Swiss Army Hunt Dog and Family Pet

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Gruven75

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I am looking at adding a member to the family and for selfish reasons want a decent all around hunt dog. What are some of the top breeds for general hunting dog that can do it all (tracking, driving, retrieving, companionship) and also being a great family pet, or is there such a breed?. I am out in the country so there is room to run. I do realize that each task will take training, time and lots of patience. Thanks in advance for any "Pointers"....;)
 
Gruven75 said:
I am looking at adding a member to the family and for selfish reasons want a decent all around hunt dog. What are some of the top breeds for general hunting dog that can do it all (tracking, driving, retrieving, companionship) and also being a great family pet, or is there such a breed?. I am out in the country so there is room to run. I do realize that each task will take training, time and lots of patience. Thanks in advance for any "Pointers"....;)
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I have seen first hand the versatility and skill of a small Münsterländer as a hunting partner and as a pet. Great bird dogs, they love the water and have a keen nose.
 
meh, I'm kinda partial to my rottweiller as a hunting dog.... and no, I'm not kidding.
I only take him deer hunting though. I keep him well trained using the deer that frequent the yard. He drops and watches and will not move a muscle or make a sound even when I'm in the house and he doesn't know I'm watching from the window. When I tell him "track" , off he goes and sniffs out everywhere they walked. He knows full well that deer are people food and does his part to bring home the meat , even if it's to silently keep me company :)
 
The "versatile" breeds of pointers from continental Europe are certainly good choices, but what are your actual hunting goals and what kind of experience training dogs do you have? Training is the make or break of any dog regardless of breed, and consistency is what is most important (IMO). If you aren't looking for a dog that will push large game like a hound then most of the hunting breeds would satisfy your needs, if you're looking to blood trail shot large game and the driving and retrieving is upland game and fowl then the Retrievers have been doing yoemans work for generations at this. So what do you hope this dog to accomplish and do you want it to point or flush?

I've yet to encounter a dog that used its nose to find hidden treats that couldn't be trained to blood trail better than a human.
 
We had a Bordercollie X Lab.
What a fabulous dog.
Witt of the B/C and the nose of the Lab.
Easy to train and a great companion.
Miss that pooch dearly.
She sat beside me in the truck and came along with me whatever it
was I did.
Fishing, hunting, walking, quadding or out in the shop fix'in chit and drink'in reebs.
She loved that chit.

I go now................:(
 
For me it has to be an Airedale Terrier. They were bred as a hunting jack of all trades - although you could say they excel on fur. I'd get in touch with Clint from Airy Mountain Airedales in the Kootenays. He has been hunting with these dogs for a very long time. You can also check out the Traditional Working Airedale Terrier forum. You will need to join but there is a great deal of information and hunting related content available, as well as folks offering pups for sale.

Airy Mountain Airedales:
http://www3.telus.net/airedales/hunting_breeding.htm

Forums:
http://traditionalairedale.proboards.com/


A few pictures:

My dog - she tracked this deer on Haida Gwaii - we NEVER would have recovered the deer without her help. Perfect lung shot but no blood and extremely thick cover. She found the deer under a deadfall about 50 yards into the thick stuff. When I say thick, I mean you couldn't see more than 2 to 5 yards.
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Easy "track" job in the snow. We just let her have the glory anyways.
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She gets REALLY jacked up about bears:
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Just hanging out above the treeline:
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One of the TWA forum members uses his to hunt pheasant:
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Sire of my dog - this dog came from Clint at Airy Mountain. I have a picture of him chasing a full grown grizzly. I'll post it if I can find it:

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True versatility - digging for razor clams ;)
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And of course she is a family pet...
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Go see Mike Pallota at PineRidge PudelPointers. Ugly dogs but bred to hunt, solid on point, easy to train, and great family pets. Plus they don't shed much.


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My vote goes to the Lab. I have had two now and looking for another. Great generalist hunters and an amazing member of the family.

The first Lab was retrieving ducks at 5 months. She loved the hunt. She would start screaming if she saw me pull the guns from the locker or the camp jacket from the closet. Her nose was amazing and if she saw the bird go down she was on it so fast. By three years she was the most phenomenal dog I ever hunted with whether we were after mallards and geese or walking for uplands. In the field, she had different tail wiggles for huns, sharpies, and pheasants. If she picked up the scent, we knew what was going to flush long before we saw it. Trained her to ignore squirrels, rabbits, and porcupines. She knew to keep her distance when we encountered bears. At home she was a loyal member of the family. The bond was just as strong as that between a parent and child. So intelligent as well. We gave her jobs around the house like carrying laundry baskets or groceries. I miss that girl.

The next Lab was not as great a hunter but another wonderful family dog. She could get a bit jealous when my son came along but everything worked out well. She loved to run, loved being out in the field.
 
German pointers are one of the most child friendly field dog breeds on earth... I have one. She’s an amazing dog. High energy and affectionate.... they do have some inherent issues with the breed such as lumps and bad teeth. Otherwise go for it.
 
medvedqc said:
we had brittany and german short pointer. the german were good for guarding the home, the brittany loved the couch and never bother at stranger ...
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Funny - my dad had a German Short Haired that was excellent for pheasant, partridge and quail, but absolutely useless for EVERYTHING else. Just laid around and did nothing.
 
1899 said:
Funny - my dad had a German Short Haired that was excellent for pheasant, partridge and quail, but absolutely useless for EVERYTHING else. Just laid around and did nothing.
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funny for sure. more than the breed it is mostly the interactions.

my uncle gsp were guardian up t the end my dad one a little less despite not from the same breed. but the britany were top notch for ducks and snipes. english setter were good to steal eggs and killing lay chickens ....

i ve seen a lot of hunters in europe with a pointer and a labrador but i prefer a multi task one. but if i need a guard no way a hunt dog should be the choice at first.
 
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