Will it be a hunter?

[Ely Lake Expert]

So my girlfriend and I are moving in together shortly. Her parents akc Golden retriever was accidentally knocked up by the neighbors boxer. Well its had its puppies now

She is absolutely heartset on the grey with black spots one, so we are getting a puppy. Any chance it will be a hunter? I will try and see what happens.

[rmkod]

It is always possible but the odds aren't in your favor. If I was you I would go find a litter of well bred hunting dogs, she will just as easily fall in love with one of them, and you will have a hunter to boot. In me experience genetics are about 60% of the battle.

[JayinMN]

There is more to that litter then golden retriever and boxer. They might have the wrong dog pinned down as daddy. More then one dog can sire pups in a single litter. If a golden was bred by a boxer, it would have fawn or brindle colored pups, maybe even a black on. Certainly not merles and tri colors. My guess would be daddy is an Australian Shepherd, sheltie, collie, catahoula leopard dog, maybe even a great dane or some other breed that carries the genes for merle coloring. The gray ones are the merles and the black ones with the brown and white markinings are tri-colors. You would not get those colors with a straight golden/boxer cross. Check out the neighborhood to see who daddy really is, look for a tri-colored or merle colored dog and he is most likely the culprit.

[Ely Lake Expert]

It is always possible but the odds aren't in your favor. If I was you I would go find a litter of well bred hunting dogs, she will just as easily fall in love with one of them, and you will have a hunter to boot. In me experience genetics are about 60% of the battle.

well the golden retrievers the newspaper on command, beyond that its a house dog. Maybe I will get lucky.

[Ely Lake Expert]

There is more to that litter then golden retriever and boxer. They might have the wrong dog pinned down as daddy. More then one dog can sire pups in a single litter. If a golden was bred by a boxer, it would have fawn or brindle colored pups, maybe even a black on. Certainly not merles and tri colors. My guess would be daddy is an Australian Shepherd, sheltie, collie, catahoula leopard dog, maybe even a great dane or some other breed that carries the genes for merle coloring. The gray ones are the merles and the black ones with the brown and white markinings are tri-colors. You would not get those colors with a straight golden/boxer cross. Check out the neighborhood to see who daddy really is, look for a tri-colored or merle colored dog and he is most likely the culprit.

I said the same thing, just not as detailed. It is out in the country, but the only other male dog ive seen around there is a big German shepard. does that sound possible do you?

[Ely Lake Expert]

Here is the mother and better pic of the pups for reference

[LABS4ME]

even if there was another dog that bred the Golden, the individual pups can only have one Dad. You can't breed color in with multiple sires in the same pup... one Mom - one Dad.

I'd never guess what an out cross will produce as far as color. At times, it has no ryhme or reason what color the pups take on.

My first hunting dog was a chihuahua terrier mix... my buddy in SoDak had an incredible German Shepard who could out hunt lmost any dog you put up against it. Go for it! What do you have to lose?

Good Luck!

Ken

[Ely Lake Expert]

Ken,

our golden when i was young had pups with a chocolate lab (forsure) and all 9 turned out pure black

[zepman]

Boxers can be both fawn and black can't they?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Boxers can be both fawn and black can't they?

Fawn, yes. Never seen a black one.

[SledNeck]

Being that its 50% boxer, it will be about 50% less smart than a golden

[OutlawTorn]

It could hunt, but the chance of it being any good are much lower than a purebred. Even with purebred dogs, you arent guaranteed to have a hunter, much less one that is any good.

Even though good breeding doesnt give any guarantees, in all likliehood if you dont get an animal that does it naturally, it can be trained.

With a mix such as yours, you could have end up with a dog that surprises you and hunts just fine, or you could have a dog that has no desire/ability. Your chances will be much lower, but the more exposure the pup gets to BIRDS early, the better.

[Sherpa]

Originally Posted By: zepman

Boxers can be both fawn and black can't they?

Fawn, yes. Never seen a black one.

There are boxers that appear to be black but are actually a very dark brindle. They call it seal brindle. They can also be white. I have a white one at home.

[Ely Lake Expert]

Update guys. I was originally misinformed. The father was not a boxer, it was something called a catahoula leopard dog. We have it now and I will post some pictures tommorow.

[JayinMN]

Catahoula completely explains the merle pattern. They can be extremely hard headed dogs so start training right away and stick with it. The golden part may tone that down a bit. They are also used to hunt a variety of animals from wild boar to squirrels so you may have a hunting dog after all. I can't wait to see the pictures.

[Ely Lake Expert]

update with pictures 11 weeks

her and her mom

[JayinMN]

Holy moly she looks big, looks just like a catahoula too. They certianly are uniquely marked.

[Ely Lake Expert]

Ya, I think she is going to be a big girl. 25lbs at 11 weeks and has paws nearly the size of my full grown gsp's paws

[XRap]

Fly Lake Expert -

You will find many, many opinions on how purebreds are the way to go when it comes to hunting. I for one would challenge this mentality as some times diversity can actually prove to be as good or better than purebreds. I draw from over 20 years experience training both pure and mixed breeds for hunting companions. The dogs breed traits are really what begin to paint the picture of what you can expect from your dog. One example that I have is a mixed 1/2 Doberman 1/4 lab 1/4 retriever. It was the first dog I attempted to train for hunting. I have many, many stories I could share with you but to sum things up, this dog was very intelligent, obedient and mellow. He was great with family and a tenacious retriever. He had all of the standard commands down, marked well and worked hand signals and whistle. This is one of the finest dogs I have ever had, although some say that you are lucky to have one excellent gun dog in a life time I would have to adamantly disagree. I have had many excellent hunting dogs in my sporting career. It sounds as though you have a shot with the breed mix to make something out of the pup. The key is: and I can't stress this enough, you have to have the patience, desire and persistance to bring the best traits out in the dog that relate to what you are trying to achieve. Be creative in your training, figure out the triggers that tell you he understands, once you've established what that trigger is, be consistent as dogs will always test you. As long as he's challenged and has some fun in the process you'll succeed.

I would say that if your committed to getting it done, go for it, you may be pleasantly surprised.

XRap

[Ely Lake Expert]

Thanks for the input xrap. My old dogs were 1/2 golden retriever and 1/2 chocolate lab and 1 of them was the best hunting dog ive ever hunted with.

[Ely Lake Expert]

Been quite a while since I posted a picture so I figured I would bump this. The pup is about 7 months and 55lbs

Here she is with my other dogs

last time it snowed

[JayinMN]

You would never guess by looking at her that mom was a golden. Looks like she is growing up to be a nice dog.