Pointing labs good or bad?

[onthejob2]

I'm thinking of buying a pointing lab if thats a quality dog? If so anyone know a good breeder? Any info. anyone has would be helpful. Thanks.

[onthejob2]

Are there any other retriever and pointing dogs that would be good for ducks and pheasants?

[sakman]

IMHO, no matter which dog you end up with you will be compromising something. If you are primarily a duck hunter, the lab is probably the best bet. However, you do sacrafice some upland hunting ability because labs are, at their heart, retrievers. Hence the name labrador retriever. If you are primarily a pheasant hunter, the GSP, Brit, English Pointer and Vizsla are excellent choices because they are, at their hearts, upland bird dogs. They naturally quarter, cover lots of ground and do things that a lab won't in the upland fields because of their breeding. However, you will sacrafice water stamina, some retrieving ability and the ability to handle the cold waters that come in October and November.

Since a dog is a long term relationship it is important to figure out what you want/need. Also remember that any bird dog spends about 3.5 months a year hunting and 8.5 months as a pet so your family situation and needs also should be addressed. For all of you lab people, this is not a slam on labs. I've pheasant hunted over dozens of them, and some were fine pheasant dogs, but my experience has been that dogs bred for hunting upland birds consistently perform better. Conversely I've hunted ducks with an upland breed and the lab is without question superior to any other dog in the water.

For me the best case scenario would be to have two dogs. An upland pointer and a lab, but for most people (myself included) that is not reasonable. Good luck in your choice!

[311Hemi]

I just purchased a pointing lab a few months ago. He's 18 weeks old and doing great. Email me at [email protected] if you want some details on the breeder I got him from. There are a few others on this board that have a dog from the same breeder.

[Blaze]

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Are there any other retriever and pointing dogs that would be good for ducks and pheasants?

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I think sakman hit it on the head - you can find breeds that are good for both upland and waterfowl, but probably not the best at either. There are great shorter haired versatiles out there that can kick butt in the uplands, but if you do a fair amount of waterfowl too (especially later season), I would recommend looking into longer coated versatile breeds like a DD/GWP, WPG (griffon), or pudelpointer (no, they're not poodles!). Get out and see as many different dogs as possible. This is going to be a 10-15 year commitment, so do your homework not only on breeds, but breeders too!

I'm curious what your definition of a "quality dog" is? Some excellent hunters make terrible house dogs, and some great housedogs are terrible hunters...you need to prioritize what traits you're looking for and find the breed that fits the bill the best.

[Mike Walerak]

I know a breeder/trainer that you will want to call.

e-mail me for more information.

mw