Small Bird Dogs

B

B.Kossum

New member
Hi, how's everyone doing? New to the site and just recently getting back into hunting. I've spent the last 8 years or so either in the Navy or in school. Now I'm done and ready to get back to business. Haven't done alot of bird hunting, but some. I actually raise quail already and am looking to get a dog to hunt with. My ol' Pit Bull is good on hogs, but probably wouldn't track down too many birds lol.

Just looking for some ideas on what breed to go with. I really want to go small and so have been considering a Boykin. Is there a good bird dog breed that runs smaller than them? What do ya'll have to say about Boykins? I see alot of Springers and Brittanys mentioned on here, but not so many Boykins. I actually found some English Pointers local, but I think they might run a little too big for my tastes. Do I need a pointer or will I be ok with just a flushing dog? What problems might I run into?

Any comments, suggestions, or other info about the different dogs would be great. My only concern is size- I definitely don't want to get over 50 lbs. Oh, and I like em to hunt close. Guess I'm getting picky now lol.

Thank ya'll,
Brian Kossum
Hattiesburg, MS
 
Can't help ya on the small dog thing, but I would like to welcome you to the site and thank you for your service in the U.S. Navy:thumbsup:

There's plenty of guys on this site with A LOT of dog knowledge:) Get ready for a flood of advice on small dog breeds my friend:D
 
Welcome to UPH Brian, This is going to be a Brittany Pitch because I have had Brits for 50 years now. That alone really says a lot. I currently have 2 Brits, a pup and a 10 year old. My recommendation is "watch the breeding". You can get some good field trial Brits and they will run just as big as the pointers and the dogs with the big running reputations. You need some field trail bloodline, for good hunting. But be very careful.........Bob
 
Welcome Brian, nice to see another Southern Boy here.

I am primarily a duck hunter but I make at least one or two trips west every fall for phez and quail. I also hunt quail and woodcock around here when I can find them.

I have had setters in the past and for the last ten years I have hunted waterfowl with a big ol Chessie. She is getting a little older now and for the past two years I have read, studied, and listened to all I could to determine my next dog. I chose a Springer and we have had one heck of a first year together.

He is going to wind up a 46-50lb. dog when filled out, I think. He is coming along very fast with all training and has really exceeded my expectations.
We hunted Kansas pheasant and quail last November and I used him some on ducks here at home this season. I am so pleased with him and would highly reccomend his bloodline to anyone wanting a great "do it all" dog.

395432482.jpg

Gus and Preston, my grandson, at the end of a long Oklahoma hunt day.

Sorry I can't help you with the "brown dogs"---have no experience.

Again Welcome,
BobM
 
I am a big fan of smaller dogs myself. It allows me to have more dogs in the house:D.

I have a springer that is 33 lbs. She will hunt hard all day for 5 days straight. I see no dissadvantage to her size other than she can't handle cold water very well. I would not take her late season duck hunting.

I have seen 2 boykins work a field. Both were very nice, friendly dogs with a ton of drive. They were both very hyper though. I have heard that they hold up in colder water pretty well. I have talked to J & L Boykins in Hammond, WI at pheasant fest and they seemed like they had a good operation although I have only seen a few of their dogs and not in the field.

You may want to look into field bred english cockers and springers. For cockers, I would start with a look at Oahe Kennels in North Dakota. For springers, I would talk to FCspringer on this forum or Pine Shadows. Both are in Minnesota.

If you are looking for a small pointer, a britt would probably be the first place I would look.
 
Depends on some ideals you have for your dog, but any Spaniel breed can be taught to hunt in close with good training. My smaller springer is right at 30 lbs, but can run with any. There are several places you can get a nice dog from any breed. I know several in each breed mentioned here. Are you young yet? If not and getting around is hard, even a clumber may work, but would be my last choice. A boykin could suit you well but I think a Field cocker would fit your discription to a T. Any dog can runbig so to speak, if not conditioned propper. Any well trained Spaniel could do what you wish.
 
Thank ya'll for the kind words. I like the idea of a field cocker too, but haven't seen any of them around here. I'm 28 so I can keep up with a wide ranger, but prefer not to lol. About how big are those Britts runnin? Idealy 35 lbs would be the max, but anything under 50 will do.

On another note, I've been wanting a Jagdterrier for a long time now. Probably will eventually get one. They can hunt birds, along with just about everything else in the woods, but they aren't truly bred for it. I'm a terrier guy thru and thru, but bird dogs sure are nice to watch.
 
jeffstally said:
You may want to look into field bred english cockers and springers. For cockers, I would start with a look at Oahe Kennels in North Dakota. For springers, I would talk to FCspringer on this forum or Pine Shadows. Both are in Minnesota.
Click to expand...

First, THANK YOU for your service to our country. The Navy Seals surely performed AWSOME this week.:10sign:

2+ for fieldbred Cockers or Springers for a smaller FD. I have a pair of FBECS males which run 33 lbs +/- during the season. They perform double duty in the grouse/wc covers here at home but spend a week in SoDak chasing roosters every November. They are the most natural "turn-key" birddogs I have ever seen.

2+ on Oahe for a quality FBECS breeder; another top field Cocker name is Glencoe, both are near Bismark, NoDak. Below is a pic of my Scout dog who came from Tom Ness at Oahe.


Scout_01.jpg


NB
 
How soon are you looking to get a pup? The breeder that I got Rocky from has a 2 week old litter right now that is a repeat of Rockys breeding. I am getting one of them:) He really has been a perfect dog...i couldn't ask for anything better. The breeder is Mark Moore at Gator Nation English Cockers.

Are you looking for a flushing dog or a pointing dog?
 
To be honest, I am not in any big hurry. I just switched from raising Japanese Quail to Bobwhites (eggs are still in the bator lol). Texas is probably a little to far for me to go right now, but I'd certainly check em out. I've found some pretty good English Pointers for an even better price. I was gonna start another thread to find out some more about the EP's. The guy says his females run small to medium size dogs, but he didn't say a weight. I'm gonna ride out next week to look at the mom and go from there. Just worried the dog will be too big for my tastes.

Also, about flushers or pointers. I don't know enough about the two to know exactly what I want. Would somebody mind laying out some of the pro's and cons of each.

Thanks again.

Brian
 
Not too far from you in Mississippi, but my only reliable vehicle is broke down lol. I might be stuck in my work car for a while and it's good for an hour or so, but I have to keep water in it lol.
 
Mississippi, huh? The breeder I got Rocky from is actually in FL. I'm getting at least one more pup from him this summer, but I'll probably be having it shipped...either that or I'll be road trippin'!

You should take your time and do a lot of reading to figure out exactly what you want...there's a lot of literature out on the internet that will detail how pointers work and how flushing dogs work. I will say, make sure you don't try to save a few bucks when you go to buy a dog...get what you want instead of looking for a deal. Hopefully you'll have the dog for a long time, and you'll save yourself time, money, and frustration if you get your pup from a reputable breeder who has what you're looking for, rather than the guy who bred his dog just so he could make a few bucks.

Good luck!
 
A couple of thoughts:

1. There are many differences between hunting birds over PDs vs FDs. Alot depends on the birds, country, and alot of other things. Horses for courses, in spades.

2. I would not call EPs "small", any of them.

3. Just how good of a dog trainer are you???

Just sayin..........
 
My training skills is something that concerns me too lol. I'm pretty good at setting a solid obedience foundation, but really don't know much about training them for birds. I've always been more of a squirrel or hog hunting guy. With that, you just get em understanding what you want and they take care of the rest lol.
 
I have a litter of EPs that are 9 days old. Out of very good blood.
Mother father pics and pedigrees on the pups forsale page. If interested I would give a NAVY veteran a free male pup.
Both parents are super bird dogs anyone would be proud to own.:cheers:;)
 
Man, that's a helluva gesture and I appreciate it. If I wasn't so far away, I'd be knocking on your door lol. I'm supposed to go look at a couple of 3 month old EP gyps next week. He says they are on the smaller side, but I'm counting on them being too big. I've got a 50 lb Pit Bull that I hunted hogs with and I definitely don't want to feed something else his size lol. One of the reasons I am considering them though is because it seems like you can get a decent price on a good bred EP where as the spaniels and setters start at about $300 down here. If I was a little more serious about it right now I wouldn't mind paying that, but I'm just looking for something to work my own birds with. I don't even know how to train for birds other than what I've read lol. I'd probably be wasting my money and a good dog too.
 
Those are all good dogs. I like short haired animals personally .Pulling burrs from the coat on long hair dogs is a hassel. I have watched friends do it and it is no fun.Wet long hair dogs is even worse IMO. But like my dad always said if everyone liked the samething ONE women would have one heck of a following..;):rolleyes:
 
BK, I think any "working" dog breed can become a good bird dog. I think a terrier would work out just fine. Last season I went chukar hunting (wild chukar) and met a guy running a brace of beagles. He was coming off the hill with 5 chukar and me and my springer had managed 1 bird so far. Those beagles worked great and even retrieved to hand, quite impressive.
 
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