Posted: 11/10/2013 9:58:21 PM EDT
| Well the deal fell through with a Brittany that I was going to get. I need more of a versatile breed the more I think about it. I hunt ducks more than anything and just a little bit of upland every year. What is a good versatile breed that can stand cold waters and can swim bigger water. Thanks |
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Check out versatiledogs.com for some good info. German short hair or deutsch drahthaar would be on my short list. I have a pudelpointer which would fit the bill too and are scary smart.
My dad still swears by his labs. They flush good and can't beat them for duck hunting. If you're mostly duck hunting I would be looking for a good retriever that can flush some upland birds for you... |
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I have been looking and have decided on getting a Drahthaar when the time comes.
My parents have brittanies and they are just not for me. They just got back from a pheasant hunting trip in Iowa my they hunted over labs and gsp's. They both preferred the labs to the gsp's. Part of it was a training part was how the dogs worked. One of the gsp's grabbed a pheasant from my dads hand as he was walking back to the truck and started ripping it apart. My dad admitted it was young and looked to still need training. |
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Originally Posted By gunnardog68:
1. Pudel Pointer. Great all round 2. Varien deutsch Drahtaar (VDD) Hunted over both and loved them. Good info on the Internet. I'm gonna have to agree with pick #1; I own one. Nothing like hunting ducks in the morning, then chukar or pheasants in the afternoon, and they are super affectionate dogs too! check out www.cedarwoodgundogs.com |
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Originally Posted By EastWestKy:
Well the deal fell through with a Brittany that I was going to get. I need more of a versatile breed the more I think about it. I hunt ducks more than anything and just a little bit of upland every year. What is a good versatile breed that can stand cold waters and can swim bigger water. Thanks Lab Golden Chessie They are bred for waterfowl hunting and can do the upland very well. My first Golden was a bird retrieving machine on land or water. In the fields she would even retrieve other peoples birds! |
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GSPs are generally not the best cold water dogs..and many dont sit well quietly for long hours at a time.
Drahthaar is the best way to go, but can be challenging to new comers....seek training help with NAVHDA or Your VDD Breeder. There is a reason they are the most widely used gundog in Germany/Austria where its law to hunt with a trained dog. But if you dont hunt 25+ times per years and make it part of your family, dont get one. The DD is sort of a Euro Super Mutt-comprised of the best PPs, WPG, DK/GSPs and Stichelhhaars-rough coated tracking dog whose sum is greater than its parts. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8103/8534635526_6dd2c627f8_m.jpg Coon Huntin Draht http://www.louisianasportsman.com/classifieds/pics/p1348184806742942.jpg Baying Hogs with Jagd Terriers http://www.hellokittyproxy.info/index.php?q=aHR0cDovL2k3ODcucGhvdG9idWNrZXQuY29tL2FsYnVtcy95eTE1MS9tc2NobGFwYS8xMzgzNzc0Njk5NDEwX2JpZ196cHNkNWFkODA5NC5qcGc%3D Northern Canada Duck Hunt http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8313948173_cc5a4b717b_z.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g13/dillbilly/index31.jpg Water Loving fools http://bluepaddlebistro.com/about/images/10-11-12-small.jpg Drive out the wazoo http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8517/8503385025_18fca95fbd.jpg Baying Tracked Dead Game-A Trained dog http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8515/8577918886_35e8953266.jpg Closing on a Badger- Note:They dont just bark at vermin.. Bird photos are all over the net, this is just a short list of what Drahthaars can do to 4 footed game when exposed. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8186220943_5ae652fd52.jpg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5458965717_f5b35d1e50.jpg DD Backing a Pointer -Chukar Hunt |
| i use 2 dogs, a GSP and a Chessie, the gsp loves cold water and will hunt ducks well and is an upland machine, the chessie is the toughest cold big water dog i have seen, i just hunted her 10 days in a row, in the Snake river wich is fast icy and dangerous for a dog now, sometimes she was hundreds of yards down river before getting back onto the ice. That being said a Drahhar is probably a more versital dog, most likely has a better disposion and i dont think any retriever has a nose better than a pointing dog, my next dog will be a Drath, be very carefull who you buy from, and spend the money on the best pup you can afford, it will pay dividends in the end. |
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Originally Posted By EEK:
i use 2 dogs, a GSP and a Chessie, the gsp loves cold water and will hunt ducks well and is an upland machine, the chessie is the toughest cold big water dog i have seen, i just hunted her 10 days in a row, in the Snake river wich is fast icy and dangerous for a dog now, sometimes she was hundreds of yards down river before getting back onto the ice. That being said a Drahhar is probably a more versital dog, most likely has a better disposion and i dont think any retriever has a nose better than a pointing dog, my next dog will be a Drath, be very carefull who you buy from, and spend the money on the best pup you can afford, it will pay dividends in the end. Only speaking to the cold issue. The only real advantage in terms of cold weather, running a longer haired/ stouter built dog has is maybe the ability to hunt 5-10 degrees colder depending on the dogs tolerance. The big difference comes with sitting in the cold, that is really tough on GSP's. I have seen a few guys use their GSP's for puddle duck jump shooting on a river. They were out hunting in temps well below 32 and the dogs did great. However as soon as they stopped for any length of time over 10 minutes they started to violently shiver. Kept moving they stayed plenty warm, stop them for even a short length of time they get cold very fast. I have hunted my girls a few times just below zero. I don't worry about them getting cold so much as their paws getting beat up at that temp. If anything a few extra calories in their food seems to really give them an edge in the cold. |
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Originally Posted By beardog30:
Only speaking to the cold issue. The only real advantage in terms of cold weather, running a longer haired/ stouter built dog has is maybe the ability to hunt 5-10 degrees colder depending on the dogs tolerance. The big difference comes with sitting in the cold, that is really tough on GSP's. I have seen a few guys use their GSP's for puddle duck jump shooting on a river. They were out hunting in temps well below 32 and the dogs did great. However as soon as they stopped for any length of time over 10 minutes they started to violently shiver. Kept moving they stayed plenty warm, stop them for even a short length of time they get cold very fast. I have hunted my girls a few times just below zero. I don't worry about them getting cold so much as their paws getting beat up at that temp. If anything a few extra calories in their food seems to really give them an edge in the cold. Originally Posted By beardog30:
Originally Posted By EEK:
i use 2 dogs, a GSP and a Chessie, the gsp loves cold water and will hunt ducks well and is an upland machine, the chessie is the toughest cold big water dog i have seen, i just hunted her 10 days in a row, in the Snake river wich is fast icy and dangerous for a dog now, sometimes she was hundreds of yards down river before getting back onto the ice. That being said a Drahhar is probably a more versital dog, most likely has a better disposion and i dont think any retriever has a nose better than a pointing dog, my next dog will be a Drath, be very carefull who you buy from, and spend the money on the best pup you can afford, it will pay dividends in the end. Only speaking to the cold issue. The only real advantage in terms of cold weather, running a longer haired/ stouter built dog has is maybe the ability to hunt 5-10 degrees colder depending on the dogs tolerance. The big difference comes with sitting in the cold, that is really tough on GSP's. I have seen a few guys use their GSP's for puddle duck jump shooting on a river. They were out hunting in temps well below 32 and the dogs did great. However as soon as they stopped for any length of time over 10 minutes they started to violently shiver. Kept moving they stayed plenty warm, stop them for even a short length of time they get cold very fast. I have hunted my girls a few times just below zero. I don't worry about them getting cold so much as their paws getting beat up at that temp. If anything a few extra calories in their food seems to really give them an edge in the cold. I junp shoot alot of ducks on the river with my GSP, in fact i think its one of his favorite things to do,lol. I have hunted him in -15 with little problem as long as he can move around a bit to stay warm, he wont stay near the heater i use for some reason. I do think that sitting for long times in the blind is harder on them than the retriever breeds but i still take him out often to hunt ducks when the weather is above 10-15 degrees as well as to work every day, my chessie is more of a one trick pony and only wants to work retrieving, if the majority of my hunting was waterfowl and i could have just one dog i thing a dog with a thicker coat would be my choice |