rlewis Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 iam 14 years old and have been beating for 1 and half seasons now and i want a dog but i'am not sure what to get my uncle has cockers and i'am thinking about getting them but i do a lot of air rifle shooting and they say labs are best for picking up but iam not sure if i will be old enough to have a dog what should i do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBF Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 iam 14 years old and have been beating for 1 and half seasons now and i want a dog but i'am not sure what to get my uncle has cockers and i'am thinking about getting them but i do a lot of air rifle shooting and they say labs are best for picking up but iam not sure if i will be old enough to have a dog what should i do you are going to hear that a lab is the best breed especially as a begginer. i dont know if you've had dogs before or not though. dont forget that dog may live for 15 yrs and its going to be with you all that time. consider what that may mean when you are 20 and might want to go travelling etc. i dont like to say it to anyone but the clear truth of the matter is if you cant make time for the dog the only one that suffers is the dog itself. i was never allowed a dog as a kid at 23 i had done all the travelling and university etc and ive never been without a dog since. must admit i specifacally got an old dog needing a rehome for my first as although it may seem grim i knew the dog would only have another 6 or so years in him. sadly he only lasted 4 years but it was a good introduction to owning a dog, he got a loving home, and you CAN teach an old dog new tricks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Good advice from FBF. I had my first spaniel when I was 11, we had dogs in the house all the time when I grew up, and although she was "my" dog it was known by my folks that there was a good chance that I would be away from home (Uni etc - didn't do the travelling thing, got married instead ) and the dog would still be at home with them - and that's the way it happened - she lived to 16!!!! As FBF says, yourself and your family need to be 100% aware of the long term responsibilities of owning a dog. Sorry if that sounds a bit patronising but you don't say whether you have any experience of dogs. So that's that said, back to your original question, your choice of breed really depends on the type of shooting you do. If you are rough shooting and beating then a spaniel would be more suited, but labs can do it all albeit they do NOT hunt as well as a spaniel and I would argue that with any lab owner who claims their dog "quarters like a spaniel". I actually asked the same question re breeds on this forum not long ago as I am on the lookout for a new dog and wanted a range of opinions - although not new to dogs I am new to training my own gundog and the answers, as you would expect, were varied with most favouring their own breed. You need to consider the type of shooting you do and the type of shooting and activities you are likely to do as you get older - I personally don't think your choice of dog should be based on airgun shooting as you should be stalking, making clean kills and able to pick up for yourself (i'll stand by for the barrage of "it ain't that straightforward" :blink: ). If you intend getting into beating more seriously do you want to beat through the drives (spaniel work) or pick up behind the guns (lab work)? Or you could consider and HPR breed (Hunt, Point, Retrieve - German Short/Wirehaired Pointers, Weimaraners, Vizlas etc) which I would confess to knowing next to nothing about other than they seem to be more difficult to train than labs or spaniels - I would stay away at this stage. People will tell you that labs are easier to train than spaniels and to a certain extent that's true, we have a pet lab at the moment, but the key thing here is that you can end up with a problem lab just as easily as a problem spaniel if you don't put the time in to training whether it is for basic domestic obedience or field work. Whether it is a lab, spaniel or anything else make sure they come from working strain, the easiest was is to look for FTC/FTW in the pedigree (Field Trial Champion/Field Trial Winner) and stay away from anything abbreviated with SH (show) - the two strains are entirely different be it labs or spaniels. Lastly, if you are only going to have one dog for beating and you decide on a spaniel IMO an English Springer would be the one to have as there is no doubt in my mind that Cockers do not have the same stamina (once again I stand by for a barrage ). A strong and fit ESS, IMO will work harder for longer than a Cocker. Good luck anyway, think long and hard about it and take all the advice going - the above is just my opinion and varies wildy from other peoples. Not sure if I'm allowed to broadcast it here but one of the Mods will edit it if I'm not, the NOBS - National Organisation of Beaters and Pickers-up - forum is good for dog advice (www.nobs.org.uk/forum) Cheers WGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusk2dawn Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Good post and sound advice from wqd, said it all imo. D2D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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