Waterfowl Dog!

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Hi all,

I've recently sold a few guns to help with my disposable income. I've decided that instead of buying an AR that I would like to finally buy a hunting dog which is something that I have always wanted. I'm looking for a dog that is primarily good for waterfowl. I hunt a lot on the lakes but recently i've been picking off geese that fly over our property. From what I have researched so far it looks like Labrador retrievers are the best waterfowl dogs. I want a dog that is a good duck/goose retriever but is also a good all around pet.

I know that I could spend thousands on a premium deep lineage breed of retriever but in reality my budget is more along the lines of a farm dog that is slightly mutt. What sort of price range am I looking at? If I decide to avoid pure bred for a retriever what sort of issues could I possibly run into? I'm impartial to the gender of the dog, is there much a difference in terms of personality between a male and female retriever?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
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We paid $850 for our Chocolate Lab about 12 years ago. He's a purebred Lab with a Field Trials Champ Father and a hospital visitation mother. Private sale.

Labs are awesome. They are the proverbial family pet as they have an extremely high pain tolerance (great if kids accidentally step on them or baby's pull their fur etc.). They were bred as club dogs where the hunting club owned them so they had to have a personality to get along with anybody and everybody who would hunt with them. Very calm dogs, very friendly with other dogs and family pets (cats). As long as they know their place in the "pack" they are just happy to be where everyone else is. He's an amazing swimmer and loves camping, car travel etc.

The only negatives with Labs are that they are food obsessed and will eat until they explode...or look at you like they are starving at every instance in which they think you might have something to feed them.

We've kept ours on a raw diet and he's 95lbs of very healthy muscle.

I don't know of any differences between male and female outside of size.
 
The cheapest part of owning a dog is the purchase price , if you want a dog that will hunt get one from a reputable breeder producing a hunting or trial line. There are mutts that will hunt but its a crap shoot if it will as quite a bit of a dogs hunting behaviours are innate. My buddy has owned labs for years and they are a good water dog which are also good with the family. You can most certainly get a good dog for less than the price of an AR , hopefully someone here will point you to a good breeder so you can get the dog you want.
 
The best duck dog I ever had was a lab/collie cross we got from a farmer for free. he would swim for ducks all day, then in November we would paint his white tail orange and he would run deer all week. In the winter we would hunt rabbits. just loved hunting and was a great house pet...

There are lots of smart dogs that don't have champion blood lines...Champions in their own mind...:)
 
Hard to go wrong with a Lab. I would contact your local retriever club, they will know who in your area is having litters and will be an excellent resource when it comes to training your puppy.
The only down side to male labradours is they have a tendency to hump cushions and furniture.
It is very easy to ruin a pup as well so before you even pick your pup pick up some books on training retrievers if you've never trained on before.
Most importantly post lots of pictures as you journey through this very exciting process.
 
Labs are great, but I went a completely different direction. I ended up with an English Springer Spaniel. He does it all. Retrieve ducks and geese, flush partridge, woodcock, rabbit. Boundless energy, I've never been able to tire him out. He also makes a fantastic house pet, very gentle and affectionate. The only downfall I have seen so far VS a Labrador is cold (ice) water retrieves.

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I think for what you are describing - Your typical choices are the Labs, Golden Retrievers and Chesapeake.

The Goldens (typically - never a hard and fast rule) are great family pets and do both waterfowl and upland with a bit more of a knack for upland. Look to filed proven lines.

Labs are the most popular (and there is a reason for that) dual purpose. I have hunted behind a few - and in my experience are just behind the Goldens for upland work and ahead of them in the water (again - no hard and fast rules).

Chessies are able to do both - but the water is really there gig. I only know a couple of these dogs - and they mesh well in THEIR family. They are outright protective of kids and property, so not the best choice with the neighbors kids. The market waterfowlers used them as hunters years ago, and then left them to protect their boats while they went to the pub for a pint....

It really boils down to what breed you lean towards, then doing some homework to find a good breeder. The lines are important, the socialization/facility is important and you and what you put in to your dog too.

I have hunted behind some great dogs - and they come in all breeds.

Just my .02
 
I bought a lab and she has turned out to be the best dog I have owned, smart, calm and loves the water. Her name is Maggie, we got her from a breeder in colborne, both parents are hunting dogs, she was the last one for $350.
as a puppy
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now 2 years old
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Lots of good advice here already.. I'd say you can get a good dog without a big price tag & papers. Can't go wrong with a lab.. but note the cautions provided by others. My current chocolate lab is a good hearted dog that runs on instinct...he's hardly had ANY training due to a number of factors, but still gets the ducks & geese. One factor I wasn't aware of... he's a tall, long-legged dog and has torn the ligaments in his knees. Apparently in labs, this type of build is succeptible. Can be fixed for ~$4000 per leg. I manage with medication, but he's going to have arthritis at a younger-than-normal age.
 
Go with a mutt And possibly spend thousands in vet bills. Etc.

Buy a reputable breed from a breeder with papers and a MUST is health clearances.

Do your research and don't rush.

I have an 8 mo old chocolate. He is 58 lbs. probably won't go over 75 maxed out.

Watch the parents run if you can. A dog is a 10-12 year investment and friendship. Spend some $ up front and buy one that will do the job. Purchase price is the least of your worries. I'd say so far without pro training I have close to $2500 into my dog and dog supplies for training etc.

It isn't cheap. So don't be cheap about it.
 
Love my Chessies. Guided for quite a few years now and I am on my 3rd Chesapeake. These dogs have grit. If they can physicaly break the ice, they will get to the bird. Never a refusal from cold water and do just fine on pheasants too.
 
Another biased vote for a hunt-line lab from me. I have an 8 year old yellow female who is a natural on ducks and pheasants despite my novice fumblings as a handler/trainer. She comes from hunting lines from a breeder who is very thorough and downright ruthless about health - he sets the bar incredibly high for the dogs that he breeds and has great results. One tip on this is to ask the breeder what veterinarian he uses. I did this and found that the breeders' vet who could tell me a lot about all the dogs in his kennel and in fact about many off the offspring of those dogs. I strongly agree with the opinion of others above that the original purchase price is the least of your worries. Honestly, and I don't mean to be elitist about it, but if 400$ versus 1000$ is a total deal-breaker for you financially, I'd think long and hard about whether or not you can afford to own a gun dog. They hurt themselves more than pets and so vet bills can and do come, and many of them will be more than that 600$ difference between the backyard-bred and professionally-bred pup. Also, all it takes is something as simple as a skin allergy (a very common problem in innappropriately bred labs) and you'll blow through more than that price difference in steroid creams in a year. This is not to mention potential problems with joints, eyes, ears.
As far as your question about the ### - opinions will be like @rseholes on that one, but either one will make a great hunting dog and pet. A few logistic things to consider is that in upland cover, male dogs "suffer" in ways that female dogs might not (imagine pushing through a rose-bush naked!) - not that it seems to slow them down any. Around the yard/garden, males of course have to "mark" everything in sight, which can be an annoyance to the gardener in the family. Females, on the other hand, only mark once, but do so a gallon at a time and burn big marks on the lawn - so pick your poison! I don't have the experience to give you an informed opinion on drive/trainability/toughness etc..., so I'll leave that alone. Suffice to say, either ### can be a great hunting dog and pet - getting there is up to you to choose the right breeder and put in the hours.
 
I have a Chessie and he has been Great... I didn't hunt him this past fall because I didn't have him ready to go. He will be a year on March 28th. He is a Brute. He is bigger than my dads Chessie (full brother) that is 2 years older than him... His dad is a 140 lbs dog before hunting season. This summer if the baby was outside in her stroller he would lay beside the stroller and wouldn't move... A couple times I would sneak around the shed or pool and he would go Crazy barking at me but wouldn't leave the stroller..... I was impressed with that... We have many people stop by and he has yet to every try go after anyone I think biggest thing is keeping him exposed.. He is good with the cats and other dogs until it is feeding time.... This is the second one for me from the same breeder... The wife ran over the first one when he was 8 months old... $800 vet bill and ended up putting him down anyway.... I find that the labs are more hyper than the Chessies....

it just comes down to personal preference. A Chessie is a better cold water dog than a lab and is bigger and stronger....

I am sure you will enjoy whatever you pick, they are great companions...

Shane
 
waterhen19 said:
I find that the labs are more hyper than the Chessies....

it just comes down to personal preference. A Chessie is a better cold water dog than a lab and is bigger and stronger....

I am sure you will enjoy whatever you pick, they are great companions...

Shane
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I would be quite afraid of hunting with a 140lb dog out of a canoe or small Jon boat. That is like a grown woman jumping in or out. CRAZY.

My guy is only 60 lbs and might hit 70-75. And I think that is big.
 
Yeah he is that weight before he starts working summer weight haha.... He doesn't hunt out of a boat, as for myself my Jon boat is 16 ft 72" Transom and 60" bow so a 300 lbs man can jump out and you would never feel it haha
 
As someone else mentioned, realize that the purchase price is only the beginning. You'll need to budget for food, vet and other basics. I recently got a Golden Retriever Poodle mix. He doesn't seem to recognize the retriever part of his breeding, so not much hope for hunting him, although I didn't get him for that anyway. Quite surprising how much I've really spent on him in the past 4 months.
 
All dogs want to be labs and all Labs want to be black.

my advise is before you pick up the pup is to find your local Hunting Retriever Club and talk to some of the folks in person. you'll find out right quick that if if your dog isn't trained right you will have nothing but issues from day one and you have to put up with a uncontrollable dog that ruins your hunts for 10 years. you can have the second coming of The Marthon Man but he has to be controlled and there is a lot to properly training any bird dog. Be prepared to put in at least one half hour every day with formal training and as many hours as possible just being with him. you can always find a fully trained dog but you will have to plunk down a minimum of 3000 clams.

I am pretty anal when it comes to poorly trained dogs, like I said NOTHING ruins a hunt quicker than a dog that will not mind and is poorly trained.

I'm no expert trainer by any means but drop me a PM if you want some advice before you buy.
 
waterhen19 said:
Yeah he is that weight before he starts working summer weight haha.... He doesn't hunt out of a boat, as for myself my Jon boat is 16 ft 72" Transom and 60" bow so a 300 lbs man can jump out and you would never feel it haha
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I'm not saying you are mistaken Shane but I would love to see a pic of your dog. The biggest working CBR I've seen went maybe 90pds. At 140 he should be able to retrieve ostrichs'!
 
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