Thread: Part time hunting dog?

Muka, you'll have to expect some collateral damage, if you have a dog.

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

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Muka, you'll have to expect some collateral damage, if you have a dog.

I had a mate who thought a re homed GSP was a good idea, he came home to a wrecked house and the dog standing on the roof of his house !!!!!

So he decides to take it to work with him it wrecked the inside of his car and chewed the gear stick and steering wheel !!!

He doesn't have any dogs anymore.

I suppose the moral of this story is you want a dog and a full time job with no one to look after your dog there may be trouble ahead especial with some highly strung breeds in particular.

Labs are great
they get fat easily so limit what the other family members feed them to a measured dose then they will be fine
I read a book when I was 10 called "how to train a gun dog" and It honestly gave me such a step ahead with training for the headaches its saved
a well trained lab is nothing short of amazing, I have a springer spaniel but with the health issues they have I cant recommend them

Labs are great
they get fat easily so limit what the other family members feed them to a measured dose then they will be fine
I read a book when I was 10 called "how to train a gun dog" and It honestly gave me such a step ahead with training for the headaches its saved
a well trained lab is nothing short of amazing, I have a springer spaniel but with the health issues they have I cant recommend them

working cockers and working springers don't have 1% of the health issues labs can have.

Get a dog with game drive so if going farm dog avoid huntaway. Straight heading dog is a good bet, can get small varieties and they are very trainable and affectionate. Mates is a working dog on the farm and a pet but has spent time as an indicating dog and has been very successful with deer, pigs and goats whether it be the bow or rifle. I have a 1/2 lab 1/2 gsp and for my first dog(not including family pets) and there have been some challenging moments but ended up with a great pet and a partner for the bush albeit he is not as good as he could be but that is my fault not his as he has shown some real promise on occasion including 4 very close indications in 1 day on deer in the kaimais. A pure lab is a good bet and dont believe the fat lab hype that is down to soft owners letting the dog get fat, my last family dog was lab bitch who got to 17 and in her prime was trim and muscle bound climbing trees to retrieve pheasants and an outstanding duck dog. My 65 year old father has had alot of dogs in his life and it is the only one he regrets getting fixed

@superdiver
What are your reasons about huntaways and game drive.
My dog is black lab / huntaway.
He loves going hunting. He is starting to indicate deer for me. We got 6 last year together.
Doesn't bark when we are hunting either.
Just interested in what you mean.


That aside my next dog will probably be a lab/heading cross.

I would say the game drive is from the labrador. Huntaways are great working dogs and very trainable but have been told they lack a game drive so not a hunting dog. Mate who was a commercial culler ran a team of finder/bailer heading dogs and his own personal hunting dog that he also used on deer is a plain black lab.

If you only have half an hour a day to excercise it I wouldn't get a heading x mines a heading x lab and if he doesn't get an hour or more a day (half hr in the morning with the mrs and half to 2 hours eith me at night) he can be a pain in the ass

Were pretty much in the same boat with our old 'GSP X mongrel' now in full retirement. @muka88 how did you get on finding anything ?

No I Didn't kind of got put on the back burner. going to get a lab, got to wait and see how things play out maybe bankrupt by the end of the year

Originally Posted by muka88

No I Didn't kind of got put on the back burner. going to get a lab, got to wait and see how things play out maybe bankrupt by the end of the year

Lets hope not mate, Labs do sound the go but maybe with a touch of something else in the mix.

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Lets hope not mate, Labs do sound the go but maybe with a touch of something else in the mix.

I had a lab/smithfield...nice cross