Really lost on picking a breed, please help.

I

ihocky2

New member
This is my first post, but have been lurking for a few weeks, so HI. I live in Pennsylvania and mostly get to only hunt stocked pheasants by the game commision or at preserves. Not many wild ones left. Most years I only get 5-7 days in the field, some years a little better. I do get out some for grouse or quail, but that is mostly by accident.

Now onto my real problem. My wife and I have decided to add another dog to the family. We have a 15 month old son and a 7 year old female Shiba Inu (my wifes fur baby). I have convinced my wife to consider a hunting breed. First and foremost we want a family pet, the dog will live inside and will probably spend more time on the sofa than in the fields. But for the few times a year I get out I want a dog that I can hunt over. We have a smallish house and about a 1/4 acre yard.

As for pointing vs flushing, I've hunted over a pointer a few times and a flusher twice. So I don't really know the difference in how they work or have a preference.

With all of that in mind my first thought is a Brittany, I always think of pointing dogs when I think pheasant hunting. The Brittany is a smaller breed and I believe good with kids. My main concern is how active they are in the house. I have the room outside for it to play and have a child to chase it around. But during winter when it is cold, I am not sure how much outdoors activity it will get.

I like the GSP's and GWP's, but am concerned with the energy levels. We have ruled out Vizla's and Weimy's. I am not opposed to Setter's but do not know enough about them.

As for Spaniels, I have always heard that Springers and Cockers are nippy. But I know stereotypes like that are false a lot of time. Generally again though, I don't know much about Spaniels.

I know we do not want a lab. No real particular reason, we just are not fans of labs.

I can certainly do homework on breeds, but with so many out there I don't even know where to start narrowing them down. I would really appreciate any help with choosing the right breed, or at least a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks.
 
Good luck, but would like to assure you springers and cockers are not nippy. That would be the opposite. They are the big suck up types. Very affectionate lover types. I have both now, and find the Springer a easier dog to train and not quite as much of a busy body. However, my cocker is on the wound tight side and I know some others not as wound up as her. Both are great house dogs and no trouble with kids and as said the nippy thing you heard.:thumbsup: Have fun with your search.
 
Large dog or small, or doesn't it matter?

Hunting grass/crp or corn, groves, cattails, water?

Shedding a problem with your wife? Some shed more than others.

I don't see a Golden Ret. listed. Get the hunting variety, not the show-dog, long haired.

Good luck!
 
jonnyB said:
Large dog or small, or doesn't it matter?

Hunting grass/crp or corn, groves, cattails, water?

Shedding a problem with your wife? Some shed more than others.

I don't see a Golden Ret. listed. Get the hunting variety, not the show-dog, long haired.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I am with JonnyB I have goldens and I raise them. My females that I keep in the house run right at 43-45 pounds. They are not the typical show golden, the hair is shorter and they are not as big of a dog. I have raised those pups right alongside of kids and they never have shown any dominance over a child. Probably one of the best house dogs you can have in my opinion. You are probably going to hear from a lot of different breed lovers but jonny and I will always vote for the Goldens!
 
I have experienced mean bird dogs and gentle bird dogs. They (my experience is almost exclusively hunting breeds) are like children in they have as many personalities as there are dogs. Right now, we have an English setter that is as gentle as a kitten, and his kennel mate thinks he's king of the mountain and hyper-active. My 60 years of dog ownership says you pays your nickel and takes your chances.

A lot of hunters have gone to Brittneys because of their size - they're less an obstruction as house pets. I have seen a couple that were short tempered and would not tolerate children, but I could say the same about any breed.

This is not to discourage, but simply to point out that simply picking out a breed does not guarantee an ideal family pet. Pick the SPECIFIC pup carefully. It's a crap shoot, at best.

As an aside, I have never seen a mean lab - maybe by accident. (Opinions are like ------well, you know)
 
Regarding "Golden Boy's" message...and if you want you Golden to point - they can easily be trained to do that as well. Very intelligent (search, rescue and guide) and are excellent with children et al.

They do shed, however.

Let us know what you decide, OK?
 
Given that you hunt preserves mostly, a flusher might be best. I always have Brittanys because I hunt wild birds on the high plains open country and I want my dog to range and find the birds as pointing breeds do. A flusher such as a Springer, for example, is bred to hunt close within gun range. In my experience Springer's are excellent house dogs too.
 
Last edited:
I think all dogs molded and trained to your standards can be good house dogs. Some will learn faster then others in all breeds. I say train them in the home to what you will let them get away with. If for example, I have mine on the bed and couch all the time. I let them. But if I don't want that, then I would never let them up and correct them right away to get down, and reinforce it positively. As far as shedding, spaniels all shed and have times of the year that are worse. But it can be lessened in those times by a simple hair cut a couple 2,3 times a year. spaniels are a people attached dog, they will always want to be doing what your doing, or be a part in some way. Always wanting to play so to speak. They like a job you could say. But that can be anything from hunting, fetch to a hike, to swimming or a ride with in a car. They like to do anything you want to let them do with you at all times. When told to lay down, they will prefer to do that as close to you as you let them. Not the independent type. And will most cases try to get by with more on a guest, say looking for a ear scratch. Pushy on attention I guess you could say.
 
If I were hunting strictly release birds, a pointer would be my First choice. A good Brit or a setter would be a great family dog.
 
Last edited:
A man could look long and hard and never find a better hunting copanion than a Springer Spaniel, and when it comes to hunting pheasants...well they are simply second to none.
I've never seen a Springer not be able to win over the lady of the house. In the field they are all business, but when it's time to shut the motor off they become couch potatoes and love it.They love being inside and part of the family. They may be one of the easiest of the breeds to train, with maybe the Golden a little easier. They will hunt WITH you and FOR you because of the bond they form with you and your family. They really have a strong desire to please which makes training a breeze.

You said you were thinking about a Brit., they are also a good choice. Good luck and enjoy.
 
I have setters and springers and from what you have said, I think a springer would be much much easier for you to hunt effectively.
 
I have a coming 2 year old Britt, I can't imagine a better kid dog and house dog. He loves our laps for napping, soft and gentle pup always when hes on laps or couches.
Thing is, he requires a lot of outdoor running and rumping EVERY day. Just walking on a leash won't give him enough exercise.
I don't know about other Britts other then Mine "Woody" needs a lot of outdoors to run in.
Great little bird dog though, 38 pounds last weigh in.
 
Thank you for all of the suggestions so far. It is definitely a big help. With all of the suggestions so far the Springers seem to be a heavy favorite for out life style and the limited hunting I will do.

Right now I think I will be looking into the various Springer breeds and will take a look at the Clumber as well. A golden is definitely not out of the question and will be in the running for some time. My wife is not concerned about the shedding or hair as much as I am. But I have a set of clippers if needed, and brushing is never a problem.

An additional question for any of the breeds, are any better at tracking a blood trail? Every now and then we get a deer that is a poor shot and a dog would be a big help tracking.
 
If a Springer Spaniel is your choice don't hesitate to ask more questions about the different lines within the breed from some of the fellas on this board who have them. Most should be able to steer you to a reputable breeder or at least give you some starting points. Don't be afraid to look out of state if you have limited opportunities in your home state. Researching the breeder and thus finding the right litter for a pup that fits your needs are just as important as picking the breed. FCSpringer on this board, who is himself a breeder here in Minnesota can probably offer you a lot of info with the different lines.

Good luck.:thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
I don't know much about Springers.
But I do know of some folks that have them.
Ken at FCSpringers would be a good guy to get in contact with.
You ain't going to go wrong with that. :thumbsup:
 
ihocky2 said:
Thank you for all of the suggestions so far. It is definitely a big help. With all of the suggestions so far the Springers seem to be a heavy favorite for out life style and the limited hunting I will do.

Right now I think I will be looking into the various Springer breeds and will take a look at the Clumber as well. A golden is definitely not out of the question and will be in the running for some time. My wife is not concerned about the shedding or hair as much as I am. But I have a set of clippers if needed, and brushing is never a problem.

An additional question for any of the breeds, are any better at tracking a blood trail? Every now and then we get a deer that is a poor shot and a dog would be a big help tracking.
Click to expand...

Be advised there are 2 entirely different breeds of Springer Spaniel. There are Field-bred Springers & there are Bench bred. They are completely different gene pools, they look different, they act different (the bench bred Springers are where the reputation of "Springer Rage" you heard of comes from), their tails are even docked differently.

I've seen too many guys bring their spaniel to be trained for hunting dogs only to have to break it to them that they've got a bench bred dog which very rarely can be turned into much use finding birds.

As for Clumbers, let's just say they make even the bench bred Springers look good. They are not hunting dogs regardless of what their overweight, middle-aged, female owners might tell you.
 
Whatever you get, just keep in mind that good hunting dogs have extra energy that the average couch potato dog does not. They need regular exercise, training, and consistent (but gentle) discipline. If they don't get enough exercise they will develop some quirks that you won't like. Maybe not aggression or anything like that, but they will just be freaking antsy all the time and start digging, chewing, nuissance barking, etc...

I can always tell when my dogs are due for a run, swim, or whatever... They just need to have that extra juice run out of them so they can be good house dogs.

Our little brittany is definitely the best bird finder I've had yet, but she also has a crazy amount of energy that NEEDS to be run off. She is very gentle and affectionate with the kids though, when she isn't bouncing off the walls... :laugh:
 
ihocky2 said:
Now onto my real problem. My wife and I have decided to add another dog to the family. We have a 15 month old son and a 7 year old female Shiba Inu (my wifes fur baby). I have convinced my wife to consider a hunting breed. First and foremost we want a family pet, the dog will live inside and will probably spend more time on the sofa than in the fields. But for the few times a year I get out I want a dog that I can hunt over. We have a smallish house and about a 1/4 acre yard.

As for pointing vs flushing, I've hunted over a pointer a few times and a flusher twice. So I don't really know the difference in how they work or have a preference.

With all of that in mind my first thought is a Brittany, I always think of pointing dogs when I think pheasant hunting. The Brittany is a smaller breed and I believe good with kids. My main concern is how active they are in the house. I have the room outside for it to play and have a child to chase it around. But during winter when it is cold, I am not sure how much outdoors activity it will get.

As for Spaniels, I have always heard that Springers and Cockers are nippy. But I know stereotypes like that are false a lot of time. Generally again though, I don't know much about Spaniels.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

RE Brittany Spaniels vs English Cockers and English Springer Spaniels.

We have had quite a bit of experience with all three breeds. We ran Brittanys for 40 years. Ran them in AKC field trials and hunted all over the country with them. We presently have two fieldbred English Cockers and have hunted over plenty of Springers.

You need to decide whether you want a FD vs a PD. In your case, I think a FD would be easier to train up to minimum gundog standards in the field. A good dog has much of what you need him/her to do already "built-in".

I personally have never seen a well bred fieldbred Brittany, Cocker or Springer that was "nippy"; in fact, quite the opposite. All of mine have been lap dogs par excellance!! And whether a dog has a good "ON/OFF" switch depends on the dog, not the breed.

And I would research the breeder as much as the breed.

My two coppers, and now I'm broke!!:D

NB
 
Pointing breed: Brittany
Flushing breed: Springer

You won't be disappointed with either as long as you make sure you are getting a pup from well bred stock and from a reputable breeder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top