Author Topic: what kind of dog should i get ? (Read 2647 times)

superdown · « **on:** October 23, 2007, 09:48:56 AM »

I live in western Washington and i really like to hunt forest grouse and rabbit i am fairly successful but i would like to come back with more than just one or two for a whole days hunt at least enough for the family pot. So that leads me to the question of what kind of dog i should get i don't have one now i have had few dogs growing up but nothing more than the standard house/family pet. thanks , Justin

~Ace~ · « **Reply #1 on:** October 23, 2007, 10:28:16 AM »

I have a 1/2 dozen or so Russian Setters... and I like'em

Bingo · « **Reply #2 on:** November 16, 2007, 11:06:08 AM »

I have a Beagle that hunts close to me. If he puts a pheasant out it is usually in gun range. Once he gets on a rabbit, he's off to the races! Bingo is also a good house pet and protects my home.

moxgrove · « **Reply #3 on:** November 16, 2007, 12:35:21 PM »

I would definitely recommend a "versatile" breed. They are bred for just that sort of thing. As I have stated in the past I'm definitely a Drahthaar man.

Dee · « **Reply #4 on:** November 16, 2007, 03:17:17 PM »

I have a Jack Russell. He hunts close and checks back in when in heavy brush. Hogs, rabbits, squirrel, pheasant, you name it, and he's up for it. Force trained him to come in, as he is a fighter if he sees other dogs. His one penchant is cats. He hates them, and takes them apart to see how they work, but is not mechanically inclined enough to put them back together properly. With all his other skills, the cat part I value the most. I hate'em. So he will always have a home and all the Science Diet he can eat.

superdown · « **Reply #5 on:** December 01, 2007, 05:52:46 PM »

I really am a novice when it comes to dog lingo but i do love all animals and if you can't eat it or it's not destroying something then i feel you should let it be . I love cats had em all my life especially my bobcats they are wonderful loving intelligent animals as are the dogs ive had but ive really thought of getting a beagle but i don't know how hard they are to train . thanks ,superdown

beemanbeme · « **Reply #6 on:** December 02, 2007, 09:18:59 AM »

Other than obedience training, if you get a beagle from good hunting stock they will pretty much train themselves. The key on any hunting dog is getting it in the woods as early (young) as possible and as often as possible. If you get a beagle, be sure to get hunting stock or what they call a "grade" beagle.
One of your problems is so many breds have been screwed up by the AKC and the American female that they are worthless for their intended purpose. The beagle has an actual split between bench (show) dogs and field (hunting) dogs.
A pup introduced into a home with cats usually doesn't have a problem. Or a problem that can't be easily cured by a little firmness with both sides. The main thing is letting the dog know that you're in charge not him.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #7 on:** December 02, 2007, 09:46:02 AM »

Actually, the AKC is producing some fine hunting dogs.....I was lucky enough to place one second at the nationals a few years back.

http://www.ubgf.com/

http://dsbgf.com/

http://www.mid-west-gundog.com/

http://www.nebgf.org/

There are AKC brace beagle that are not suitable for hunting.........

I've also seen some that run fast and without regard to the line...... that I wouldn't give up a bullet to kill them with......

Grade dogs can be quite good.......and they can also be quite bad as well.......

superdown · « **Reply #8 on:** December 02, 2007, 11:13:07 AM »

I was looking at dog breeds and i saw something called a harrier beagle some say they are not a beagle and some say they are but to me they just look like a beagle on stilt's i thought it would be nice to have a slightly taller dog but if they are temperamental or generally Ornery id rather just stick with the tried and true beagle . Justin

beemanbeme · « **Reply #9 on:** December 03, 2007, 06:52:57 AM »

The Harrier is an intermediate sized dog between a beagle and a walker. I don't know how the beagle got added? I don't know anything about the dogs temperment.

VC, lets discuss the Irish Setter, the Cocker Spanial, the English Setter, the Beagle, beginning now the Border Collie, the various toy breeds that have to be delivered by cecerian(spl) section, the English Bulldog same as the toys, etc. Thats just off the top of my little bald head. For a dog to be featured in a Disney movie is the kiss of death. I will give the AKC this: they are now, at least, giving thumb nails of breed personalities at the shows. I guess they started this after a few kids were mauled by dalmations and folks found out that Jack Russells were not really lap dogs.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #10 on:** December 03, 2007, 01:15:30 PM »

I don't know what to tell you........

Yes, by the early seventies AKC beagles were, for the most part, not suited for hunting.

In the mid seventies, the AKC adopted small pack option rules as well as keeping brace and large pack rules.

I kept grade dogs for a few years in the late seventies/early eighties.

Honestly, IMO, the AKC hounds are a little to hard driving and not as close on the line as I personally like. A hound that keeps the line moving is much better than one that goes over on a check........

There are at least 12 beagle clubs running AKC small pack option rules in the state of Tennessee.

The ARHA (american rabbit hunters association) also has a class for AKC bread hounds.

The UKC is also sponsoring a gun dog hound in there field trial events.

There are plenty of pure bread hounds that will do a fine job rabbit hunting.

The biggest problem facing the people who register and promote AKC hounds are rising fees for registration as well as increases in entry fees for field events along with DNA testing without offering that service to a hound buyer. The DNA thing has made a bunch of people mad. While the AKC requires any stud dog who breeds over 3 litters a year or seven litters for life to be DNA certified, it doesn't require the same for it's bitches, nor will it test a pup which I might buy in order to determine if it came from the stock it was suppose to be from.

I really think the liberals have take control the AKC.....and if you follow the money......it ain't in field trials, but rather in dog shows.

What used to be a poor man's sport is quickly being priced out of reach.

But.....don't think they won't hunt and run......as they certainly will........and much more consistently than cold blooded stock IMO

beemanbeme · « **Reply #11 on:** December 04, 2007, 07:05:26 AM »

VC, I had a nice response for you and had a senior moment and erased it. Oh well. Anyway, it sounds like the AKC has changed for the better since I was fooling with beagles. I hope so since the beagle is too great a little dog to be just a house pet.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #12 on:** December 04, 2007, 12:01:18 PM »

Quote from: beemanbeme on December 04, 2007, 07:05:26 AM

VC, I had a nice response for you and had a senior moment and erased it. Oh well. Anyway, it sounds like the AKC has changed for the better since I was fooling with beagles. I hope so since the beagle is too great a little dog to be just a house pet.

Thanks Bee......Trying to get together a rabbit hunt soon.......deer season right now.......

It's getting hard to find a place to hunt any more.......

beemanbeme · « **Reply #13 on:** December 04, 2007, 02:32:25 PM »

I lived in Memphis when I kept beagles and there was a lot of areas around there that was "flood plain" land that couldn't be developed because of annual flooding from the Mississippi. Which made it sweet for bird and rabbit hunters. I've trapped (illegally) coyote, bobcats, fox, mink, beaver, muskrats, coon, and more possums than I care to remember inside the city limits of beautiful downtown Memphis. Lots of urban deer also.

41houndhunter · « **Reply #14 on:** December 05, 2007, 09:00:23 PM »

A springer would be a good choice.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #15 on:** December 07, 2007, 07:14:44 AM »

Yes.

billy_56081 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2007, 01:27:00 PM »

A lab mix. I have a lab/? mix that is about 60 lbs. He showed up in my garage one morning as a puppy. No one claimed him and he turned out awsome. Retrieves pheasant listens well, family friendly. He also runs coyotes. He has had no obedience training or retrieving training and must have some awsome instinct.

Mikey · « **Reply #17 on:** December 13, 2007, 01:52:05 AM »

You can always get a Standard Poodle. In Montana they breed them to hunt, which is true to their original breeding as hunters and guard dogs; down South, so I've been told, they are bred to fight. In neu yawk citee they are bred to drink latte, speak french and pick your pockets.

A good all around breed. And none of mine have ever given up on a rabbit, squirrel, chipmonk, whitetail or coyote. JMTCW. Mikey.

superdown · « **Reply #18 on:** December 13, 2007, 06:58:02 AM »

Mikey , poodles are really used for hunting ? sounds interesting . How did you get into using them for hunting ? is the standard poodle different from the ones with the funny looking hair cuts ? Superdown

Dee · « **Reply #19 on:** December 13, 2007, 07:04:26 AM »

I thought Poodles were originally bred for retrieving, but what the hey, I have been wrong before. ANYWAY, I have one (a little one), and though his courage is a mile wide and an inch deep, he would make one heck of a squirrel dog (providing the squirrel doesn't stop to fight.), but momma says no, as it messes up his haircut.
I guess me and ole Huff (a Jack Russell) are still on our own.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #20 on:** December 13, 2007, 07:36:33 AM »

Dee,
The Standard Poodle is the French version of the Lab. A do all, be all game dog.
Super,
What ever you decide. Personally I would get a lab. The best place to Start is with a Book.
GAME DOG by Richard A Wolters. A hunter's retriever for upland birds and water fowl.
Wolters books start you out on the day you bring the puppy home. I suggest reading the book first before you bring home the puppy and have a plan. It's from the 60's but is still in print. I just bought a copy plus WATER DOG for a friend of mine who just got a dog.
I'm not sure about the rabbits. I had to try to break mine from going after them. When a rabbit would break mine would zone out and the only thing on her mind was the rabbit.
But the book goes over upland birds and how to get them to point and flush.
No matter what you choose the book can help with the training as it give excesses to do with them from point to flush to retrieve and retrieve multiple birds.
The more time you put into the dog the better it will be. The books are also available on DVD at Orvis.
It is fun to walk into a store and start reading the back of one of the DVDs. Wait for someone to walk up and they will ask if you have a dog. Answer "Yep. Wondering if I should get another one of these DVD's the first one hasn't helped. I've sat the dog down 5 times to watch it and she still can't sit on command." the expression is usually really good and worth the couple of minutes in the book section while you read the back of the DVD jackets.

Mikey · « **Reply #21 on:** December 13, 2007, 11:27:11 AM »

Superdown: they get into huntin' all by themselves. All they have to do is see that first rabbit or squirrel and that's all she wrote. They will tree squirrels, I will knock them out of the tree with a 22 and the dogs do the rest. They love it and I love it.

Poodles, actually Pudels (German, originating) were originally bred as hunters, retrievers and guard dogs. Pudel in German means 'water' or puddle and Poodles were/are water dogs - webbed feet and all. Some dogsledders even use them in sled dog teams. The funny looking cuts on their chest and hips were designed to keep those parts of their bodies warm when they retrieved from cold water. Poodles have hair, not fur, and don't shed. The other funny lookin' cuts are just funny lookin' cuts on a dog always hoping to be able to kill and eat a groomer, just once; then their masters for having them groomed like that.

The Standard Poodle can go as heavy as 95 lbs. I have had two in that weight range and they were two tough junkyard dogs. The oldest fella I have now is only 86 lbs but he has lived longer than any of the others. There is a breeder in Montana, near Missoula, who breeds large Standards as hunting dogs and I have been told they are used as fighting dogs in the South.

The Standard bred was the first Poodle. Early on in their development they became known for their intelligence and human compatibility and were often brought indoors and made into house pets. Just recently the AKC removed Standard Poodles from the non-working breed lines to the retreiver category but it takes a long time for the general public to catch on.

But, as mcwoodduck says, they are a do all, be all game dog. I will add 'lugnut' and couch potato to that category and too dang smart for my own good. Mikey.

I think the smaller Poodles are off-breeds of the Standard. They may be the same as the Schnauzer - the Giant Schnauzer is its own breed, the smaller ones were bred for different purposes and I believe are different breeds.

superdown · « **Reply #22 on:** December 14, 2007, 08:21:20 AM »

Mikey , that is very interesting info on the poodle i would never have imagined that they were actually a serious working dog .

Mikey · « **Reply #23 on:** December 14, 2007, 03:07:21 PM »

Superdown: please note in the next to last paragraph the terms 'lugnut' and 'couch potato' - which while applicable to many breeds just happens to fit Standard Poodles perfectly; but they are just like any other dog, needing exercise, discipline and play time to be well rounded. They are smart enough and train easily, but if they think they have a chance of catching anything small and furry and fast, they will take it. And if we are out huntin' and they put one up a tree, it is my responsibility to knock it out of the tree - then they get to carry it home (and toss it around and roll in it and play with it)...........I'm just the shooter.............Mikey

rex6666 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 06, 2008, 05:23:41 AM »

if you want one to do it all, then come home and guard the house, and every thing he owns
and he will own you and the family. You need to look long and hard at the airedale, if
you want a medium size dog. I have had 2 airedales and would have one now if it wasn't for
living in town. Both the dogs i had were as good of family dogs as i would want, they had no prob. with cats but stray dogs were bought and paid for. Never had one of them offer to bite anyone but people would not just drive up and get out, because of the way they look,
once they got to know the dog they liked them as much as i did. As long as i had mine i never
did hear either one bark, unless they had some thing treed, they did not stand around and bark
just some thing moved.

Ray Ford · « **Reply #25 on:** February 06, 2008, 06:12:35 AM »

Speaking of dogs and cats....

Some years back, I had a small Boston Terrier female. I tried to breed her three times. The first time, she had to have a c-section. The second time, she free whelped. The third time, it was another c-section, so I just had her spayed and gave her to an elderly gentleman for a pet.

The elderly gentleman had a large cat--a tom. The little Boston, who thought that she was a 90-pound Pit Bull, was determined to get rid of the cat. (The cat was bigger than the dog.) If she found him in the front yard of the house, she would chase him out into the street. The cat would circle around the corner, come down the alley, and enter the back yard. If the dog found him in the backyard, she would chase him out into the alley. The cat would go down the alley, circle around the corner, and come back to the front yard. This went on for about two weeks before the dog gave up. After she gave up on running the old cat off, they became friends. They would roll and play together. They even slept together.

I joked with my elderly friend, telling him that I was going to come over and shoot that dog for making friends with a cat--but I was joking.

plumberroy · « **Reply #26 on:** February 11, 2008, 06:01:27 AM »

Quote from: Dee on November 16, 2007, 03:17:17 PM

I have a Jack Russell. He hunts close and checks back in when in heavy brush. Hogs, rabbits, squirrel, pheasant, you name it, and he's up for it. Force trained him to come in, as he is a fighter if he sees other dogs. His one penchant is cats. He hates them, and takes them apart to see how they work, but is not mechanically inclined enough to put them back together properly. With all his other skills, the cat part I value the most. I hate'em. So he will always have a home and all the Science Diet he can eat.

Dee
That there is a dog after my heart We had a jack russel female who rid the yard of tresspassin critters and such but the wife has a daycare and xena was nippy with the kids so she went to live with people who love her and don't have a bunch of kids I have two beagles that both my buddies and hunting partners we do not have many birds but I have seen beagles that would trail pheasants I think if you start shooting grouse over beagles they would get the Idea btw must be nice to have grouse locally
Roy