As it pertains to pheasant hunting, I'd like to hear from EP owners on their dog's performance on phez. How's the retrieve/tracking on your particular dog? Have you found breedings that seem to work better than others for producing EPs that do well? I like gsps but would like to try an ep if I can get a bead on the quality of their performance on the King! Thanks
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English pointer fans
- Thread starter Abbeyroad
- Start date
IsThisHeaven?
Member
I bought a 2 year old Pointer who pointed, retrieved and had reliable recall. She is now 6. She has gotten better on pheasants every year I have had her. The first year I had her I shot way more roosters over my Springer. This year its about equal over each dog. The later the season goes I have been shooting more of the Pointer. I think her ability to cover more ground results in her finding more birds. I hunt only public land so they get pretty spread out after the first week or two of the season.
My Springer is the better retriever and tracker. My Pointer is a serviceable retriever though. I love the combination on pheasants. I am pretty set with this combination going forward. My next Pointer will be from a kennel in the area from parents who hunt while pheasants. I will also look for parents who retrieve.
This is just my opinion, but the more exposure my Pointer has gotten on wild pheasants the better she has gotten. And the improvement has been significant. She has really figured out how to work birds, how to handle running birds. She relocates on her own. I rarely say anything to her in the field. It is really something to watch, In my opinion at least. PM if there’s anything else I can answer from my experience.
My Springer is the better retriever and tracker. My Pointer is a serviceable retriever though. I love the combination on pheasants. I am pretty set with this combination going forward. My next Pointer will be from a kennel in the area from parents who hunt while pheasants. I will also look for parents who retrieve.
This is just my opinion, but the more exposure my Pointer has gotten on wild pheasants the better she has gotten. And the improvement has been significant. She has really figured out how to work birds, how to handle running birds. She relocates on her own. I rarely say anything to her in the field. It is really something to watch, In my opinion at least. PM if there’s anything else I can answer from my experience.
I've been hunting South Dakota sharptails and pheasants with EP's for the past fifteen years. Currently on my fourth one. All have been pretty solid trackers and retrievers - all scored fours in every retrieving portion of the NA tests they were in. Had a VC and two UT Pz 2's. One of the four I picked up as a year-and-half old, and he wasn't quite as enthusiastic about retrieving as the others, but came around after a season or two. (You can read about him in the latest issue of PDJ...) My newest pup is two and crazy about retrieving on land or in water. Absolutely relentless, won't give up until the bird is found or I drag him away. He is double-bred Blackhawk with some of the best-known Elhew blood thrown in. His problem right now is outrunning his nose - he's the hardest worker of any dog I've run, floats effortlessly and covers an incredible amount of ground, but needs to learn to use his nose more than his feet. Probably runs a little bigger than I need for pheasants but works out great for sharpies. My VC was HTA and Rebel bred, and probably will go down as the best dog I'll ever own. Some will tell you that HTA blood brings concerns of cancer; mine died of it at just seven, so there may be something to that. My first three EP's, and the HTA dog in particular, learned to run to their hearts' content on the prairies after sharptails, but would stay in close in heavy pheasant cover. The new pup is getting familiarized with the "hunt close" command and I suspect he'll soon learn to dial things in when we are in rooster country.
I picked up some of my dogs from Ross Callaway, who told me that if I treated them like shorthairs they'd turn out fine, and that was the case. I cultivated the retrieve early and often in the three I had as young pups and they really responded to it. Lots of drag / tracking work for NAVHDA tests seemed to get them interested in that at well. They don't typically track nose-down, but usually opt to run downwind of the track with a high head, and the end result is the same.
I always got a kick out of showing up at NAVHDA tests with pointers, and hearing "I didn't know they could swim / retrieve / handle close. Lots of myths out there about the breed.
I picked up some of my dogs from Ross Callaway, who told me that if I treated them like shorthairs they'd turn out fine, and that was the case. I cultivated the retrieve early and often in the three I had as young pups and they really responded to it. Lots of drag / tracking work for NAVHDA tests seemed to get them interested in that at well. They don't typically track nose-down, but usually opt to run downwind of the track with a high head, and the end result is the same.
I always got a kick out of showing up at NAVHDA tests with pointers, and hearing "I didn't know they could swim / retrieve / handle close. Lots of myths out there about the breed.
GetTothePoint
Well-known member
I bought my first shorthair 18 yrs ago after hunting over my grandpa's and his buddies EPs as a kid. And now looking back I have great respect for those ole boys and their training. They always had biddable/hard hunting dogs with no e collars. In my experience since owning my own dogs now (I've had 4 gsp and 2 ep) the gsp's are easier to train and better family dogs but there's just something majestic about watching those stretchy pointers slam the brakes with that high-noon tail. Both breeds seem to trail wild birds equally well in my opinion but the gsp is a little easier to keep close. I've always played a lot of fetch with all my dogs early on so retrieving has never been an issue but I have noticed my eps will gladly let another dog get a bird as the gsp seem to keep crashing in hard like a lab would to get the retrieve. I don't see much difference in hunting dead birds as long as you put some time into working those skills. I think the gsp holds up to really cold weather a little better than the ep. My ep are honky-tonk attitude and fiddler lines and both hunt at 30yd-200yd depending how I want them to range but have always minded well and check back often.
The best advice I got when I got these 2 ep few yrs ago was from an old trainer, he said : " A shorthair wants to be your buddy, an ep wants to run and hunt. You have to make them think the sun sets and rises with you. Spend early on making them your buddy and all is well."
After having them and realizing the differences in breeds first hand from puppies on I'd totally agree. Get them out often and on as many wild birds as you can and enjoy the show!
The best advice I got when I got these 2 ep few yrs ago was from an old trainer, he said : " A shorthair wants to be your buddy, an ep wants to run and hunt. You have to make them think the sun sets and rises with you. Spend early on making them your buddy and all is well."
After having them and realizing the differences in breeds first hand from puppies on I'd totally agree. Get them out often and on as many wild birds as you can and enjoy the show!
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