KitsapCaller

My girlfriend and I live in an apartment and I' m considering a field dog. I would like a breed capable of retrieving ducks, geese, and possibly pheasants. Does anyone know of a breed that could live in a 2 bdrm apartment. I know I would have to frequently walk the dog and take it out for runs and outings.

BowHuntingFool

I went thru the whole apartment/dog thing and it was pretty ruff. I had a Golden she was a great and well behaved dog but it was unfair. Don' t get me wrong I' m not preaching but move into a house and then get a hunting dog. I am also now getting ready to get a Lab pup, can' t wait! [:-][:-]

muskrat89

Take it from the voice of experience - the girlfriend in the long run, will be more heartache than the dog. Get rid of her, and you' ll have more room in the apt for you and pooch

seattlesetters

I' ve had various dogs in apartments, and some do ok. None of those are retrievers, though, and that would appear to be what you are after. I think a retriever puppy is out of the question, and your best bet may be to purchase an older, trained retriever that is already calm in the house.

It will cost your more initially, but it should even out over the long run when you consider the 1-2 years of destructiveness you could expect from a puppy.

TreestandEd

Being perfectly honest and coming from experience; It is a very bad Idea in your situation.
Suitable breed for apartment living?None IMO Walking and few runs not enough.Working dogs and hunting dogs need to be exercised daily.
If you get one please have 2nd owner lined up just in case things don’t work out.

MA Jay

I currently live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my girlfriend and own a Springer Spaniel. She' s great on pheasant, grouse and woodcock here in the Northeast and does very well retrieving ducks and geese in the worst New England weather. She' s 2 and still a little puppyish sitting in a blind for any length of time without any action but as long as she' s close to me she' ll sit tight well. I do work her 3 or 4 times a week after work and pay someone $15 bucks a day to walk/run her for a few hours each day while I' m at work. She' s the best hunting/house dog I' ve ever owned. Everyone for 3 blocks from where I live knows and loves her.

Now before my Springer I owned a German Shorthaired Pointer in an apartment. BIG mistake. Great dog .. awesome hunter, but I didn' t live in an area she could run far or long enough in. I used to take her to the sport fields at night and she' d run every other dog there into the dirt and still be looking for more. The other dog owners loved her because their dogs would be wiped after 15-20 minutes trying to keep up with her.

seattlesetters

The Springer Spaniel is one of the dogs I' ve had that did well in an apartment. He is pure hell on pheasants, but just isn' t the greatest when it comes to ducks and geese in cold water. He won' t give up, though, and I' ve almost lost him to long retrieves in frigid, icy waters because he refused to give up.

If you want a waterfowl dog, you need a retriever and they don' t do well in apartments.

If you want an upland birddog, your problem is solved. Many strains of English Setters are perfectly happy living in an apartment, and they are still quite capable of showing pheasants and any other upland bird a one-way ticket to your dinner table.

beej99

i think a brittany would work well for you. Mine is about 40 lbs and lives with me in a 2 bedroom apt. she does great. We take her out everyday and let her run with the other dogs in the complex. I don' t hunt her as we adopted her at a very old age so I don' t know how she would do on ducks adn geese, but i know brittanys are very adept at hunting upland game.

beej

seattlesetters

Brits do ok, too. They are not suitable for waterfowl, however.

If you really want a dog to hunt with, you might consider getting an " upland only" dog while you' re in the apartment, and getting a retriever later when you have more room. Lots of folks have two dogs for different purposes--say a birddog and a retriever or a terrier and a birddog--so you may want to consider this option.