# Best Pheasant Dog



## gonedoggin

I've already admitted that declaring a breed as "best" is clearly an exercise in personal preference. Never the less, it's fun to hear other peoples thoughts on the subject.

So what breed is the "best" pheasant dog? Why?


----------



## Chaws

Depends on the type of bird and cover, but if I had a do all upland bird for pointing I think I'd go the route of a Drathaar aka Griffon aka Wirehair. One tough versatile dog!


----------



## jmillercustoms

I hunted with one of those griffons this fall...that thing was just a magnet for cockleburrs kinda felt sorry for the guy that had it he spent more time pickin **** out of his dog than he did huntin...prolly a good dog outside of that
pheasant huntin....black lab....you can hunt stalks and grass, if i was to stick to open grass/prarie probably a english setter of shorthair..i've hunted with both and they are machines on the grasslands


----------



## Maverick

I can tell you that hunting upland behind a good Brittany Spaniel doesn't get any better! He will run circles around labs and never seems to get tired! I should re-name him to "All Day".


----------



## kgpcr

i would take a wager on your Brit out running my 53lb pointing lab. We will hit it all Heavy cattails and the thick stuff. Then we will see whose dog lasts the longest


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y

English Setter! My male hunts like a lab in Cattails and will hunt till his feet are bloody. Both of mine have a huge drive and work well.

This question is going to be all over the place!


----------



## gonedoggin

The Springer Spaniel is clearly the best choice for a pheasant dog. The field trial program is the driving force behind the breeding program and the field trials use pheasants. The pheasant is a notorious runner and no breed does a better job at trailing them and pushing them out of heavy cover for a shot. A straight away rooster is a hard bird to kill so a good pheasant dog must also be an accomplished retriever. Springers are perhaps the best upland retriever around. While retriever breeds excel at using their eyes to mark the fall, Springers are more adept at using their spectacular noses. Although they learn to mark as best they can under field conditions, they then fade w/ the wind and use their best asset to quickly recover the bird. This strategy doesn't work so well in water of course hence the difference.

Although more pheasants are probably shot over Labs than any other breed, Springers have better noses and they are quicker and more agile. They also have more endurance for upland hunting. Finally, they are just more fun to watch work and when hunting a flushing dog, you've got to keep your eyes on the dog. Might as well have one that draws your eye.

As far as retrievers go, the field bred Golden while rare, makes a wonderful pheasant dog. In my experience, they have superior noses, nearly as good as a Springer. They are a little more athletic than Labs or Chessies and just down right gorgeous to watch.

As far as pointing dogs go, the shorthaired is my choice because they tend to use both air and ground scent as necessary to find birds. Many of them have a stable enough personality to point when the bird is holding tight and to trail the bird when it runs. The downside to any pointing dog for pheasant hunting is the fact that on the somewhat rare occasion when the bird holds tight and everything works, the shot is pretty much anti-climatic. A pheasant exploding in front of a flushing dog at 25 yds is fun, the same bird flushed from under a pointing dog is a "gimme".


----------



## brianb

I'd say Springer or English cocker. Their whole purpose in life is pheasants. That being said probably more pheasants are shot over labs than the rest of the breeds combined.

The best dog I've hunted with was a field bred golden. That dog was absolute death on pheasants. Best nose I've seen.


----------



## kgpcr

I would take issue with that Gonedoggin. My lab does a heck of a job at it and when it gets cold in the cattail swamps and she has to do a water retrieve there is nothing better. Also do burrs to pick.


----------



## gonedoggin

kgpcr said:


> I would take issue with that Gonedoggin. My lab does a heck of a job at it and when it gets cold in the cattail swamps and she has to do a water retrieve there is nothing better. Also do burrs to pick.


I started hunting w/ Labs myself and they make fantastic all around gun dogs. My experience however is that good Springers find pheasants better than any other breed. It's what they're bred to do.

I'm not going to argue w/ you about the burrs though. You've got to look at it as a "labor of love" after the hunt sometimes.


----------



## kgpcr

Gonedoggin
I am not telling you that all springers are bad i just have not hunted over any that i would call good. i have hunted over 4 different dogs and was not impressed at all. I would love to hunt over a good springer just to see how they would do. The ones i hunted over would not hit the cattails worth a darn. I have also seen worthless labs as well so i am not saying all are bad.


----------



## Large munsterlander1

Large Munsterlander is the best pheasant dog! They will hunt until they collapse and have a great personality!


----------



## tabes

I OWN AND HUNT OVER 4 FIELD BRED SPRINGER SPANIELS THEY HAVE A VERY HEAVY FIELD TRIAL PEDIGREE AND THEY ARE FAST NOT FEARFUL OF ANY COVER HAVE EXCELLENT NOSES AND RETREVING SKILLS AND LOVE WATER I ALSO DUCKS WITH THEM GROUSE WITH THEM THE LIST GOES ON AND ON


----------



## stonebroke

Larry Mueller, gundog writer who writes for "Outdoor Life" magazine did a series on this very subject several years ago. Not that gundog writers are "The" authority on gundogs but his articles presented a very strong arguement as to why a *well trained *Springer from field lines was the ultimate Pheasant Dog. He did a comparison between Labs and Springers if I remember right and said something like, "Using a Lab to hunt pheasants is like a football coach putting his starters on the bench and playing the second string".... I'm not saying I agree, but that was the anology he used.

I personally don't think the ultimate pheasant dog has been developed yet. Springers are great...I've had them for over 20 years, but they pick up burrs if not clipped regularly and when the temperatures drop and there's a lot of snow on the ground they struggle... they don't have a coat for the tough going. They do train easily and are great family dogs.....no doubt about that and they would rather hunt and retrieve than eat. If I can speak in general terms, I've yet to see a breed that can go over, under, and through the tangled cover Pheasants like better than a Springer can. I think any well trained dog from all of the various gundog breeds can produce pheasants in light cover, but when the cover gets nasty a good Springer shines. I've never owned an English Cocker from Field Lines.....haven't even seen one in the field, but from what I've read they are similiar to Springers except a little smaller.

My ultimate pheasant dog would have the trainability, hunting drive, temperament, and size of a Springer with the coat and determination of a Chessie... but I don't have the money or enough years left in me to develop a new gundog breed. :beer:


----------



## Maverick

kgpcr said:


> i would take a wager on your Brit out running my 53lb pointing lab. We will hit it all Heavy cattails and the thick stuff. Then we will see whose dog lasts the longest


Growing up the ownly dogs I have ever hunted behind was labs. Hell the first job I had was working as a bird boy for the North Dakota Retrivers Club. My father has 2 labs probably around the same lines as your dog (or at least dogs with good generations behind them) ..and to you I say
"Any day and time...you name it!!"


----------



## Dooger73

Purely a pi$$ing match thread. Nothing but opinions.
That being said, my favorite pheasant dog is the one I'm hunting with at the time.

One thing to clarify:


Chaws said:


> I think I'd go the route of a Drathaar aka Griffon aka Wirehair.


Those are 3 separate breeds, not one.


----------



## stonebroke

Dooger73 said:


> Purely a pi$$ing match thread. Nothing but opinions.
> That being said, my favorite pheasant dog is the one I'm hunting with at the time.
> 
> One thing to clarify:
> 
> 
> Chaws said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think I'd go the route of a Drathaar aka Griffon aka Wirehair.
> 
> 
> 
> Those are 3 separate breeds, not one.
Click to expand...

Yes, it could be nothing but opinions..... I suppose it's like saying what's the best caliber for deer hunting.....depends on the cover you hunt and your personal preference. A person can kill a buck out on the open prairie with a Model 94 30-30 or an old Hawkens .50 caliber Muzzleloader, but are those the best rifles for deer hunting in wide open spaces? Yes, if those are the calibers you like the best and the ones you enjoy shooting the most.....no, if you are wanting the best cartridge for the job at hand.

Many of the threads on the various forums are based on people's opinions. It's certainly not just what breed of dog is best for which species of birds. You'll see opinions on the use of the e-collar, the right age to start training a pup, the age you should get a pup at, whether to force fetch or not, which dog food is best, etc... It's all just part of the fun of participating in forums, or at least that's the way I look at it.


----------



## Maverick

This is the way I see it. IF we were to ever get out and truely prove who's dog is better. What's the worst that can come out of it? A limit full of roosters? Maybe find a new hunting partner? Hell that's when I say "KGPCR I'll take that wager!!!


----------



## Gamefinder

My friends and I shoot a lot of pheasants in very varied conditions. Have tried springers and they were excellent until the snows came and then with their size were at a disadvantage. Also tried Brittanies and Drathers. The former had trouble in the snow and really heavy cover. The latter iced up horribly or collected every cockle burr on earth (Poor owner that had to clean them up and poor dog that had to endure the stuff and the cleanup). Used as a giant Spaniel I find on the whole the flat coated retrievers are the most adaptable and best birdfinders. They are natural quartering dogs (no doubt due to the stronmg setter/Spaniel background), on the whole faster and more determined than goldens, have super noses and are extreemly quick to out fox pheasant evasion games. Labs and Chesapeakes can do it but the lack of the setter influence means thay need to learn to quarter and generally lack the running style of a long strided flatcoat.

Now, having said this I currently have a large older type of Chessie with a rangier build that can out run and last longer than any of the flatcoats. He has a nose that one wishes they all did and the brute force to take on any cover. His coat is ideal as it doesn't collect burrs and it doesn't ice ball up.

This is an individual dog. I have used many other Chessies that were very good but not this one's equal. Many a Lab and other Chessie has been worn to a frazzle tryng to run with him. Have a young flatcoat ***** that I bought from a moore keeper in Scotland that is frustrating the old boy by matching him stride for stride and seems quicker to out manuver the galloping birds. Hope this yearling learns a lot from the older Chessie and my next ten years of pheasant, sharptail and partridge shooting are going to be very exciting. On our last group hunt in January even the Chessie conceeded that the flatcoat could take about 40% of the line while he kept 60% (thats a line of 10 guns about 20 yards apart walking up in 16 to 20 inches of snow). In this situation the Chessie coat was an advantage but with a spray on of light hair oil from the a cosmetic department the flatcoat fringes never ice balled up either.


----------



## Bobm

English pointer if its too cold or tough for them, this Georgia pu$$y is going home :lol:

One of the best pheasant dogs I ever had was a little chow/ spitz/ lab/ fox terrier cross.

I kid you not, that dog consistantly out produced any other dogs I hunted with.

He was about the same build and size of a brittany with the heart and prey drive of a lion.

And he pointed rock solid and picked that up on his own taggin along with my shorthairs. He was also a deadly duck dog.

I bet theres lots of farm dogs out there that would put some well bred dogs to the test


----------



## Bemidji Lars

Why join a discussion where there are no correct answers? Because I'm not wrong. At least not totally. We have two French Brittany's. Started with and American Britt, loved her, but too high strung. these are a bit more biddable, for us at least and this is very important to my wife. they are very well behaved in the house, usually, and die hard hunters in the field.

But it is really about the dogs when bird hunting. I enjoy them all.


----------



## SoDakShooter

I hunted under a German Short Haired Pointer one time. That dog was absolutely amazing. So because of that expirence I'd have to say GSP. But personally I like labs.


----------



## cancan

in the east here all the thick stuff is greenbriar and brambles and vines....stuff you look at and can only see rabbit tunnels in.....6 inches tall at most. My lab will go right in those tunnels, ive not seen another dog go where he will go....I think alot of it is what the dog has been exposed to since they were a pup....

Above and Beyond that its all opinions IMHO 

The best dog is the one you like to hunt behind and who gets the job done.

I was told in those rabbit tunnels pointing is of no use....I disagree, untill
youve been there and seen that its speculation. Oft times those deep cover points allow you time to position yourself for shots....And with the experieced lab (that points) a get em up will have him off point and pushing the birds out.

My Buddy has a Welsh Springer that is very talented but Ive not seen him dare to go where my lab will. Size means nothing if the dog hasnt been exposed to where you expect him to go, and has the will to go there.


----------



## BIRDSHOOTER

I can certainly see everyone has their favorite birddog.... 

The clear answer to the posters question is... "there isn't one breed the best".

We buy Chevys and Fords. Different strokes for different folks. What's more important than the breed is how that dog will be trained and how often will it have access to wild birds. Most well bred dogs of any breed will teach themselves to hunt what ever game bird you normally hunt given ample opportunity.

The only question I see is... "Do you like your birds pointed or not?" FWIW. :beer:


----------



## Chaws

I bought a Toyota


----------



## stonebroke

BIRDSHOOTER said:


> I can certainly see everyone has their favorite birddog....
> 
> The clear answer to the posters question is... "there isn't one breed the best".
> 
> We buy Chevys and Fords. Different strokes for different folks. What's more important than the breed is how that dog will be trained and how often will it have access to wild birds. Most well bred dogs of any breed will teach themselves to hunt what ever game bird you normally hunt given ample opportunity.
> 
> The only question I see is... "Do you like your birds pointed or not?" FWIW. :beer:


I've read of some people who have pointing dogs who teach them to flush the bird up after they've pointed it. Evidently this is a fairly common practice in the British Isles.... It would take a fair amount of training I would think, but would probably result in easier shooting.


----------



## BIRDSHOOTER

Chaws said:


> I bought a Toyota


In the auto world that would be the equivalent of a MUTT !!!


----------



## BIRDSHOOTER

stonebroke said:


> I've read of some people who have pointing dogs who teach them to flush the bird up after they've pointed it. Evidently this is a fairly common practice in the British Isles.... It would take a fair amount of training I would think, but would probably result in easier shooting.


They do things a little different over there. Might be good for them but not my cup of tea. There are a few over here that will use a pointing dog to locate birds, then hold them while a lab is brought in at heel to flush the bird. A well trained pointer will still be rock steady through the flush, the shot and the retrieve. Seen it done and quite impressive.


----------

