rimmie Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 (edited) Hi all, I'm really getting the urge to get a gundog.iv always wanted a pointer or vizla and have a real soft spot for e/s/s.It would mainly be for driven/rough shooting so retrieve and flushing game. BUT because of work I don't think I could get one :(. I have been around gundogs for many years and have seen most breeds work and have read up a fair bit on training etc.... So I feel with a bit of guidance (a very good friend is a trainer) I would really enjoy this part of our sport. Suggestions lads ? Edited November 22, 2012 by rimmie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Firstly 99% of us dog owners have to work so that should not be a issue as long as it has a suitable kennel and run , of course the dog will need exercising when you get home. If its your first gun dog I would go for the spaniel of the ones you have mentioned as it will be the easier to train , dont rule out a Lab though as it would be a suitable dog for what you require. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert 888 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 I work 12 hour shifts and live on my own,dogs live outside.Got them around 9 month old,I whent for two medium/large springers the best and worst thing i have done in my life. Wildfowling,rough shooting,flushing,picking up,crow shooting,pigeon shooting,fox drives even been on the moors for grouse walked up. Mine are no means highly trained but do everything i need from them and some more. If i was to get another dog i would go for a larger spinger if possible maybe a lab purely for geese in the tide.Thease are my thoughts but everyone else wants and needs are different. I can see an argument starting about labs and springers or keeping dogs inside or outside. Best thing to do is buy what you want or need. Always wanted a vizla,pointeror weimerana cant spell that sorry. But realised it wasnt the dog i needed. Good look and happy hunting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimmie Posted November 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 I have considered a lab, and to be fair a lab would do everything I wanted in a gundog but I do really want a spaniel !! I might just get one, with a bit more research. I might look at the garden and see if a good sized Kennel is an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert 888 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Have a word with your trainer mate and take onboard what he says. The dog run in my garden is 12ftx12ft covered roof and sides 50%open with a sleeping compartment a day bench and a day box this is for two medium large springers.looks rather like an avery. Dont have a lab so cant coment much about them. You wont go wrong with a springer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 ESS all the way if its trained well it will do every thing you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted November 22, 2012 Report Share Posted November 22, 2012 Spaniel I'd say of cocker best for rough shooting and easier to train than pointers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Hi all, I'm really getting the urge to get a gundog.iv always wanted a pointer or vizla and have a real soft spot for e/s/s.It would mainly be for driven/rough shooting so retrieve and flushing game. BUT because of work I don't think I could get one :(. I have been around gundogs for many years and have seen most breeds work and have read up a fair bit on training etc.... So I feel with a bit of guidance (a very good friend is a trainer) I would really enjoy this part of our sport. Suggestions lads ? Firstly has something changed in your work life. Next its what you want the dog to do a pure pointer would be poor at best as they are not usually meant to retrieve in the UK. So i assume you mean a HPR ? in some respects ideal but you need to totally understand what they must and must not do from the off- otherwise you get a long range spaniel come half lab. Plumbing for the spaniels or retrievers is a good place to start as there are far more people who understand what they must and must not do and most importantly how to achieve this aim. If you dont like the look or breed tendencies then don't go there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee-kinsman Posted November 23, 2012 Report Share Posted November 23, 2012 Personally I would recommend a lab as a first gundog because they are by far easier to train and you can afford a greater margin for mistakes in there training. It's not just the dog that needs training but the handler and keeping on top a novice spaniel whilst allowing it to hunt up for your gun can be hard work and quite frustrating when your trying to re-inforce the desired reaction from the dog to a flush whilst keeping your gun pointing accurately enough for the shot, this can allow for the dog to pick up habits of disobedience to no fault of it's own. It ammuses me at how a dog knows when you have removed your attention to focus completely on something else. A lab does take advantage of these situations but when the lab leaves you from heel without instruction it's easier for a novice handler to learn to preempt in order to correct a run in from the dog. I have both a lab and a springer and both are completely different dogs in behaviour and character. At the end of the day I would summarise and say that whichever you go for be committed to training your dog in the way that you will get the best out of it. People say that they just want a gundog not a trialing dog but in my opinion a handler should always train for the best the dog can be. ATB, Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 im a bit sooft in the head and heart, but if you are out a lot, like i used to be then get 2 dogs, as they will be company for each other, they dont have to be the same........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeroin Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 (edited) Personally I would recommend a lab as a first gundog because they are by far easier to train and you can afford a greater margin for mistakes in there training. It's not just the dog that needs training but the handler and keeping on top a novice spaniel whilst allowing it to hunt up for your gun can be hard work and quite frustrating when your trying to re-inforce the desired reaction from the dog to a flush whilst keeping your gun pointing accurately enough for the shot, this can allow for the dog to pick up habits of disobedience to no fault of it's own. It ammuses me at how a dog knows when you have removed your attention to focus completely on something else. A lab does take advantage of these situations but when the lab leaves you from heel without instruction it's easier for a novice handler to learn to preempt in order to correct a run in from the dog. I have both a lab and a springer and both are completely different dogs in behaviour and character. At the end of the day I would summarise and say that whichever you go for be committed to training your dog in the way that you will get the best out of it. People say that they just want a gundog not a trialing dog but in my opinion a handler should always train for the best the dog can be. ATB, Lee Could not agree more. Many say they are put off by red in the pedigree because the dog will be too this, or too that, but in most cases they are put off by their own lack of confidence or someone elses lack of confidence, to take a well bred animal that has a history full of dogs and bitches all proven fit for purpose animals, and put their minds, hearts, and soles, into the training which is in fact, made easier the better and more well bred a dog is ( not neccessarily always FTCh's throughout). A decent pedigree with a combination of field trial winners and FTCh's within it almost allways g'tees no serious faults,In the right hands. OP'er, understand what it is you need and want from a dog then research the life out of the particular breeds until you find something suitable for you. Make the phone calls to trainers, some of them will not give you the time of day, others will, ask their opinions on lines, sires, bitches, look at the health side of things within certain breeds, get a clear picture of what you want from a dog (and this might change, the deeper into the training side you get) then once all the homework is done, give it a go. Edited November 26, 2012 by zeroin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 Posts making personal attack have been removed, as have posts referring to them. Keep it civil and polite please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Rimmie - in your OP you say "because of work I don't think I could get one". Is this the question? Or is it breed related? Personally I work and have dogs, it is easier with more than one dog because they are company for each other and a single dog in a kennel never seems to me to be the happiest existence however I have done it in the past with no ill effects. The issue IMO is the time required to bed the dog into your routine, you may be able to take a week off work but you are unlikely to be able to build up kennel time gradually when you return to work. I would be looking at buying a trained or part trained dog used to kennel life that you can feed once or twice a day (not having to worry about feeding a pup 4 times a day) and exercise/train before and after work. Don't let work stop you having a dog, just make sensible and informed decisions before committing. Hope that's of some help. BTW - ESS/Lab doesn't really matter, I have both but if I could only have one breed it would be the spaniels, even though they drive me nuts at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Much as WGD says you can have a dog and work, while a pup mine used to spend the days at my mums then gradually I left her more and more and she got ino a routine. Now a decent walk she spends the day in bed till its time for another walk or indeed come weekends shooting or beating. That's a pointer so harder than a lab but easier than a spaniel, plus she lives inside. A springer you might find this a disaster though! What is another option is seeing if you can find someone local to give the dog a mid day walk / let out lots round us do it and keeps your life easy. Ultimately it's a balancing act but one worth making the effort for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimmie Posted November 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Thanks for the input guys, this is one part of our sport that's been nagging at me for a couple of years, but this is the situation, I currently live with my girlfriend and her mum. Me and the missis are saving up to get our first place together so kennels are not on the cards at the min. Her mum only works a few days a week and only till 12.30 so there is someone there nearly all day everyday BUT when we move out witch is likely to be next summer'ish there will then be no one at home all day. So in regards to routine I don't want the dog getting used to having someone there all day then no one at all then being in a kennel. Would this stress the dog out and ruin any training ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 ok I would say get the pup asap then it will be 6 months plus before its left, then you need to find a way of building it up to being left for longer periods, are you moving far away or is there the chance of getting her mum to let it out occasionally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 As a novice gundog owner requiring a dog for flushing and retrieving (incl sitting still on driven days), I would suggest a labrador retriever. Springers are great fun and I have owned two, but they are perpetual movement machines and born to hunt. Sitting in a hide, or long periods of inactivity in the field, drives them nuts (it can also cause the dreaded squeak). In the domestic circumstances you describe, perhaps you should consider buying a part trained dog. This way you get an older dog (no puppy grief), thats biddable for you to bring on and will quickly settle in the home. The thing to remember is that what ever you choose, it will be yours for 12 to 15 years. Thats a long time to live with a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimmie Posted November 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Thanks cranfield some good input, that's what worrys me whatever breed of dog I get is if I balls up its training !! I would hate to think iv ruined a perfectly good gundog due to being a novice. Frightens the life out me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Don't be frightened by training a dog! It can be the most frustrating and satisfying thing you do, but there is not one member on here who has a dog and hasn't made a barrowload of mistakes. The main thing is to know what you are trying to achieve and tailor training to suit. Word of warning with one dog though, there are very few dogs (and trainers) capable of having one dog to do everything. I do tend to agree with those who have suggested a lab, and even where kent says a trial bred lab would be difficult, there is an element of truth in that but I have a fast, hot, trial bred lab and it is positively relaxed compared to spaniels of equivalent breeding. There you go, part trained lab now and by the time you get your own place the dog will be settled into a routine and can be left while you are at work. Job done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Thanks cranfield some good input, that's what worrys me whatever breed of dog I get is if I balls up its training !! I would hate to think iv ruined a perfectly good gundog due to being a novice. Frightens the life out me. just enjoy it and try to find some 1to1 training Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Croc Posted December 2, 2012 Report Share Posted December 2, 2012 Rimmie find a Gundog club local(ish) to you and take, whatever breed you get, along to it. They will give you all the help and advice you want/need Enjoy the dog, as the song says, "don't worry, be happy" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.