Who's buying a Class A season pass?

They sound more suited to upland hunting than Labs.

Don't get me wrong - Labs have their threshold for cold too. You have to watch them closely in the cold, because they hide the onset of hypothermia so well. I forced a buddy and his dog to go back to the truck and camper while we were duck hunting in a freezing rain. Both of them were shivering too much and they needed to get to that camper, strip down, dry off and stand in front of the heater for a while.

I hope we run into one another soon. I would relish seeing a lighter more nimble dog work the cover.
 
quail hound said:
Hopefully we meet up some day and you can cross hunting with a spaniel off of your list. I admit JP is not trained anywhere near his potential but he'll put birds in the bag and despite his short comings (all my fault) he is my constant companion.:cheers:

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I got to hunt with your dogs and they seem good enough to me. As long as the dogs can find, flush, and retrieve, they are good with me. I don't need a competition bird dog.
 
We had to double time it back to the truck on the second day of the season when a light drizzle turned into sideways snow. Soaking wet dogs, freezing temps, and high winds had JP and Daisy both shaking like leaves every time they stopped even for a second. Got them dried off and hunted the afternoon snow just fine.
 
enzinn said:
Can they do sub-freezing water work and hunt in heavy snow like Labs?
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Labs and Chessies have an undercoat that protects them against extreme cold. Springers don't have that, and thus cannot handle anywhere near the same level of frigidity.
 
ditchparrot19 said:
Labs and Chessies have an undercoat that protects them against extreme cold. Springers don't have that, and thus cannot handle anywhere near the same level of frigidity.
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I am thankful for the Lab's second undercoat when it is cold. I am less thankful in October when I am hauling gallons of water to cool the dog off, again because of that undercoat. The perils of using your dog for everything and wandering around North America in the fall and winter.

I was eyeballing the Vizsla breed for awhile and toying around with simultaneously having two dogs - one for upland, the other for waterfowl. The problem is that I like to get a pup when the primary dog gets older (about 7 or 8), in order to transition both dogs and allow the pup some social time and learning time in the field. If I did that, I might end up with four dogs at one time on our small city property, which would likely result in my wife filing for divorce.

Labs get the nod for me for now, mainly because I know them, not necessarily because they are better. I'll keep carrying water and running after them when they are hot on trail, and probably keep complaining about it too. :thumbsup:
 
enzinn said:
I am thankful for the Lab's second undercoat when it is cold. I am less thankful in October when I am hauling gallons of water to cool the dog off, again because of that undercoat. The perils of using your dog for everything and wandering around North America in the fall and winter.

I was eyeballing the Vizsla breed for awhile and toying around with simultaneously having two dogs - one for upland, the other for waterfowl. The problem is that I like to get a pup when the primary dog gets older (about 7 or 8), in order to transition both dogs and allow the pup some social time and learning time in the field. If I did that, I might end up with four dogs at one time on our small city property, which would likely result in my wife filing for divorce.

Labs get the nod for me for now, mainly because I know them, not necessarily because they are better. I'll keep carrying water and running after them when they are hot on trail, and probably keep complaining about it too. :thumbsup:
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I've only had labs up until now. They've been great but I was ready for something new. I thought about Weimers but they are few and far between around here. I found a breeder with pups up north with champ lines running $1,500 per pup but that is more than I want to invest. I found another guy who had a trained 2 year old GSP for pheasant. He quit hunting and had no room for the dog. He wanted me to have it but I just couldn't get up North during the week.
 
I agreed to take a friend of mine from San Jose and his uncle out today to try to get a rooster. I let them know that we would be successful if we even saw a rooster so their expectations were tempered. They had a great time and each of them shot a rabbit which they were happy about. Low and behold we got into about 10 roosters, the majority of which flushed well ahead of the dogs but two offered up decent shots and I connected on one with my trusty 28ga. I don't think I'm going back tomorrow so here is my last rooster of the year.

 
quail hound said:
I agreed to take a friend of mine from San Jose and his uncle out today to try to get a rooster. I let them know that we would be successful if we even saw a rooster so their expectations were tempered. They had a great time and each of them shot a rabbit which they were happy about. Low and behold we got into about 10 roosters, the majority of which flushed well ahead of the dogs but two offered up decent shots and I connected on one with my trusty 28ga. I don't think I'm going back tomorrow so here is my last rooster of the year.

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Where did you go?
 
NewmanCA said:
Sounds like some birds still around. Going to be a wet spring. Hope it leads to good hatch
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They had a lot of ground worked up and looked like planted in wheat, hopefully it gets real tall and lots of hens pull off some good broods.:cheers:
 
quail hound said:
They had a lot of ground worked up and looked like planted in wheat, hopefully it gets real tall and lots of hens pull off some good broods.:cheers:
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I sure hope so. I'm going out in the morning. Hoping the pup gets some scent at least on the last wild day. If nothing else, she's happy to be out.
 
Good luck, there are quite a few roosters left from what I saw today and conditions are decent but not great. I would go again but I need to catch up on some sleep since I pulled an all nighter at work on Christmas eve night/ Christmas morning.
 
quail hound said:
Good luck, there are quite a few roosters left from what I saw today and conditions are decent but not great. I would go again but I need to catch up on some sleep since I pulled an all nighter at work on Christmas eve night/ Christmas morning.
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Robert, how do you get all the cockburs out of your dog. I have been trying to pull them out by hand and they are really hard to get out.
 
5 hours, 12.5 miles on my legs, God only knows how many Molly actually worked, and we didn't see one bird. Went to Yolo and they had 8 birds yesterday. Nobody I ran across had one. Oh well, we're beat and I learned more about the area so I'm content with it.
 
Beniciahd said:
5 hours, 12.5 miles on my legs, God only knows how many Molly actually worked, and we didn't see one bird. Went to Yolo and they had 8 birds yesterday. Nobody I ran across had one. Oh well, we're beat and I learned more about the area so I'm content with it.
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That's too bad. I went to China Island this morning really to just take the new dog for hike. I was there 2 hours and saw two roosters and a hen.
 
I went out to China Island. Just took the new spaniel by himself. I really wasn't even looking to shoot. I am feeling better about the gun shy issue. There were two guys hunting ducks across a flooded field from us that fired several shots at ducks as we walked by. The shots were pretty loud from where we were. The dog looked over from where the shots happened but wasn't the least bit interested. When we got back to the pump parking, a guy was walking his dog towards the parking lot and decided to fire a couple of shots into the field. My dog was out on the road and wasn't bothered by the shot. There were quail flushing all around him, and the dog was completely uninterested in the birds. This dog eventually needs to be introduced to it all. Doesn't seem to have that natural urge to hunt. Saw two roosters and a hen. The roosters were in a place I never thought I would see them. Was walking on the road that borders the San Joaquin River. The field next to the road was clean. All there was for cover was that tall thin cover that grew on the bank. I hear a noise and see one rooster running in the open field and take off. A second big rooster took off. I could have taken a far shot at it, but just let it go.
 
NewmanCA said:
That's too bad. I went to China Island this morning really to just take the new dog for hike. I was there 2 hours and saw two roosters and a hen.
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I seem to always pick the place that's void of game! Good to hear your pup is progressing. It's tough. My adopted gsp (Mollys brother ) would rather chase butterflies but he does chase birds. Working on his nose. They just need lots of the right kind of bird!
 
Beniciahd said:
I seem to always pick the place that's void of game! Good to hear your pup is progressing. It's tough. My adopted gsp (Mollys brother ) would rather chase butterflies but he does chase birds. Working on his nose. They just need lots of the right kind of bird!
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My first lab was uninterested in birds or hunting but was a great hunting dog when the pro trainer finished with him. Right now I am just working on basic obedience.
 
NewmanCA said:
Robert, how do you get all the cockburs out of your dog. I have been trying to pull them out by hand and they are really hard to get out.
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Take a pair of pliers (the ones on a Leatherman or other multi-tool work fine) and flatten the burrs before trying to remove them. I don't pull them by hand from my setter ? I use a heavy steel comb from the pet store and take several at a time if there's a bunch close together.

Spraying the dog's coat with Pam cooking oil before going out will aid greatly in preventing the burrs from sticking, but I don't do that unless I'm absolutely certain she's going to get into a bunch of them. It's harmless, but I just don't like putting oil on my dog's coat.
 
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