what gun dog would you have as a newbie

[Steve S 0]

Get an HPR; that way the dog is capable of changing with your hunting style. I have two Wirehaired Hungarian Vizslas, and they are easy in the house, Gentle with people and other animals (my daughter’s best friends), hunts close and easily handled off leash; they have a heavier coat, and a more substantial frame, better suited for working in cold weather and retrieving from icy water. They loves to retrieve feather or fur.

[potshot 0]

Sorry Turk this thread is going off on one......

 

Your don't want multi-discipline dogs as a first dog so go for a straight forward retriever - there are masses of perfectly good labs and sensible prices start with. Spaniels are not the easiest to train for a novice and there ar all sorts of pitfalls, worse still would to be to consider an HPR as you first dog.

 

Nothing wrong with either spaniels or HPRs but not under your circumstances and not as a first dog.

[Lloyd90 509]

Doesnt matter if a retriever is easier to train than a spaniel. if the ground he shoots is for rabbit shooting and full of thick cover then a retriever would not be the best dog for the job he needs it to do.

 

get the dog for the job and you wont go far wrong. If I wanted a dog for personal protection I wouldnt buy a poodle. No doubt they could be trained for it as they are very intelligent. A few labs have been trained upto Shutzhund level 3 and been excellent dogs but Id get the dog best suited to the job.

[potshot 0]

Hi all i'm just starting to get into shooting, should be getting my gun and licence in the new year,

 

just like to know what would be the best recommended gun/retriever dog to get for a 1st dog, also must be good with children as i just found out i got a baby on the way.

 

would like the dog to work with ferrets and retrieve pigeon, wildfowl and rabbits.

 

Are spaniels good with wildfowl? He wants a retriever. If he is going to use ferrets for rabbits and shoot them why would he need a spniel to hunt them up? I think the clues are in the original post.......

[Lloyd90 509]

Ive seen a spaniels that are very good with wild fowl. OP are you looking to hunt up rabbits with your dog or just retrieve ones flushed by rabbits ?

 

If just retrieve you would be much better suited to a labrador

[shotgun tim 27]

chesapeake bay retriever for me great with kids and other dogs (well all mine are) good wildfowling dogs,not bad to train