Favorite breed & training.

[kentuck_ike]

After all the dog breed disscusions, I have been thinking about one question. Everyone has their own favorite breed, and it is most likely due to one dog past or present. Of all the dogs you have owned, you more than likely spent the most time training & hunting with this dog.

So is your favorite breed your favorite because of the breed qualities, or the time spent & memories? Maybe it is both. (does this make any sense?)

For me it started out as time spent and memories, then turned into breed qualities.

If it is time spent, maybe we should spend less time debating breeds and more time enjoying our present dogs.

As a breeder, I feel strongly that you get out of your dog, what you put into your dog. No Matter what the breed.

Thanks for reading my ramblings, and thanks for caring about your dogs.

Ben

[PikeBayCommanche]

Good Post Ben!!

Well where to start. I have had experiences with only a few breeds in my lifetime. Those being mainly Labs and Brittneys. I grew up here in Iowa hunting lots of pheasants and did that mainly behind my uncles Brittney. She was a pheasant machine. She finally had to be put down this last year at the age of 14 but man did she have some fun during those years. Many memories of her locking up on point. Then getting home from the day and just pacing wanting to go back out. She was an intense dog that all she could think about was birds, birds, and more birds.

Then after college I started to think i needed a dog now and saw my uncles new dog which was a chocolate lab. I had been told chocolates were not very good and so on. These chocolates seemed to be different. I still have people to this day say mine and my uncles are so brown they are almost black. I call them special dark chocolate.

The qualities that I loved when I saw his dog for the first time was just the happieness, obedient nature, drive in the field, and steadyness in the blind. When they are hunting the are machines but when the day is done they are calm relaxed lap dogs( well they think they are).

The companionship that all of us get from our dogs is amazing along with watching them work. It makes us so proud to see them flush that rooster and before I even drop the bird he is almost under it. To see him coming out of that switchgrass with a mouthful of Iowa pheasant, so proud and loyal bringing right to your side.

It is a feeling that many of us get and it comes back every year.

Here are pics of my 2 dogs.

Koa a 3 year old chocolate

Ayla a 8 month old Scottish Black Lab

[setterguy]

For me its what the dog can do in the field. I hunt grouse mainly, prefer to hunt behind a pointing dog so there isn't a much better option in the woods for me.

Ike - your right on, just like kids, the more time you spend with them, the better they turn out.