wildfowling dog

[garyb]

thanks all.

i have decided to go for a springer so is there any particular bloodline i should look out for.

pricewise from what i have seen looks like £400 - £450 for a pup dog but any idea how much a part trained 1 yr old would cost.

 

cheers, jay.

 

 

Most of the bigger, stronger dogs seem to be out of Badgercourt lines.

[jay851]

if you want a dog purely for wildfowling there is really only one breed to choose, there are thousands of wildfowlers out there and if you ask them what dogs they have 95% will say the same

 

i'll give you a clue it starts with L and ends with ABRADOR, i assume you will be using a shotgun and not a bow and arrow to shoot with so do yourself a favor and get the right tool for the job

 

mikee

 

as stated in original post getting a dog that begins with L and ends in ABRADOR is not an option, hence the question about springers.

[al4x]

if you're intending it to be live in with the family then you will probably be best getting a pup as most part trained ones are likely to have been kenneled

[jay851]

if you're intending it to be live in with the family then you will probably be best getting a pup as most part trained ones are likely to have been kenneled

 

good point, cheers.

im still undecided whether to have it indoors or build a kennel and run as im worried about the kids spoiling it while im at work.

[Benellimelody]

thanks all.

any idea how much a part trained 1 yr old would cost.

 

 

You would probably be looking at about £750minimum (KC Registered) but might get lucky.

 

Be careful if buying part trained tho cos there is always a reason and people lie more when money is involved(eg.gun shy, nervous wreck)

 

Your best bet would be to go through a well known dog breeeder who you can trust and tell him what you are looking for. There are often trial dogs that are not stylish or hot enough to make the grade or are whiners for sale - however if fully trained and have good lines these may easily be over a grand

 

Good luck - and a springer is more than capable of the job.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Benellimelody

[MC]

Most of the bigger, stronger dogs seem to be out of Badgercourt lines.

 

Merlin is heavy with Badgercourt lines and that is why I got Fleur from Thornycourt gundgogs in derbyshire as Tony is carrying on the lines albeit with a different kennel name.

 

Merlin has no issues with sitting still while fowling, or retrieveing geese. He has also mastered that look when you miss

 

Tony had an advert in last weeks shooting times for some Badgercourt pups. If you want the number then PM me.

[jay851]

Merlin is heavy with Badgercourt lines and that is why I got Fleur from Thornycourt gundgogs in derbyshire as Tony is carrying on the lines albeit with a different kennel name.

 

Merlin has no issues with sitting still while fowling, or retrieveing geese. He has also mastered that look when you miss

 

Tony had an advert in last weeks shooting times for some Badgercourt pups. If you want the number then PM me.

 

cheers martin :blink:

have looked at their website and will have a chat with them when im ready to get one.

[shotgun tim]

iv got 3 chesapeake bay retreivers best dod in my eyes good with all other dogs good with kids in the water you would think they have an outboard on there backs

[cracker]

Shotgun, that may be - some of it anyhow ("best with the other dogs?" - surely you're TTP? ) Now a mini-Chessie on the other hand - also known as the Boykin spaniel (and since the original post was about spaniels as wildfowling dogs) certainly lives up to the billing.

 

 

 

 

They are good upland (questing) dogs that happen to excel at nonslip work - if so trained, and most of them are. Unfortunately very very few of them are to be found outside the US - shame, that. Pound for pound - the one above weighs less than two stone - best gundog breed on the planet.

 

MG

[ziplex]

Shotgun, that may be - some of it anyhow ("best with the other dogs?" - surely you're TTP? ) Now a mini-Chessie on the other hand - also known as the Boykin spaniel (and since the original post was about spaniels as wildfowling dogs) certainly lives up to the billing.

 

 

 

 

They are good upland (questing) dogs that happen to excel at nonslip work - if so trained, and most of them are. Unfortunately very very few of them are to be found outside the US - shame, that. Pound for pound - the one above weighs less than two stone - best gundog breed on the planet.

 

MG

 

I've spoke to you before about these cracking dogs and, as you say, they are sadly unlikely to be found outside the us..............shame as they appear to be a bit special.

[jay851]

cracker - great looking dog mate, would definately consider one of them if they were not so hard to get hold of

[Spaniel]

lovely dogs and i have only ever seen one advertisement in the uk advertising these for sale.....

[cracker]

Ta for the nice words, and while I'd delight in seeing Boykins take hold in the UK, it'd be bringing coals to Newcastle. Boykins really are nothing that a cocker (personal favourite of spaniels) or springer (gold standard of spaniels) can't be - just how they're brought on. They do have the Chessie lineage to go by, but it's the training as nonslip that puts them out front amongst spaniels for wildfowling. The reasoning behind it is Boykins came into play as "the little dog that doesn't rock the boat" for wildfowlers gunning from small craft such as canoes on creeks and little rivers of South Carolina, USA - where wildfowl was abundant. But I know that cockers and springers can match up with their every step for wildfowling, if trained that way with the questing and steadiness to flush and shot brought along too. Actually, training nonslip augments the spaniel's bread and butter bits quite nicely.

 

MG

[ziplex]

Ta for the nice words, and while I'd delight in seeing Boykins take hold in the UK, it'd be bringing coals to Newcastle. Boykins really are nothing that a cocker (personal favourite of spaniels) or springer (gold standard of spaniels) can't be - just how they're brought on. They do have the Chessie lineage to go by, but it's the training as nonslip that puts them out front amongst spaniels for wildfowling. The reasoning behind it is Boykins came into play as "the little dog that doesn't rock the boat" for wildfowlers gunning from small craft such as canoes on creeks and little rivers of South Carolina, USA - where wildfowl was abundant. But I know that cockers and springers can match up with their every step for wildfowling, if trained that way with the questing and steadiness to flush and shot brought along too. Actually, training nonslip augments the spaniel's bread and butter bits quite nicely.

 

MG

 

Cracker,

 

What does 'nonslip' mean?.......excuse my ignorance but is that a term for steadiness?

[cracker]

Nonslip - Zip, sitting at a handler's side until commanded (or released by the handler) to make a retrieve. As in a hide or afield at a retriever trial.

 

Would be nice if nonslip was always the operative word with my spaniels, alas they have a predilection to "unslip," such as below, and you can see the outcome further below. I would say fruit flushing - and "hunter-gathering" - is something the Boykin spaniel is unsurpassed at. Look closely at how many figs were on the tree in the first photo and what was left a few seconds later.

 

 

 

MG

Edited September 10, 2010 by cracker

[WGD]

Cracker, from what you say the Boykin is bred from wildfowling stock so the "nonslip" as you put it is perhaps easier to achieve than with some of the spaniels bred this side of the pond where very fast, very hard hunting is a trait often sought. I completely agree that a springer or a cocker are more than capable of carrying out the tasks asked in wildfowling, it's the patience, or lack of, that can prove an issue and lead to noise if a high drive dog is expected to spend a long time lying still, say out on the marsh.

[ziplex]

Understood, been lucky perhaps with my Springer as she's happy in the hide or at the foreshore, makes no noise and will look to me for a command after a shot is fired and will not go until told, she's like a coiled spring waiting but holds steady.

[cracker]

I completely agree that a springer or a cocker are more than capable of carrying out the tasks asked in wildfowling, it's the patience, or lack of, that can prove an issue and lead to noise if a high drive dog is expected to spend a long time lying still, say out on the marsh.

 

 

No disagreement whatsoever, WGD.

 

I'm a fan of hard hunting and dogs, especially spaniels, being on the edge of control. But preventing the restlessness - and noise issue that's cropped up recently in another thread - are what's behind the early introduction we give them to game, so that confronting it, and handling it (i.e., retrieving) become commonplace to them and their focus intensifies, not their animation.

 

Their instincts are thus able to kick in without figurative or literal restraints put on them, which often would result in either vocalizing (noise) or "antsiness." They also are taught the side delivery, or what you call presentation, after retrieving - which puts further governance on their becoming, shall we say, too animated.

 

Also adhere to how our retrievers are trained: One at a time afield, with the other dogs to be trained same day observing the working either from a crate or from sitting at a handler's side behind the working setup. Most beneficial for spaniels, if protocol starts early enough.

 

MG

Edited September 10, 2010 by cracker

[jay851]

thanks for all the imput but things have changed a little.

After discussing with the missus about having a kennel she has decided that if it is outside it does

not matter which dog i get. So.....i could now get a lab which would suit my needs better but......

I like the look of the chesapeakes more. are chessies harder to train than labs and would i be ' biting off more than i can chew ' Being a novice trainer. A classic case of following my head or my heart.

Lastly are chessie pups quite easy to get hold of.

Cheers. jay.

[kent]

thanks for all the imput but things have changed a little.

After discussing with the missus about having a kennel she has decided that if it is outside it does

not matter which dog i get. So.....i could now get a lab which would suit my needs better but......

I like the look of the chesapeakes more. are chessies harder to train than labs and would i be ' biting off more than i can chew ' Being a novice trainer. A classic case of following my head or my heart.

Lastly are chessie pups quite easy to get hold of.

Cheers. jay.

Not as easy or cheap as a decent lab, they have a bit of a reputation for stuborness that actually attracts me and am considering one myself. IMO you are going to have an easier ride with a lab and many more to choose from so be choosey if you take that route

[WGD]

I agree with kent, Chessies also have a reputation for dog aggression but I am very conscious this is a generalisation and will not apply to all dogs. Gut feeling is that as a novice I would be doing your homework on the huge amount of lab lines and characteristics available and going down that route.

[jay851]

looking more and more like getting a lab.

What would be the favoured bloodline in labs to look out for.

And are chocolate brown labs up to the same standard as yellow/black ones, im sure i read somewhere that

the are not but please correct me if im wrong.

 

Jay.

[jay851]

looking more and more like getting a lab.

What would be the favoured bloodline in labs to look out for.

And are chocolate brown labs up to the same standard as yellow/black ones, im sure i read somewhere that

the are not but please correct me if im wrong.

 

Jay.

[shakin stevens]

ive got two chocolate dogs ended up with them from a broken home, from what ive been told they are harder to train than other

coloured labs, both are 7yr old and are great for wildfowling,very strong in the water and steady when sat on the marsh. got them

fetching big canada geese by just walking away and leaving them to it,in the end they wouldnt leave the goose and didnt want to

get left behind.

[WGD]

For the most part, black, yellow and fox red labs are the colours you have a choice from from pure working lines. Chocolates are on the increase but I would suggest you give them a bodyswerve and go for something with a good long lineage of working dogs behind it. Don't need to have FTCh through and through, just a pup from proven stock.