Looking for Opinions on best bird dog breeding

[sgc]

Sorry for the off topic, but I know theres a lot of good dog men on this site & was wondering about opinions on best bird dog breeding & how to find a good breeder. Might be looking for a house pet / bird dog. Will have to share this one with family, so can't be strictly a hunting dog. German Shorthair would be my choice, but family seems to be leaning to a Brittany. I'm thinking a Brittany would be OK, because I believe they hunt a little closer, which is what I want. I think most important is; I'd be looking to avoid DOG JOCKEYS & inexperienced breeders. So; how would you go about finding my best chance of getting a pup that will grow up to be a good pet & bird dog? Thanks for any comments.

[royhollister]

what state are you from i live in mi. and if your looking for a house pet and a huntin dog you should go with an english setters. i know a guy that has some awsome dogs at good prices. let me know if interested.thanks roy

[MasonsBeagles]

not a bird hunter but a friend of mine swears by Brittanys

[Kevin Hamilton]

I like my English Pointer out of Guardrail breeding. They hunt harder than English Seter and German Shorthair but I have hunted with good dogs out of each breed.

[Chippewa01]

Llewellin's all the way. Calm in the house but machines in the field..... Straight Creek Kennels, West Liberty, Kentucky is in my opinion the best kennel for Llewellins. Mr. Bailey has been breeding and training bird dogs for over 40 years. This guy knows his stuff. I myself have two dogs from Straight Creek, and plan on possibly get one more in the next couple years.

[Keith C.]

Everyone is going to have different opinions and there are good and bad dogs in all the breeds listed.
Personally, I prefer German shorthair pointers for bird hunting.
I have sold pigeons and gamebirds for many years and have got to hunt and/or train behind most of the breeds of bird dogs.
German shorthairs, in my experiece, consistently find the most birds and are the easiest to hunt with.
When a line of well trained shorthairs point at where a cock pheasant is hidden it is a beautifull site.
I do have a vizsla, who is a pretty good dog and 1 brittany, who wants to visit the next state when let loose to hunt.
My adult shorthairs sleep by my bed at night and can be trusted to behave when left out when I am gone.
Keith

[sgc]

Keith, thats been my experience with German Shorthairs,too, but I thought Brittanys were supposed to hunt real close, behaved real well and were not hyper. The German Shorthairs I'm familiar with were from the 70's and they behaved like you say. I've heard, though, that they're breeding them longer legged now a-days & they range a lot more. I've also heard of bad barking problems in shorthairs. Have you seen any of this in shorthairs, & please give a little more infor. on what I said on Brittany's above (if possible). Thanks,

[HLC_Kennel]

Llewellin's all the way. Calm in the house but machines in the field..... Straight Creek Kennels, West Liberty, Kentucky is in my opinion the best kennel for Llewellins. Mr. Bailey has been breeding and training bird dogs for over 40 years. This guy knows his stuff. I myself have two dogs from Straight Creek, and plan on possibly get one more in the next couple years.

I have a LLewellin as well, heard lots of good thanks about Mr. Bailey.

[Norshore]

I also have a Llewellin from King's in Arkansas...they are great for my area,they seem to be a closer working dog and are a great dog in the house if you keep them brushed out. Most everyone I know seems to be hunting pointers though.

[Steve Shipman]

I've had them in the house and others in a outside kennel. German Shorthaired Pointers would be my choice. Wish we had enough birds in my area to warrant me having another. Great dogs.

[Chuck Terry]

If you want the best hunting dog a good, male, English Pointer is going to be hard to beat. Many important hunting traits have been weakened within many bird hunting breeds (including Setters and Brittanys). In my opinion, this is largely due to them being bred for multi-purposes including as show dogs and pets. The GSP seems to currently have a lot of breeders who are trying to better the breed (restore it?). JMO, English Pointers - especially the males - have a stubborn streak that makes them challenging to train and keep them from making as good a pet as a female Brittany. Plus, they eat SO MUCH that only serious bird hunters are willing to feed them. Consequently, this breed has remained the TRUE "bird dog" while the others got "side-tracked". If you want a family pet and a dog that will point you a few birds, go with a female Brittany or maybe a GSP. Of course, this is just my opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Keith C.]

SGC, there is a lot of size range in German shorthairs. I saw a male, solid liver shorthair a couple of weeks ago that weighed 103 pounds. He was not fat and was a very good looking dog. He probably weighs 20 more pounds than the next biggest shorthair I have seen. His owner said that during season he drops down to about 96 pounds and is really cut looking.
I went out with him, his owner and a black male shorthair that I ended up getting and the big male actually worked pretty close, usually staying closer than 50 yards.
I have two shorthairs that are sisters, Trixie and Dixie, that just turned one year old. They weigh about 35 to 40 pounds. Trixie is the smallest I have seen. The women I got them from said that when they purchased them they were all skin and bones, but Trixie was butterball fat when I got her from them. I met the breeder later on and after seeing his other dogs and talking to him, I have my doubts that he mistreated them
I have not run Trixie. Dixie usually stays within about 70 yards and will jump into and swim in any water, even if there is still ice on it.
My largest female, Chloe, is usually around 65 pounds and usually stays within 50 yards.
I have another big female, Maddy, who also stays close.
My smallest adult female, Emma, will run out of sight in thick stuff unless I call her in frequently. She weighs under 50 pounds.
I have a big, lanky male named Diamond that will take off like a rocket. I was not a big fan of shock collars, but Diamond is converting me into a believer. With a collar I can keep him within 80 yards or so and he does a good job: otherwise I have to call him a whole lot and he has a tendency to go on point out of sight.
I like the larger size shorthairs better.
I am hoping to trial Dixie and Fiver and Sliver, two pups out of Chloe and Hunters Little Buddy III, son of 3 time National Gun Dog Champion and Field Champion GK's Rise "N" Shine by this Fall.
I would go with a German shorthair pointer.
Keith

[mtnwaykennel]

I like the English Pointers. I have a couple Elhew bred hounds and I love them. My two males are in the house. They are nice hounds! My biggest male weighs in at a whopping 80 pounds!!!

[tinymwoods]

Look at these pics of Bill's Pointer. The first pics are of the pups he raised, and the one at the bottom is of his grown male. He is a somewhat hyper dog, but listens very well. If I had to choose one, it would be a pointer like his.