Thread: Breed recommendations

looking to train a deer dog but have a young family,live in town 800m2 section also work alot in winter (powerboard)
get out for a hunt once a month.
i know this will probably exclude some of the popular breeds eg gsp, vizla, heading dog as they are very high maintenance
lab dual purpose for ducks? do they go well on deer?
i was thinking half a hour a day during the week for exercise and training, i do a lot of running
Never owned a dog of any sort before.
am i pushing shit up hill?
Please advise

I found the biggest hurdle is putting in the time for the first year of the pups life to give it the training required. After that you can afford to back off and just maintain the standards you expect and exercise etc whilst managing a busy life. I think you have probably identified that some of the high energy breeds like vizsla and gsp may not be for you. Labradors make a great all rounder. They will never excel on deer like a good heading dog or pointer but if you don’t get out often enough then that’s irrelevant anyway. My lab has indicated deer in the bush, tracked and found wounded deer for me and loves retrieving/finding ducks. She can also sleep at home all day for a week while I’m busy with work and the family and not go absolutely mental. Dont get me wrong, not all labs are the same and some will be more of a handful then others but overall I think they suit the cruise lifestyle pretty damn well. They can also be fit working machines too..

The whole food drive thing with labradors is what you make of it too.. we were strict from the moment we had our lab as a pup. No food other then her own, no hanging around us when we eat etc and strictly no treats etc. She is three years old now and although she loves her food, I can leave my dinner beside her on the floor and walk away and she won’t touch it nor does it bother her.

You will see my lab features in pretty much all my hunts on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZz...8lLO7ZqtseZCww

+ lab what you put in, in most cases is what you get out. You are always going to get a dud out of any breed.
As stagestalker has said he put manners on his dog straight away and stick with them don't let the wife or kids teach it bad habbits and you will be all good.

I found that as long as you separate home and hunting the pet when with the wife and kids will do the job.
They learn that when you leave home to go hunting/shooting the rules change a bit.
Dogs aren't dumb they can work it out.
Limit what you do at home.
Most people do not have deer ,pigs duck etc in the backyard.