Hunting dog choices, Pudelpointer or Brittney. Please help!

dan240

dan240

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Hi all, i'm looking to get a dog come the spring and can't make up my mind/ need help. I'm looking at both a Brittany and a pudelpointer. I do have allergies so it is a factor but from my reading either of these dogs should be fine with normal grooming. I hunt grouse as well as duck/geese. I'm leaning hard on the pudel because of it's size and ability for both job's, but need to get one out of the states by the looks of it, where as Brittney's can be sourced half locally. I need to put in right away to hopefully get one for the spring/summer. Any advice/ input from any owner's of any of these breeds would be much appreciated.
 
Another breeder to look at, serious about the dogs, a member of NAPA.
http://www.pudelpointer.com/eng/pages/history.html

Don't feel you have to limit yourself to local breeders, get the best dog you can even if it requires a wait as you will have them for a long time. After 2 years waiting I picked my male up in PQ, drove 7hrs from GTA to get him and my female came from AZ. Shipping a pup is pretty straightforward.

Both breeds can be burr magnets, really hairy dogs in both breeds. There are shorter coated Brittanies and short coated PP as well as slick coats, would probably be better for your condition. The shorter coats makes the end of the hunt quicker when there is no coat cleaning and detangling.

And the price of the pup should not be a major factor IMO, a trip to the vet can quickly erase any cost savings. A very important factor is overall health of the parents and grandparents, genetic health issues cost major dollars and heartache if the animal has to be put down

PS FWIW PP are not my breed so no breeder bias.
 
I don't know what this breed is but it gets my vote!!

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I gave strong consideration to the Pudelpointer before getting my Drahthaar. Steve Brodeur is a breeder and NAVHDA judge, and his kennel is only about a 2 hour drive for me. I went with the Draht because even sight-unseen, you are pretty much guaranteed a solid dog. It cost $250 via Air Canada Cargo to get my dog from Newfoundland to QC.
 
Any of the Spaniels have 3/4 webbed feet and can swim like a fish. You don't teach Spaniels to find birds, they already know, you simply teach them to bring them back .
 
I've had Britts for more than 30 years and if you are primarily hunting upland with some waterfowl they would be a good choice. They work hard and will retrieve in water but would struggle to bring in a goose due to their relatively small size though I did have one over sized boy that weighed in at 70lb and happily retrieved geese in cold water. For comparison sake the Shepherd is 105lb and the other Britt 40lb.

 
The best dog I had for ducks and grouse was a springer/Lab cross. As he was getting older I looked at getting another but the only one breeding such was in the states and quite expensive. Next dog was a Lab/Chesapeake cross and he is a giant of a dog and a fair to good hunter.

Now I have a Lab/Setter cross and she looks to have lots of potential but is yet a little gun shy. We are working on that problem.

I have always thought a brittany was kind of small for a combo hunting dog. But they do seem to be packed full of energy and go.
 
I've always had Springers but always said my next bird dog would be a Brittany. Unfortunately my wife doesn't share the same sentiments, so no more dogs for me! I've hunted over Britt's before and found them to be awesome close working dogs on upland game, on waterfowl I found my Springers to be better. Don't know anyone with a pudelpointer so I can't comment on their pro's or cons but all gun dogs are good if trained right. Good Luck with whatever you choose.
 
I chose a Brittany for their size. Easy to pack around. High energy level especially when a puppy and can make you crazy. Same comment about retrieving geese, pretty much on the small side for that. Very personable dog and an excellent pet the 10 months you are not hunting. Had an English Setter and he was an excellent grouse dog, useless in the water. The pudelpointer is a breed I know nothing about. Good idea to be planning ahead as it is a 12-15 year investment of time and energy (dog owners never calculate in the money part, not really relevant is it?).
 
We have 3 britts and they are high energy dogs, good pets around the house, great for upland, good for ducks, never hunted geese with them but I imagine they'd struggle a bit with a big one. I tell my wife that when I'm older and my knees won't let me hunt upland anymore that we'll get a lab and sit in a blind instead. Don't know anything about a pudel pointer although I've seen one hunt upland pretty well.
 
After 20+ years of Labs and Golden Retrievers I spent a lot of time looking at different breeds before choosing a new pup this last spring. I did know I wanted a versatile dog that was not as large as the Labs.

This was my final choice, a Field-Bred English Springer.

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