Jack of all trades

Toad said:
If you had to pick one breed of dog to hunt everything with feathers, which one do you think would do the best overall job? Say your challenge was to bag every species of upland bird and waterfowl in the USA, just you and one dog. What breed of dog do you think could handle them all with the least trouble?

I think all the dogs I've owned are capable of doing it, if I made certain accommodations for them. Not too cold of water for Daisy and Junie, and not too many miles of hot, hard running for the lab or golden I had in the past... I guess if I had to pick one of the dogs I've owned, probably the GWP would be the best jack of all trades among them. But I haven't owned or hunted behind the variety of dogs that some of you have, so I am just curious what you think.

A friend of mine has a pointing lab, and that dog has been reasonably effective at everything it has ever been asked to do, and a very fine water dog...

There are a lot of dogs out there I've never seen before, only read about in books and magazines. Some of those are touted as the best jack of all trades...

Just wondering to the group, if you had to pick one dog to do it all, what kind of dog would it be? :cheers:

-please don't bash anybody or feel the need to prove them wrong. Just, from your experience, what would your personal choice be and why?
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I would think the perfect dog would have to be some kind of pointer. Flushers would be good on most, but how are you going to hunt PC with a small running lab or springer? Where we hunt some in western kansas, a flusher is pretty worthless in a big stubble field where many of the birds seem to be. I won't run my lab in severely cold water without a vest. He isn't built for that, he is lean for the upland. A wirehair seems to be a good choice, as does a munsterlander. As much as I hate to say it, and I can't believe I am, I am intrigued by those accident dogs the wesselpointer:eek:. I know what you guy's are thinking, carptom it's not a real dog:p. I know, I know. But look at them they do look awesome. You get the retrieving ability
of a lab, mixed with all the pointing capabilities of a gsp. I just wonder about health issues, I guess time will tell. I have owned a dog with bad hips, and it was not fun. I think you might have a good one in the wirehair, but when you want to hunt behind a pretty dog you might come over to the darkside:D
 
HolyMoses said:
Forgive me....but, is that the fancy name for a wirehaired pointer, or are there differences?

Also....how does your dog hold up in extreme cold?
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HM,

I am a Die Hard GSP hunter, I choose GSP's due to the game I hunt at home which ismostly Quail and a few ducks. I do make several trips each year up North for G, PC, P. Trust me when I say a GSP can handle all, however in extreme cold weather the GSP falls short on below freezing waterfowl hunts even with insulated vests.

With that said I have hunted with just about every breed of upland dog and the one that impressesme the most is the DD, If you are looking for a versitile dog (original OP statement) that can handle extreme's than the DD is my first choice.
 
To me, the weasel pointer ;) is a fix for something that wasn't broken.
A well bred GSP or Deutsch Kurzhaar should retrieve just as naturally as a lab.
I've got a couple of buddies that have GSP/Lab crosses and their main reason was they wanted a dog that "hunted dead" better. My thoughts are if you have a GSP that won't hunt dead, you don't have much of a GSP to begin with.
 
OKIEGunner said:
HM,

I am a Die Hard GSP hunter, I choose GSP's due to the game I hunt at home which ismostly Quail and a few ducks. I do make several trips each year up North for G, PC, P. Trust me when I say a GSP can handle all, however in extreme cold weather the GSP falls short on below freezing waterfowl hunts even with insulated vests.

With that said I have hunted with just about every breed of upland dog and the one that impressesme the most is the DD, If you are looking for a versitile dog (original OP statement) that can handle extreme's than the DD is my first choice.
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Thanks. I thought you had a DD by your post.

I am starting the long process of talking the wife into another dog, and while another GSP is a very good possibility, as you mentioned, the extreme cold and ice breaking capabilities is something I am considering.
 
Versitile hunting? Versitile hunting dog.

Of those I've had, or hunted extensively with, GWP would be my choice.

Heard wonderful things about Griffon, Musterlander, and a few others, but my personal experience over...20 years plus...GWP.

That said, one doesn't "own" a dog as much as develop a relationship with it, so the objectivity is shaded in many cases.

It's going to be wonderful, whatever your choice.
 
On another note think of how fun the quest to bag every upland game bird in NA behind one dog would be! To the best of my knowledge I need all the ptarmigan species, sharps, huns, ruffs, quail (blues, mearns and bobs), pc (both), sage hen, snow cock and chachalaca (google it, its real) just to complete the US birds.:eek: I better get to work.:D

And then there is Hawaii with the francolins and different pheasants.:(
 
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quail hound said:
On another note think of how fun the quest to bag every upland game bird in NA behind one dog would be! To the best of my knowledge I need all the ptarmigan species, sharps, huns, ruffs, quail (blues, mearns and bobs), pc (both), sage hen, snow cock and chacalaca (google it, its real) just to complete the US birds.:eek: I better get to work.:D

And then there is Hawaii with the francolins and different pheasants.:(
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Lousiana has francolin's as well. There is a season in a couple of parishes. I attempted snowcock in Nevada southeast, if I remember right of Elko. It was high and snowy in early fall, we saw some, sitting against the rock face of a cliff, on another mountain, leaped and soared down I don't know how far, like big chukars. Ruby? mountains I think. I'm to old for that now! it's like foot hunting mountain sheep. I did go to Arizona on the same trip and got a mearn's quail both sexes, mounted on the table. The only one's I shot, I consider them trophy birds, not a limit bird, to rare. I am afraid I might need to think of bobwhite quail that way before to long!
 
Duckdog17 said:
To me, the weasel pointer ;) is a fix for something that wasn't broken.
A well bred GSP or Deutsch Kurzhaar should retrieve just as naturally as a lab.
I've got a couple of buddies that have GSP/Lab crosses and their main reason was they wanted a dog that "hunted dead" better. My thoughts are if you have a GSP that won't hunt dead, you don't have much of a GSP to begin with.
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your right, i had a stressful day at work
 
oldandnew said:
The only one's I shot, I consider them trophy birds, not a limit bird, to rare. I am afraid I might need to think of bobwhite quail that way before to long!
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O&N,

You need to belay your last. Looks very promising here this year! Best in over 10 years for sure......:cheers:
 
oldandnew said:
Lousiana has francolin's as well. There is a season in a couple of parishes. I attempted snowcock in Nevada southeast, if I remember right of Elko. It was high and snowy in early fall, we saw some, sitting against the rock face of a cliff, on another mountain, leaped and soared down I don't know how far, like big chukars. Ruby? mountains I think. I'm to old for that now! it's like foot hunting mountain sheep. I did go to Arizona on the same trip and got a mearn's quail both sexes, mounted on the table. The only one's I shot, I consider them trophy birds, not a limit bird, to rare. I am afraid I might need to think of bobwhite quail that way before to long!
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Yep, Ruby mountains. I understand ruffs and blues can be had on the hike up for camp meat and if you find a snow cock feather pick it up cause that will probably be as close as you get. I've read males can get up to 15lbs and can hit 100mph diving off the cliffs.:eek:
 
quail hound said:
On another note think of how fun the quest to bag every upland game bird in NA behind one dog would be! To the best of my knowledge I need all the ptarmigan species, sharps, huns, ruffs, quail (blues, mearns and bobs), pc (both), sage hen, snow cock and chachalaca (google it, its real) just to complete the US birds.:eek: I better get to work.:D

And then there is Hawaii with the francolins and different pheasants.:(
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I have been daydreaming about this quest, hence the post.. Only 30 more years until retirement, so I guess I can give it a shot then... :laugh:

And I also think it would be fun to travel the US and hunt the different waterfowl with my own dog as well, ya know, in 30 years... :laugh:

Seriously, like I've said before on this site, I think it's good to hunt a little bit of everything. I think it helps out with the fluctuations in bird numbers. Pheasants, they say, will take at least a few years to recover in the areas I've been hunting for many years. So maybe it's time to change my focus. Hunt some new areas, maybe focus on some different birds this season.

Of course I'll do it with the dogs I have now. They sleep in my bed and share my recliner with me, and they're family... But I have (hopefully) a long hunting career ahead of me, so was just daydreaming about the long term plan. You know, what do I want my crew to look like in 10, 20, 30 years...?

:cheers:
 
Toad said:
I have been daydreaming about this quest, hence the post.. Only 30 more years until retirement, so I guess I can give it a shot then... :laugh:

And I also think it would be fun to travel the US and hunt the different waterfowl with my own dog as well, ya know, in 30 years... :laugh:

Seriously, like I've said before on this site, I think it's good to hunt a little bit of everything. I think it helps out with the fluctuations in bird numbers. Pheasants, they say, will take at least a few years to recover in the areas I've been hunting for many years. So maybe it's time to change my focus. Hunt some new areas, maybe focus on some different birds this season.

Of course I'll do it with the dogs I have now. They sleep in my bed and share my recliner with me, and they're family... But I have (hopefully) a long hunting career ahead of me, so was just daydreaming about the long term plan. You know, what do I want my crew to look like in 10, 20, 30 years...?

:cheers:
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If all goes well I'll be retiring right at the same time as you. Between your pack and mine we should be able to make a good go at it.:cheers:
 
I have never seen a bird a labrador couldn't find or wasn't willing to bring back to me. Lab's do it all. GWP and DD's are good dogs but I just wouldnt want a pointer on wild pheasants. I love all hunting breeds and wouldn't mind owning every single one at one point though. The lessons they all could teach me would fill my life with knowledge.:cheers:
 
It would truly be awesome to have a dog that flushes pheasants, retrieves waterfowl and points smaller upland..now how in the world can u cross breed or create that?
 
If we found the perfect dog all of us breeders would be out of luck. The beauty of different breeds is that we can have choices. I think Henry Ford only made black cars. Look what happened when you started to add color. Now we go to the lot and look at the color we want before we look at what is under the hood! Tough question I hope we never find an answer too. BTW my vote is one of my small very fast Goldens! Did you expect anything else?
 
I love smaller goldens..great dogs.. I love all hunting types. I want one of each one day.. or tomorrow.
 
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