2015, but I know plenty of good dogs out there. If your near Dakota Zeb, he would most likely be happy to show you his Brit. Otherwise we can direct you to folks we know all over to go put your hands on the car so to speak

I can honestly tell you I have never met anybody that hunts with springers. If you know of anybody in Kansas, I would like to check them out sometime. You posted a video of a started dog one time, and I thought it was very impressive work, and the dog had a lot of "hunt".

I had read a lot about springers and was considering getting one as a hunting dog when I graduated college. But I asked around in all my hunting circles and nobody knew anybody with a springer... So I ended up with a different breed that I could find locally. Maybe if I had been on this forum 14 years ago, Rusty would have been a springer instead of a golden retriever... :laugh:

Of course everybody is proud and loyal to their favorite breed and even their own individual dog. When somebody poses the question, "what should I get?", it's natural for people to chime in and suggest their favorite breed. We like to brag on our dogs, that's not such a bad thing is it?:cheers:
 
nah, hang in there. it is the way internet forums work. guy asks "A or B" and some people just feel the need to say "get C". :thumbsup:

Amen! A guy asks a question as to which breed, Springer or Brittany, would be best for hunting pheasants in SD. Why bring other breeds into the discussion, he didn't ask about the other breeds.

But questions like this are difficult to answer as it boils down to individual preference. Kind of like asking which shotgun, an auto or a o/u, is best for hunting pheasants in SD. There really is no wrong answer.
 
I can honestly tell you I have never met anybody that hunts with springers. If you know of anybody in Kansas, I would like to check them out sometime.

Over the years I've known only one Kansas hunter that had a Springer, an older fella who couldn't cover the ground like he once did. Decent dog, did what a Springer's supposed to do. BTW, that dog was born in Ireland and had what appeared to be a naturally short tail.
 
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