What kind of dog?

[Pickelfarmer]

I think that Yellow labs are better for pheasants, but you can get by with a Black one.

Seriously though, yes they are fine with Pheasant hunting.

"hooks"

LMAO "Go Black!!! you won't go back"

[jigginjim]

I'm also thinking of a new dog. Had a english setter years back was great. He would find birds, lock on a point, it looked so cool. Until someone stole him from the pen. 4yrs ago I had a golden for 1+ yrs, then wife decided we didn't spend enough time with the dog. Sold her, was just getting ready for hunting. At that time I was driving 60miles to & from work. By the time I got home it was to dark to do anything. And the wife had her idea of what she want the dog to do. Too many cheifs, poor dog had no clue what she was to do. Next time I'm the only person to do any training with the dog. The wife got a cat after selling the dog. How she thinks we should some little sqeaky dog. NO WAY. I have been thinking of a lab or something for ducks and pheasants.

[Pickelfarmer]

I'm also thinking of a new dog. Had a english setter years back was great. He would find birds, lock on a point, it looked so cool. Until someone stole him from the pen. 4yrs ago I had a golden for 1+ yrs, then wife decided we didn't spend enough time with the dog. Sold her, was just getting ready for hunting. At that time I was driving 60miles to & from work. By the time I got home it was to dark to do anything. And the wife had her idea of what she want the dog to do. Too many cheifs, poor dog had no clue what she was to do. Next time I'm the only person to do any training with the dog. The wife got a cat after selling the dog. How she thinks we should some little sqeaky dog. NO WAY. I have been thinking of a lab or something for ducks and pheasants.

There is a fine line between a family dog and a hunting dog, I think. Its hard to ride that line. I don't have the answer for you, but I do understand what your talking about.

[Blaze]

On a pheasant hunting note only. I lived in South Dakota for 8 years and have hunted behind lots of dogs. I just recently got back from a trip out there now that I live in MN. IMO labs are not the answer for pheasant hunting. We lost right around 15 downed birds hunting behind 3 labs. They just couldn't seem to find the birds once they hit the ground. Granted there was a lot of scent in the field, dogs with better noses should have found these birds. If you are just looking to get a dog for hunting I would get a Wire Hair and train it well. Brittany's are also great dogs except our last Brittany didn't retrieve but she would find them and hold them down until we got there. With duck hunting labs are the only way to go.

I'll openly say I'm biased, but I agree completely with Walters sentiments. I've had the same experiences in MN and ND with labs and wirehairs/DDs. I firmly believe the wire breeds are better recovery dogs with downed game. That being said, labs will mark downed ducks better than a wirehair/DD IMO.

I started out with GSPs after hunting with one years ago, and I've been stuck on pointing dogs ever since. I moved to DDs for late season hunting and colder water tolerance when duck hunting. They fit my hunting style and I love 'em to death.

Lots of personal preference in your decision here. Keep in mind there is no perfect breed. If you are already leaning towards labs, you should probably go that route. DO YOUR HOMEWORK, though, and find a proven breeder who isn't just crankin' out dogs to turn a buck.

Good luck!

[Walleye Waltz]

I have to agree that no one dog is better than another. I have hunted labs for 15 years and have not had an issue. I love to duck hunt and pheasant hunt. I feel a lab is a great all around dog. As far as down game and not finding them. I have to stem back to training. You will only get out of your dog what you put into it! If you pro train it then you should know what to expect and what not to. If you deside to train on your own there are a lot of great books an dvd's to help you in this process. I find Adam Wolters Game dog and Water dog to be a great tool. I am sure there are many more out there to help you but I find these a very step by step how to train. Again it will always go back to how much time you put into your dog as to what you will get out of it. I don't think you would ever go wrong hunting a lab. Color for the most part is a choice one is no better than another. I tend to look at where the dog is goign to live. If in a kennel then color really don't matter. If in the house, what color carpet do you have Light? I would look to a yellow labs do tend to shed a bit and can leave hair everywhere. As far as male or female I really don't see and differance I myself like females, to me they seam less think headed but again that is just my thoughts. As some said earlier that when your female comes in season she will cause some problems. Where going with a male you will not have to worry about this problem although if another female is around your male he has something other than hunting on his mine. Price wise you will also notice that the females tend to run a bit more than a male. Some advatages with a male is if trained right and a good pedigree he could make a good stud dog for you. You will not have to worry about puppies to sell if you chose to breed. No matter your choice, good luck and happy hunting!

[jakemcarroll]

I hunt pheasant behind my trusty chocolate lab, and although he may not be the best hunting fog in the world be couldn't make for a better dog, sometimes it's not only how they will perform in the field but how they perform for the rest of the year when they are at home. I personally have never had a problem getting downed/crippled pheasants with my lab, he actually is much better at it then the viszla or GSP that my father in law has, and he is always borrowing my dog to hunt beside the pointers (it will be nice when I'm older and have tons of PTO built up so I can go to SD for 5 days ever other week!!). Just keep in mind it's not only a hunting dog but a pet too, so if you like labs go for it, but there are other really great breeds out there too, watching a pointer work sure is impressive! Best of luck with you choice.

[rundrave]

As far as down game and not finding them. I have to stem back to training. You will only get out of your dog what you put into it!

I think a big part of this comes down to the nose of the dog and not the training. This is where doing your homework on your breeder comes into play.

For example look at how NAVHDA does the Natural Ability test. The tracking portion of this test is done by pulling the flight feathers off a live pheasant and the bird is released and it runs. Meanwhile the handler is behind a blind and away from the area where the bird was released. After the bird is released the handler brings their dog to the feather pile and the dog should be able to track that bird from there.

You could do drag after drag multiple times with a pheasant, and some dogs can track and others cant. No matter how often you 'Train' for this, if your dog doesnt have a good nose its not going to be very successful tracking or finding downed birds especially the runners.

I dont think any one breed is better than another for this.

However if Im looking to buy a pointer it should be full of natural instincts: point, back/honor, retrieve, and have a great nose. Doing your homework on a breeder will play a big part in this. The dogs chosen to maintain a particular line should posses these qualities with the ability to pass on those traits and have the pedigrees to back it up. That doesn't mean titles, that means raw natural talent in the field.

[Walleye Waltz]

Rundrave, I couldn't agree with you more. My meaning of training is markablity of down birds. In any hunting dog there nose is the most important trait! Working scent drags can help your young pup develope his nose a little faster. I like to use a sent drag with a remore game launcher. Simulate a hunting situation in a little grass. Let your dog get birdy on the scent drag and as he gets close trigger the launcher and up it gose. Use a blank pistol to simulate the shot. Use a clip wing bird so it goes in the air but don't fly away. This will give you the shot and a dropping bird. Let the dog run it down. It has worked for me every time!