what dog for ducks and grouse?

I have two tollers, a 9 year old female and a 12 year old male. Both are great waterfowl and upland dogs. Super birdy, great noses, and they do the famous tolling. They like my old lab and drathaars, absolutely love to hunt. They are great companions, and good family dogs. If you want a smaller hard charging dog, a toller might be a good choice for you. My female is 42 pounds and my male is 50 pounds.

Tolling is really amazing to see. Canada’s and snows will toll in. Divers, gadwall, widgeon, and teal will all toll in. Pintails sometimes. I would say mallards are the hardest to toll in to the decoys. I am in Saskatchewan, so I don’t know about black ducks and woodies. One of the more entertaining ducks is the ruddy duck, they love to be tolled and are fun to watch too.


Iron Glove said:
Yep, we have a Toller but she's gun shy :( so she's "just" a pet. Great dogs tho' and we do know many that are accomplished hunters.
There is another Gunnutz who is familiar with Tollers - I believe he goes by the name "Toller" - go figure. :D
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Who's breeding small munsterlanders in ON from hunting stock after Josef passed away?

Had one twenty years ago, have a Pudlepointer now. Different strokes for different folks but the nuttiness of a Pudlepointer is hard to resist.

The true answer to the OPs decade old question is "a versatile hunting breed." All the breed preferences within that category are subjective based on what you want as an owner and hunter and your own personality... I have my breed preferences but I'd never presume to suggest they'd be the best or even suited for anyone else. The correct answer is research the versatile breeds and put miles on the car visiting breeders to check them out. But a versatile breed is inarguably the answer, it's literally what they were bred for. Retrievers are for retrieving, flushers are for flushing, pointers are for pointing and versatiles are for all of those.

If you want a guarantee of a good retriever and good grouse dog, the only answer is a versatile breed. I would generally stay away from Labs for grouse hunting; they're cute and friendly but as dumb as a box of rocks, which doesn't help much with B. Umbellus. On the other hand, if I was a dedicated waterfowl hunter, I'd leave my delicate princess of a wuss behind and take a much more workmanlike Lab to go pick birds out of freezing water. My girl is a dedicated, maniacally driven grouse murderer, a highly capable retriever, and loves hunting winter snowshoes as much as I do, but she's got to keep moving. Ten minutes in a cold duck blind after a retrieve and she's a shivering mess. On the other hand, she runs a lot cooler than a warmer coated dog hunting grouse in the earlier season, which means longer hunts and better performance.

Horses for courses. Don't ask what's best, decide what qualities you want then find a breed that matches. Asking what's best is like asking what the best deer rifle is, or what shotgun to use for upland game... it depends, man.
 
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I used to use Springer Spaniels. They were very good at grouse but hit and miss at waterfowl. One that I had loved retrieving ducks and geese, the other only did it because it was required but didn't like it much.
Since then I have gone to Labs. My first lab is 10 now and still had a great season last year. He absolutely loves both hunting grouse and waterfowl. I will get another lab when he starts slowing down.

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This is an old thread, but the info has not changed in the past decade...

I have had several sporting bird breeds, Chessies, Labs, Goldens and Springers... also a few hound breeds. My favourite breeds for upland hunting are flushing breeds. I don't enjoy hunting over pointing breeds nearly as much as flushers, perhaps a personality thing. My current dog is an English Springer, as was my previous dog... Springers may not be classified as a "Versatile" breed, but they are certainly versatile in the field... they flush and retrieve fur and feather on land or on water. But if waterfowl is the primary game there are better choices... Lexie does a good job on ducks and geese, but does not have the brawn or undercoat for the harsh conditions of late season hunts. Mind you, on Nov/Dec big water hunts, I wouldn't send any dog after a crippled Whistler. Springers and labs are both enjoyable companions at home and in the field.
 
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strange thing everyone tends to by pass a Chesapeake bay retriever,
they make incredibly awesome upland hunting dogs
as well are the best cold miserable weather waterfowl retriever there is
they are also great family dogs,
that will stand their ground for you your children your wife and all your belongings
with a chessie you wont ever have to worry about forgetting to lock yer doors at night again
and are by far the most loyal dog there is
many say they are stubborn and hard to train
but those that say this only say it because the dog is usually smarter then they are
and they don't have a clue how to train a dog that can think for itself
and a chessie is extremely intelligent
in actuality you can hurt a chessies feeling way easier then any of the other breeds
they are more in tune with their owner and trainer as well,
even though they bond with your wife and children,
they will bond with you and be more loyal to you as a hunting, trainer and partner
and when it comes to hunting they have no quit , to them ,
its go full out all day everyday they can get out and hunt
as well if you have a special needs child
the chessie will bond and be that child's legs and eyes and arms
with little to no training. they just seem to know that that child or person is special
 
cant_rope_the_wind01 said:
strange thing everyone tends to by pass a Chesapeake bay retriever,
they make incredibly awesome upland hunting dogs
as well are the best cold miserable weather waterfowl retriever there is
they are also great family dogs,
that will stand their ground for you your children your wife and all your belongings
with a chessie you wont ever have to worry about forgetting to lock yer doors at night again
and are by far the most loyal dog there is
many say they are stubborn and hard to train
but those that say this only say it because the dog is usually smarter then they are
and they don't have a clue how to train a dog that can think for itself
and a chessie is extremely intelligent
in actuality you can hurt a chessies feeling way easier then any of the other breeds
they are more in tune with their owner and trainer as well,
even though they bond with your wife and children,
they will bond with you and be more loyal to you as a hunting, trainer and partner
and when it comes to hunting they have no quit , to them ,
its go full out all day everyday they can get out and hunt
as well if you have a special needs child
the chessie will bond and be that child's legs and eyes and arms
with little to no training. they just seem to know that that child or person is special
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My daughter has had two chessies, one presently, both sensitive and very territorial.They are very hard to anger, but you don't want to mess with them when they are! You must research the previous litters carefully. A bad pair of hips can break your heart and your bank. What good is a money back hip guarantee if he/she's been a member of your family for 3 years. My daughter's Finnegan @ 8 weeks was $3800 and forced to put him down after 7 years and over $10,000 in vet bills! Her new one, Amy now 5 yrs. has bullet proof hips!Most good breeders will give references. Both my Gordons will hunt Ptarmigan, grouse and ducks with equal fervour.
 
stratosonic said:
What I've been thinking. A dog with the qualities of a Lab but doesn't shed, or at least not too much.
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You should look up the Pudelpointer. The concept you admire was invented about 100 years ago in Germany, and has been upgraded and perfected in the many years since. Labradoodles are a recent attempt at a "designer" breed that may or may not have any hunting ability, and far too many carry the extreme variations of an F2 cross. Labradoodles have had great marketing success, but field credentials? not so much. By comparison, only Pudelpointers conforming to breed standard genotype and phenotype and field tested for natural ability and hunting performance ever get to breed - and puppies from those litters are only sold to hunters. You might get lucky with a Labradoodle, but why fight the odds?
 
I have a (now retired) Brittany. Fantastic dog, and very intelligent. An older post described them as high-strung, which is an understatement. They are a breed that loves a job though, and will go all day in any weather. My guy is going on 14 now, but he'd swim until he drowns when he spots birds on the water.
 
Labradoodles I've met while happy lack the hunting instincts of the Labrador or some lines of standard poodles. Add to that most of the breeders of Labradoodles seem to be less than interested in breeding a proficient healthy hunting line and instead try and produce as many high dollar designer mutts as they can make a buck off of. That is why the same breeders often have every type of doodle available. Labradoodles provide good pets but I wouldn't get one looking to get a hunting companion that can hang with a gundog bred for the purpose.
If I could be shown a labradoodle breeder that actually tried to improve the breed and better the hunting abilities and health of their lines I would be interested in possibly getting a pup from them.
 
Longwalker said:
You should look up the Pudelpointer. The concept you admire was invented about 100 years ago in Germany, and has been upgraded and perfected in the many years since. Labradoodles are a recent attempt at a "designer" breed that may or may not have any hunting ability, and far too many carry the extreme variations of an F2 cross. Labradoodles have had great marketing success, but field credentials? not so much. By comparison, only Pudelpointers conforming to breed standard genotype and phenotype and field tested for natural ability and hunting performance ever get to breed - and puppies from those litters are only sold to hunters. You might get lucky with a Labradoodle, but why fight the odds?
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Unless they're slick. Then they shed like a SOB. I have a slick PP, prefer it for the ease of keeping her clean and running cooler on grouse, but she sheds like it's going out of style.

True story though, I literally had to show my PAL and hunting license to get on the list. For me, PP is like the perfect fit in personality and hunting traits, buuuuuuuut.... they do have "personality." Like as in a BIG personality. Velcro dog like a Viszla, tries to be a lap dog like a... well, whatever breed lapdogs are, and are awfully independent. I came down one morning in the winter to find the front door wide open and the first floor freezing. I thought I was losing my mind, I was sure I had closed it. A week or so later the same thing. Finally a few weeks after that the answer became apparent when Lola ran by me in the living room and without pausing opened the front door and let herself out for a pee.. Laugh2
They're definitely big personality, high energy dogs. Mostly couch potatoes in the house though.
 
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I had a really good French Brittany. She was an excellent retriever. She would even dive under water to retrieve ducks. Really close working dog for upland.
 
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