Hunting Dog, suggestions?

[soup]

I'm looking for a hunting dog. I've hunted over my friends dogs for sometime now and I feel it is time I get my own. He has a Brittany and his son has a few Beagles. I enjoy hunting over both.

What I'm looking for is really a "general purpose" type dog if one even exists. I'd like an overall hunting companion. My friends son's beagles have put up birds from the thick stuff and run Rabbits. I guess that is where I'd want to be as far as breed goes? Beagles were highly recommended as the breed I should look into.

GSP's were also recommended to me but I'm not too familiar with their capabilities as anything other than a bird dog.

I'd really like to adopt one instead of going to a breeder but I have to do what I have to do I guess. I really don't want a puppy, would prefer a younger dog (under 2 yrs) but would take in a well behaved adult with a will to hunt.

I was told Females are better than Males as far as discipline and overall intelligence goes. Is this true?

I've been on petfinder for the last few days and have been on the phone calling around. Some of their adds say they will make a good hunting dog but those seem to be halfway across the county and there is no way to meet it before paying to ship it here. Others have said they wont adopt out to someone who will use it for hunting purposes. So it has been difficult to find one locally and find information about it's drive to hunt w/o throwing any "red flags" to someone who wont adopt to someone who wants a hunting dog.

Any suggestions?

Would a non pure bred dog be ok? Local place has Lab/Hound mixes. Not sure how big they will get, close to Med sized I think. Is there a way to find out about a dogs ability to hunt before training takes place?

Thanks,
Anthony

[Pa. Patriot]

Lots of pure bred dogs need homes. Many wil be trainable to hunt
http://americanbrittanyrescue.org/

[dk99358]

We used to run Basset Hounds. Good on rabbits, they bring them around a little slower than beagles. They also did pretty well on pheasants, I don't remember if they booted grouse for us or not.

Dale

[1iarrowking]

I can't answer all your questions. I am a Brittany guy. I can tell you about Brittanys. I'll tell you the same thing that I tell people when I man the Anthracite Brittany booth at the Lehigh Valley Canine Learning Experience. Britannys are high energy dogs, second only to a Border Collie according to AKC. They need to have access to a large yard or field where they can run free every day. First and foremost they are people dogs. They love people and a they are not a dog that can tolerate living alone outside in a kennel. They can live happily in a small home or apartment providing they get out at least an hour a day to run free. They are not a dog for protection. They will alert and bark at an unfamiliar sound or person but they will happily accompany a burglar while he's removing your belongings. They are great bird hunting dogs. Pointing game birds is what a Brittany was bred and born to do. They are very trainable and eager to please their people. They are just as at home in a show ring as they are in the field as is proved by the fact that there have been over 500 Dual Champion Brittanys. That is over twice as many as all the other 25 sporting breeds combined.

I hope I've answered some of your questions. Since your not far away you should attend the Lehigh Valley Canine Learning Experience on Jan. 30, 2009. Stop at the breed booths and ask questions. I believe most of the people in those booths will give you honest answers to your questions. I am not a breeder. I am not trying to sell dogs. All I'm interested in is matching Brittanys to the right people. They are not for everyone.

Don't want a puppy? Brittany Rescue is always trying to place displaced Brittanys in accommodating homes.

[spagluvx]

I am not so sure if there is a such thing as a general purpose field dog. I would first think that you should determine what and how you are going to hunt and then work from there. I would think that you want to fit a breeds skill set to the work at had, why try to fit a round peg is a square hole. As great as my lab is (house dog) I do not feel the breed has the drive to chase a rabbit all day.

Any of the scent hounds could be trained to run a rabbit. My family has always had beagles so that is what we use in the field. Yes they will bump and then run a pheasant but that is not what they are trained to do. Here in stocked bird land that makes them hard to shoot as they would rather run than fly. We have a female now who loves to bring back the dead rabbits but I can not say I trained that into her.

The younger the dog the easier time you will have training the dog. The first step in training a field dog is always going to be obedience training. The older the dog the more bad habits you are going to have to break. With a younger dog you get to start with a clean slate. I am not saying that an older dog can not be trained it just takes more time with varying degree of results.

Beware of adds that say "Could/would be a great hunter" this usually means the last owner got tired of the barking/running away and thats why they are giving it up!

I am not sure where you are located by a good pure breed beagle can be had for a small investment here in Western Pa.

I have hunted over good male and female dogs. The biggest difference is that the females usually hunt better with new dogs and spend less time sniffing the other females.

[ar15jules]

I know of a guy who used a German Wirehaired Pointer on upland birds as well as water fowl. Not so sure about rabbits.
Jules

[Arch007er]

One breed my wife and I have been looking into is a "black mouth cur". Its the breed that Ol' Yeller was. I've never been around one, so I can't say what a typical temperament for one is, but I like what I've read about them so far.

They are bread for hunting, boar especially, seem to be a fierce hunting dog.

[Exbiker]

http://www.charwillkennels.com/flat.htm

[soup]

First of all, thanks for all of the replies. Part of me wants a bird dog but the part of me that is stuck in reality says I'd get more out of a Hound.

I think I'd be very happy with a hound that will get me into rabbits but occasionally kick up a Pheasant more so than a bird dog. That is why I'm leaning towards a beagle or other small hound dog.

Pheasants around here are stocked and they seem to go fast and I don't hunt grouse or any other bird really.

As far as obedience training, are we talking the standard, sit, stay, etc commands? or are we talking hunting obedience? Ballpark cost?

I have the yard, I have the energy and I have the will to do this. If whatever I choose to get doesn't turn out to be a hunting dog it will still be a house dog so any training wouldn't be a waste.

Other than taking a dog with you shooting how can you tell if they will be ok with the shots being fired in the field?

Thanks,
Anthony

[spagluvx]

As far as obedience training, are we talking the standard, sit, stay, etc commands? or are we talking hunting obedience?

For my beagles the obedience training is pretty strait forward like come when I call your name and down when I ask, nothing special. The hardest part is teaching proper range, meaning it does no good if the dog is 100 yards away and hunting, I always want them hunting within 20-30 unless they are running.

When I got my lab, I did go through a much more thorough set of training all coordinated to hand and whistle signals. It was actually very fun at the time, I purchased a video that went over training for retrievers as it was my first one.

Ballpark cost?

That varies, I have spent between 0 to 500 for puppies over the years. You can find "field" dogs with out papers around here for $50.00. It is important to note that there are field bred dogs and trial bred dogs out there. In beagles I prefer to hunt over a field bred dog.

I have the yard, I have the energy and I have the will to do this. If whatever I choose to get doesn't turn out to be a hunting dog it will still be a house dog so any training wouldn't be a waste

.

Thats the most important thing!!

Other than taking a dog with you shooting how can you tell if they will be ok with the shots being fired in the field?

No real answer on this one. My grandfather always said to only buy puppies that were born in the spring because they had heard thunderstorms (loud noises) as puppies. I personally have never had a gun shy beagle, my lab on the other hand quivers at the sight of my shotgun. She was born in December.

Best of Luck!!