Best type of pup

[Austin]

I am looking at getting a new pup and just looking for some input. Pretty sure I'm at the right place. I was just wondering when picking out pups from a litter which is better one or the more dominant aggressive ones or the more timmid ones and is there a difference male vs. female preformance wise ?

thanks for any input.

Austin

[Eric Wettschreck]

You really need to sit down, and figure out what you will do with this dog first. Lots of questions to answer.

Will you hunt this dog? If so, upland game, waterfowl?

House dog? You have kids? Do you have other dogs?

[gspman]

It depends on a lot of things... Your personality, how much and how hard you hunt, the type of performance you expect, what you hunt.

What breed are you looking at and what type(s) of hunting do you do?

[Blaze]

Along with those listed above, I would also add a few more questions:

What breed(s) are you looking at? Some are easier to train than others, including time to maturity.

What breeders have you contacted? Any good/reputable breeder will help match your experience and desires with the approriate pup in the bunch.

What's your dog ownership/training history? You don't want an alpha for your first dog ever, likewise, you don't want a real soft dog for your first either.

What's your patience level? BE HONEST with yourself on this one - for your sake and the dog's.

Living situation - small city lot or out in the country with acreage?

How often will the dog be out? How many hours a day in the kennel?

Many more questions, but let's start here...

Blaze

[Bushwacker]

There are a few simple tests you can do when picking out a pup. A couple that I did was lay the pup on it's back and see how long it takes it to submit. I was told you want one that is in the middle, not too much fighting, not too submissive. Another test is watching them play together and seeing how they play with each other and how they play with you. Again, you want one in the middle in most cases. Not too dominant and not too submissive. For these tests to be anything more than chance you would have to be with the pups a few different times and at different times of the day. If you catch them after a feeding, before a nap, you get different results than if you get there before a feeding and after a nap, etc.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I THINK THE BEST WAY TO PICK A PUP OUT OF A LITTER IS TO HAVE THE BREEDER DO IT. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE AROUND THEM ALL THE TIME AND KNOW THEIR PERSONALITIES. JUST DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF A PUP AND MOST BREEDERS WORTH THEIR SALT CAN SET YOU UP WITH A GOOD MATCH. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN. THAT DAY OF PICKING OUT A PUP AND THE DAY YOU TAKE THEM HOME ARE SOME OF THE GREATEST MEMORIES YOU WILL HAVE

[Ole #1]

If you are buying a lab, buy the book Game Dog by Wolters. You could probably use his tests for other breeds as well. I used his methods to a T to pick out my pup, and she has turned out to be the greatest lab I've had the pleasure to hunt with.

[brittman]

Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule.

#1) Good breeding.

#2) Roll the dice. With the exception (maybe) of the pure alpha litter dog, it is the conditions the pup is raised upon from here on out.

I have owned many Brits. Some were picked by me and some by the breeder. Maybe it is luck, patience, or lots of hardwork - but they all have worked out. Very well.

My most recent addition (now just over 8 weeks old) was not an easy choice. The breeder sent pictures of the dogs we could choose from (did not have first pick). The dog that caught our attention was darn cute, but she looked very nervous in the pictures.

When we went down to visit she was incredibly shy.

Now we are a little worried. My wife and I joked that we will have to be very careful with this pup.

Wrong.

At a little over eight weeks old we certainly have a long road to go, but what a great little pup.

For the most part she is house broken.

She has fit right into a very busy household of 3 kids, my older dog, and a geriatric adopted cat.

Outside she explores the brush and cover in last year's garden looking for anything new. She carries her head high.

Very little fear as she explores the cover, but whistle and call her name and she is back at your feet!

A happy, alert, intelligent dog. Anyone following most "magazine advise" would have never given this pup a second look.

Again:

Breeding, luck, patience, hard work (repitition is key)!

[BLACKJACK]

My personal preference is for females, they perform just as well but aren't as hard headed, they'll listen to you. Some hard headed, aggresive males you feel like you need to take a 2x4 to them, or nowadays, a shock collar. The downside to females is that you better get them fixed or have a good kennel setup, they will come in heat twice a year.

[brittman]

I only buy and train females too, but someone has to hunt with the boys! I recommend neutering the dog and that independent streak will end.

My brother and I have run multiple female Britts over the years, but now he just picked up a little eight week old male Brittany (good breeding - owners just could not take care (big job change) of him like the thought.

Let's see. October 2005

1) 8 month old female Brittany

2) 8 month old male Brittany

3) 2 year old female Brittany

(past that 1 yr old "teenager" stage)

4) 8 year old female Brittany

coming off her most prime, top year ever

actually the best I have ever seen one of

my dogs work on wild pheasants all season long!

My 8 year old dog will not be happy watching from the truck this fall.

[Blaze]

Blackjack - keep in mind that temperament difference by gender varies from breed to breed. There are some breeds where females are the more difficult ones to train...and no, I'm not talking about people here!

I know that with DDs, it is often the opposite with males being more cooperative than females. I've heard the same with other breeds too. My female GSP was a thick-skulled mutt sometimes too - makes me wonder if it's more of a "pack-standing" issue than gender?

[Mr. B]

What do people know about other breeds that are not as common as the ones mentioned here? For example Vizlas, Weimaraners, or the various Setter breeds? I have been thinking of getting another dog and have been thinking of getting something a little different.

My lab is great and I will always have atleast one lab, but it would be interesting to have something that not every one has.

[hoggs222]

I got a black mouth cur. They're really smart dogs, but need alot of exercise. They are working dogs. They are mainly used for coon, squirrel, boar, bear, etc. Mine could easily be trained for birds also. She seems to have the retrieve down pretty good at 7 months. Check them out at dogbreedinfo dot com

[Double Griffs]

Mr. B.

Obviously, it depends upon what type of hunting you do. For those that do a bit of everything...ducks, roosters, ruffs, etc., I recommend looking into a versatile hunting dog breed and checking out the NAVHDA site. If you do, and like what you see, I have a litter of Wirehaired Pointing Griffons due on May 2nd. See my litter ad in the "Hunting Puppies for Sale" forum. Labs, retrievers, setters, brits, griffs, gsp's, etc....they can all be great dogs. Just do your research on the breed characterisics and pedigree.

Good luck,

Double Griffs.

[Double Griffs]

Mr. B.,

One other thing...I see that you mentioned you will always have a lab, I've seen guys that own both a flusher and a pointer, and hunt with them both at the same time. It seemed to workout OK for them, but I'd recommend staying within the style...going all flusher or all pointer if you plan on hunting them together. Just my opinion.

Regards, Double Griffs

[BLACKJACK]

Double griffs, you make a good point, how do you hunt a pointer and a flusher together? I love my labs but would like to try a pointer some day, but unless I'm in Dakota and trying to conserve dog power, I like to hunt both of my labs together, I hate locking them in the kennel or truck. I would be concerned that of I hunted a pointer with my labs I'd end up with a flushing pointer...

[gspman]

The text book way to hunt flushers and pointers together is to have the flusher honor the pointer's point by sitting. This would take a lot of work and for pheasants would probably not be practical especially if the bird is running and the pointer is relocating a lot.

If they are both working the same bird you may have to choose to stop one of the dogs and let the other work the bird. Again, this seems impractical to me.

The other course of action is to let them hunt and let the chips fall where they may. The risk is that after the flusher flushes a few birds under the pointer's points, the pointer will say the heck with pointing and just start flushing. That would be a bad thing in my book, especially if your pointer hunts out of gun range.

Personally I'd hunt them separately. When in good flusher cover, hunt the flusher. When in good pointer cover, hunt the pointer.

gspman