need a dog

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dakotasin

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hera, our black lab, is starting to get a little tired. at 12 years old, she's had a long, productive hunting life, and been a tremendous asset to our kids and family in general. however, she is 12 years old, and doesn't have the fire she once had. i have all but retired her from hunting - she's down to just a couple hunts a year because it is so hard on her physically (she still loves it, though).

we will be getting a new pup soon, just not sure what breed to go with. obviously, given our kid situation (3 times), and our lifestyle (aggressive hunting), a lab is a front runner breed. but we also want to explore other possibles. we have kicked around the idea of a gsp, vizsla, and ridgeback.

anybody know if any/none of these breeds will tolerate being a city-dwelling hunting dog that puts family first?

thanks!
 
My son-in-law's yellow lab (I did most of the training) got loose and got run over a while back. He's out of town, but near a main highway. He has a new pup. Been pricing kennels, myself. Might just get another dog, myself, though I know I'll wind up using his dog when we get it trained. He's setting up a kennel now. Dogs don't do well on tie outs IMHO. Need a kennel to do it right.

I really don't know a lot about 'em other than what I've read, but I've always been interested in Brittany Spaniels. They're supposed to be equally good at pointing and retrieving. But, being as I hunt salt marsh and a tall, big dog like a lab really works best, and I mostly hunt ducks, so a retriever is what I'm interested in, that's what I've stuck with. Living in town sux, but I could make dog ownership work with a Kennel. I think my next will be a lab.....again.
 
Uncle Mike said:
Whatever you get...don't get a German Shorthair pointer, what a PITA!
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no i don't agree. the GSP if given plenty of time in training and a fair amount of work can be a truly great gun dog. My dad had one when i was a lad, it was excellant....but needs plenty of exercise, as does a vizla (very similar dog types HPRs) maybe not the thing if you are a city dweller? Also i don't think they are quite as gold resistant as a labrador. your winters in america are really cold! (in places)
 
For kids and city dwelling I'd vote for lab over gsp. For aggressive hunting, gsp sure has lots of energy.
 
Aggressive hunting of what?

That matters.:)

There's one breed that really is a cuddly, playful super-athlete that loves family and aggressive hunting equally (as well as air-catching frisbees, running through the hills, crawling into bed with his/her people...). They can be treadmill-trained.:)

alocc.jpg
 
Can't imagine looking past a lab myself.
I'm biased thats all I've ever had.
 
Mountain Feist!

Smaller than a lab, larger than a jack russel, lots of energy when hunting, but great around the house when not. You didn't mention waterfowling, but you did want a city compatible dog that will hunt hard too.., this is the one.

Google it!

LD
 
Our Vizsla was just dancing in the living room with my wife to some old R&B. Seriously.

With a Vizsla, you're never bored.:D

But it does depend on what you are hunting. A Vizsla can retrieve ducks, and find them in the rushes, but sitting in a blind for hours is not the dog's strong suit. If the ducks are few and far between, the dog will get bored even sooner than I would. And a Lab can hunt chukar, or at least some of them can, but you might kill the dog if you expect it to run all day up and down canyon walls like a Vizsla.
 
Since no one else has mentioned the Ridgeback, I will.

A good friend of mine has a ridge, and I DO NOT recommend it for city living. They're extremely powerful dogs with a fantastic endurance level. They're actually very popular with marathon runners, because of their stamina. They're capable of covering over 30 miles per day.

I don't know how they are around kids, but my buddy's dog is cool with people. I imagine it's all in how well you're socializing them.

So, unless you're hunting some form of big game, I can't really recommend a Ridgeback. If it's waterfowl you're after, I don't think you can do too much better than a lab.
 
Ridgebacks are some of the neatest dogs. I just don't know what you'd hunt with them, around here, at least legally.:)
 
This thread is an absolute useless circular tail-chase without knowing hunting WHAT?

Which range of species and methods of hunting, exactly, and in what proportions?

If just waterfowl/geese, then yeppers, a water retriever is it. Lab, flat-coated, etc. Webbed feet and protection from cold.

Upland game only? Spaniels such as a WELL-BRED Brittany or a WELL-BRED Cocker make good house pets in addition to being excellent retrievers. *SOME* pointers & setters make good house pets, too - got to look to the specific breeding priorities of the breeder.

Both waterfowl & upland? That complicates matters. Time to look at proportions hunting each type, and maybe get a do-it-all dog, such as a Vizsla, GSP, GLP, Munster, Weim, etc. Or maybe stick with a 'birdy' retriever.

Do you want it to blood-track, too? Then that settles it; you need an all-purpose dog.

Hunting raccoons? Coonhound. Hunting rabbits? Sighthound. Hunting fox? Foxhound. You get the idea.

I understand a vizsla/lab cross make a very fine hunting dog.
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That could be an interesting mix, if properly done - is the webbed foot a dominant gene typically?
 
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Dr. Tad, Vizslas have webbed feet. Versatile breeds generally do. NAVHDA tests all require swimming and water retrieves.

Nothing against Labs, they're great dogs. Still, IMO one of the reasons they're so ubiquitous is that people don't know anything about any other dogs.:) That's okay, really. It's easier to find a quality dog if the breed you're interested in isn't being pumped out by white trash who think they can make a few bucks with another litter. There are, of course, top quality Labradors. You just don't have to wade through as many so-called breeders to get a top-quality Vizsla, Muensterlander, Griffon, etc. I hope they never DO get as popular as a Lab.
 
It's going to be hard to beat a Lab for a good all-around dog (pet/family dog, hunting, companionship).

Even without knowing what it is you want to hunt, I would wager you can train your Lab to hunt it.

Labs are NOT just "water dogs".

My Chocolate would hunt anything from squirrels to hogs to ducks, etc....

Just depends on how much time/training you are willing to put forth.
 
hunting what... well, 'bout anything w/ feathers, really. pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse, and partridge.

needs to be able to handle coons, coyotes, and badgers on her own, though - sometimes these critters will tangle w/ a dog in the hunting field, and a clean shot w/ a shotgun isn't really expedient until you can kick the interloper far enough away to drop the barrel and fire.

no go on the hounds... we've been down that road in the past and it didn't go well for us.

thanks for the input. from reading here alone, i have certainly decided ridgebacks are off the list, and gsp's are on the definite 'maybe' list. vizlas still interest me. weimerainers should be off the list for no reason other than difficulty in spelling the name... but i haven't heard much bad about them, ever. the couple that i have hunted over were average hunters, though i recognize that is not necessarily the breed's fault.

not fond of spaniels, however i do like them more than hounds. but, spaniels aren't going to be in the final analysis.

thanks for the help, guys!
 
if you don't like spaniels make sure you never go to a spaniel field trial. if you go to a spaniel field trial you probablly won't get one, you will end up with about four. english springers which are field bred are amazing. also english cockers. make sure you look at field bred. completely different dog than show bred.
 
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i cant say about hunting, but i had a ridge for 6 years he was great around kids and had great companionship. i'd rethink them if i was you.

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