duck killer

I'm looking at getting an upland dog and I can't decide. I hunt pheasants and quail in rather heavy cover in Nebraska. I want a strong pointing dog, full of energy, but still close working. Any recommendations?

SWOSUMike

Hello, I hunt treedogs myself, but 4 of my buddies are bigtime quail hunters and I've been able to go with them some. They use Brittany's (used to be known as brittany spaniels), and these dogs hunt quite close. They took the "spaniel" off the name becuase these dogs are really a pointer dog. They seem to be a "companion" dog in that they want to stay somewhat close and hunt with you. My buddy's dogs that I've hunted over stay within...oh...I'd say 50 yards. Usually much closer and occassionally further. They point well and will flush and hunt up your dead bird. They seem to have a very docile temperament. They are fairly small, too, (40 pounds would be a big one) so you could get two. One friend just got him another puppy the other day - a liver and white female to go along with the orange and white male he already has. I think if I was going to get a quail dog for here in Oklahoma, I'd get a brittany becuase I've enjoyed hunting with my friends' dogs. Good luck.

Roost em 1st

I've hunted near you local with GSP for about 3 or 4 seasons. They hunt close and we have had some great hunts around your area. I am a duckhunter with a love for upland as well. I have a Chessie and my buddy keeps GSP. He is headed to Notheast NE 1/11/05 but could probably be persuaded to stop if you are serious and want to see the GSP inaction. He just got back from Texas and sold some dogs so I don't know who he has left but probably still has some pups and maybe a started dog as well. Send me a PM if you want more info.

Maskellrascal

The dogs you have mentioned are all good dogs. I would buy some books to learn what each breed is like when hunting. I live in Northeast Nebraska and currently own a German Shorthair and use her in any type of cover and she does very well, but my father-in-law wanted me to get a Brittany. That is what his family switched to after having English Pointers. The Brittany is a bit smaller but will stay closer than a Shorthair might. A Weimaraner is also a good choice, about same size as a Shorthair but are said to work closer than a Shorthair. I like my Shorthair, but sometimes she upsets me with her wide running ways.

Good luck and happy hunting

RemMod1100

Interesting, based on your name, that you didn't consider a lab. I've always been a GSP man, but I also have 1 lab. I don't do much duck and goose hunting, so he's been brought up on mostly pheasants. If someone told me they wanted a bird dog and close working and downed bird finding were top priorities, I'd steer them toward a lab. I like the shorthairs when I'm hunting by myself because they will be a little more independent and I just go where they go, but when I'm with a group I let the shorthairs range knowing that lab will be hunting where I am.

duck killer

Rem,
I don't need a lab, I already have something better, a CHESSIE! She's my duck dog, but I need a dog thats going to be able to work the upland fields all day long. All that weight wears her down pretty fast. I've heard the top GSP kennel is Shooting Starrs, any other recommendations?

RemMod1100

That's cool. Just thought I'd throw it out there. Good luck, hope you find a great one!

Ajax

Get a GSP.... Talk to my breeder. He has pups on the ground now... might be 2 or 3 pups left, they were born on dec 12th.

Check out Crosswind Kennel. Talk to Scott (the owner) tell him Art (his website guy) sent you and he will get you set up with a great pup. There is usually a waiting list for his dogs. If you can get one from this litter, consider yourself lucky!

He trials his dogs in the National Shoot to Retrive Association, he has the top dogs in the state and some of the top dogs in the country.

Good Luck with your search!

gselkhunter

Duck Killer, I own 3 shorthairs, 2 hunting girls and 1 pup. I went this way for 2 reasons.
1 fairly easy to train, they are hard headed Germans, but loyal. 2 they don't have long hair, so you don't have to worry about burrs. If you want a big runner like a pointer, Kevin Wade out of Denver, CO has field trial dogs. I have one, Emily can run with the best of them. I also have 2 foot dogs, Gertie hunts very close, Leyna, well at 4 months we don't know how big she will run yet. But the breeding is for a foot dog. There is a serious difference between a foot dog and a field trial dog in shorthairs. When you talk to breeders if the females are over 50lbs more than likely they will be foot dogs. Field trial dog are smaller boned so they can run like the wind, Emily is 40 lbs, to give you an idea. In sharptail country I wouldn't trade her for anything. In pheasant country she can be very hard to keep up with and to find sometimes because she is so fast. I am glad I have one of each, because I can pick the fields and run dogs accordingly.
Gselkhunter

Roost em 1st

Duck Killer-
I think I spoke to your wife back in Nov about Chessie pups. If not it was someone close to where you live who has a kennel. You didn't PM me with need for any more info on GSP so maybe you aren't intrested. The dogs I speak of come from Proven Point Kennels in KY. It's a sleepy little kennel run by an old man who produces bird dogs to hunt by foot. He does not breed dogs that are unproven. Every dog that I've seen come out of this kennel as a started dog will point, back, handle, and retrieve.Gselkhunter brought up some good points about the difference between foot dogs and field trialers. I can't post any pics yet with the new server my pc uses at work but send me an e-mail and I think I can send you a snapshot from 2004 january in Crab Orchard, NE.