What defines a "pointing" lab?

[lenny7]

I've got a 6 month YLM that I've taken out three times to a game farm to shoot live birds over him. On the second trip, a couple of times when he found the bird, he'd stop and stare intently at it. I wasn't thinking much about where he was pointing or not and just waited for him to flush it out.

Yesterday, for about 4 or 5 of the 7 birds we planted, he found them, stopped, stared intently, and after we waited him out, finally dove in and push it up.

He didn't have the perfect form, of course, but he pretty well locked up. This made me wonder, what makes a lab a "pointing" lab. Maybe this is stupidly simple question with an answer like "If he points, he's a pointing lab", but not having only hunted over a pointer once, over 20 years ago, I don't know if there's more to it than that.

[LABS4ME]

That pretty much sums up a pointing lab... there are others that are bred to be true pointers in regards to staunchness etc., and there are competitions to recieve titles based on your dogs abilities, but I think 90% of the pointing labs do just as you described....

Good Luck!

Ken

[lenny7]

I'll have to see how this plays out next week. We're heading to SoDak.

So...for the purpose of upland hunting...is a pointing lab "better" than a flushing lab, or is it purely a matter of preference?

[verg]

yeah I think so to. I have a big choc stud that on occasion will look at something in the yard and lift his leg up. Now to me this is nothing but to a lot of people they claim they have a pointing lab. Not. The only true pointing lab as LABS mentioned are ones that have a hard staunch point, tail up or out etc. They are bred for this specialty etc. [PoorWordUsage] I had a collie when I was a kid that would lift his leg up on occasion when snooping in the yard. Maybe I should have put him on birds.

[superfish2]

I have a pointing lab and I run a lot of APLA (American Pointing Lab Assocation) hunt tests as well as AKC, and NAHRA. I know for me there is no doubt when my dog is pointing. It is very staunch, head extended, tail straight.