Thread: Photos of your dog

Originally Posted by Tahr

@kawhia This for Tilly?

https://www.petconnect.nz/products/p...CABEgLCRPD_BwE

yes thats good for a start, or go to a health shop and get the human version, its cheaper

Originally Posted by Maxx

Vet suggested we try this on our 11.5 year old Lab bitch....and has actually helped her a lot......

https://myvet.co.nz/food/dog/hills-v...canine-jd.html

https://www.fourflax.co.nz/shop/Shop...one-joint.html

this stuff is amazing, can make the coat a little oily though

Bruce...it will be a sad sad day when she is no longer able to walk the hills with you. the little walks will still be there for her... I took my old blind cocker for a paddle the other day.he happy as pig in pooh sitting in kayak getting ducks n geese chucked in on top of him....didnt need to do a thing all arvo and came home happy as.
where there is a will there is a way.

Originally Posted by Tahr

@kawhia This for Tilly?

https://www.petconnect.nz/products/p...CABEgLCRPD_BwE

I use a similar product for her brother Bru, called CortaFlex HA. Mix a scoop with some water, milk or yogurt and he gets stuck into it.

Have used it with all my dogs in their later years.

More of Finn my lab gsp x.

Two years old , three in November and sitting at 30 deer and approx 350 odd goats. Not a fan of photos though, usually wants to be looking for the next thing for me to shoot

lol looks like a high class dog with his nose in the air
He doesn't look overly impressed being made to sit while you take his picture.

Nice classic looking rifle you've got there

We are considering getting ourselves a dog. We are thinking about a German or English pointer. Would appreciate any advice any input or advice about these breeds. We do not live on a rural property and I am a little concerned about the pooch not getting enough exercise but there's plenty of parks close by and we do spend as much time as possible out bush. Also not to up on how to train one of these for hunting. It would not be left home alone as the wife could take it with her during week days which leads to my next question... how are they with other dogs?
Help....

I have no experience with Pointers but other high energy dogs.

Dogs like people are on a spectrum even within the breed. So liking other dogs and energy requirements will vary but most likely be high energy. Especially as a puppy/ adolescent

In saying that dogs can adjust to a particular lifestyle within reason. Mine went through a phase of destroying blankets and a few other items as I slacked on the training and exercise when she was just over a year. Upped the training and involvement and it went away.

My current dogs get ~1 hour exercise most days in the week and a good outing on the weekends. If not both days. She mostly just lays around inside during the day but is very keen to head out as soon as I get home.

Not only do they get a good walk they get mental stimulation. That's just as good if not better to tire them out. Tracking training. Teaching new tricks. Getting them thinking.

Hunting wise gun training is the most important to get right. Scared of a gunshot or even the sight of a gun is no good. Then teaching what behaviours you want during hunts. How far in front. To not break at the shot etc.
The deer dog blueprint is a fantastic video resource that I wished I had of used to train mine with. She's my first hunting dog. My only expectation to start with was to track / find downed game. No indication. She doesn't point but I can tell from her body language when she's onto something. So the intention was more post shot. But once she figured out the game I can tell from her behaviour when we are into an animal.
so far i have managed to recover a gun shy dog. Stop her from breaking after the shot. Now I'm working on her chasing game. She used to lock solid and not chase. But I undid it one day to get her to drive off a bunch of goats in the way. Alot easier to get it right at the start than to fix bad behaviours. But I'm learning far more fixing my mistakes that I can carry on to the next dog.

As long as you can put in time almost every day for exercise and training and they arnt just locked up all the time you should be alright. But expect 10mins a day and it to be locked up the rest of the time you will have a bad time. Put in alot of effort up front with training when a puppy and adolescent then you will have to do very little as it's older

Originally Posted by Ftx325

We are considering getting ourselves a dog. We are thinking about a German or English pointer. Would appreciate any advice any input or advice about these breeds. We do not live on a rural property and I am a little concerned about the pooch not getting enough exercise but there's plenty of parks close by and we do spend as much time as possible out bush. Also not to up on how to train one of these for hunting. It would not be left home alone as the wife could take it with her during week days which leads to my next question... how are they with other dogs?
Help....

@Ftx325
English pointers are not really that common here in Nelson....................but I have 3 and one of my good friends have 2. So if you want to meet some let me know Our section in Richmond could best be described as "little"
Real pointers have tails

Thinking pointer solely for the hunting aspect. Would like a dog that can help earn it's keep and be a help in the bush...not a hinderence. Don't have much experience with hunting dogs but a pointer seems the obvious choice for what we would likely to do with it as well as being a loving and loved family pet.

Originally Posted by mikee

@Ftx325
English pointers are not really that common here in Nelson....................but I have 3 and one of my good friends have 2. So if you want to meet some let me know Our section in Richmond could best be described as "little"
Real pointers have tails

Hi @mikee
That would be great if possible. We bumped into a lady at the hacket track last weekend on our way to spend the day bushbashing out the back of the hut for pigs. She was running with her german pointer pup and we stopped her and had a chat. Frankly she's lucky to still have the pup as I thought the missus was gunna try stealing it at gunpoint for a minute there. Lol. She's now firmly enamored with the breed. Going by the joyous squealing from her and my daughter after mentioning your offer I think they might be keen to meet you and your dogs if that is possible.... though l' m not so sure if it's a good idea as I will no doubt never hear the end of it and will be constantly harassed about how wonderful they are until we finally get one...ha ha

Originally Posted by Ftx325

We are considering getting ourselves a dog. We are thinking about a German or English pointer. Would appreciate any advice any input or advice about these breeds. We do not live on a rural property and I am a little concerned about the pooch not getting enough exercise but there's plenty of parks close by and we do spend as much time as possible out bush. Also not to up on how to train one of these for hunting. It would not be left home alone as the wife could take it with her during week days which leads to my next question... how are they with other dogs?
Help....

What sort of hunting do you do? That should help inform your decision

Gsp are a versatile dog, can use them on a lot of game but if I only hunted deer I wouldn't get a gsp, don't know about English pointers but probably similar vein

I love my gsps as I hunt them on deer, ducks and pheasants, but if you only hunt one of those there are other breeds that may be better suited

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by hillclima

What sort of hunting do you do? That should help inform your decision

Gsp are a versatile dog, can use them on a lot of game but if I only hunted deer I wouldn't get a gsp, don't know about English pointers but probably similar vein

I love my gsps as I hunt them on deer, ducks and pheasants, but if you only hunt one of those there are other breeds that may be better suited

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We hope to use it for deer,goats, pigs as a pointer/finder. So when I say pigs I don't want a pig dog... I am not looking for a dog to find and hold an animal... just point us in the right direction. Kids have been pressuring me to try duck hunting so a dog we could use for retrieval would be a good thing. Not knowing alot about different breeds and training is the reason I am asking you lot as I want to hear from the experts and owners of different breeds before we commit to point me in the right direction or tell me I'm dreaming and no such dog exists. I have minimal knowledge when it comes to dogs....

hope I dont get lynched for this...but skin thick enough to take it if thats the case.
your average Labrador will do that and be more than happy to lie in front of fire and leak hair all over house for the rest of the time.
a crossbred mongrel will do it too.
whatever you get,you will have it for 12-14years . choose wisely.... I had working dogs as young fella. as married man with young family I got first dedicated hunting dog..Buttons was gsp/huntaway so had guts in spades and was hard as nails..she did all my duck retrieving and chased many wallabies out for me to shoot.if my training had been better she wouldve been better all around.
next was Willie....picture kids book Clifford but paint him black...45kgs of goofball golden retriever huntaway...took 3 year to grow up and start retrieving but was machine after that. we gave him away when shifting house as finding rental with 2 dogs was hard work...hunting wallaby when 1080 had been dropped isnt dog friendly so he was redundant.
Nugget was next..cocker spaniel from breeder....not a good one it turns out. he has ton of guts,nose to die for and doesnt give in..but he is blind now at 12yr old and has been for 2 years...piss poor genetics mean too much loose skin on head and no tears.
then we got Meg...1/2 gsp 1/4 lab 1/4 beardie...mum is hard out beardie/gsp pig dog..... she retrieves all my waterfowl and indicates deer n pigs for me to shoot...and finds ones I have when I believe her........she will break my heart when she goes to big duckpond in sky.
I prefer mongrels/xbred dogs for hybrid vigour....hopefully less chance of bad genes...sometimes it works sometimes not so much.
if you decide to go with a particular breed PLEASE get advice on good reputable breeders BEFORE letting wife n kids see puppies..... Nugget taught me that lesson and its been expensive one.
hope my long winded ramble helps.

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Thinking pointer solely for the hunting aspect. Would like a dog that can help earn it's keep and be a help in the bush...not a hinderence. Don't have much experience with hunting dogs but a pointer seems the obvious choice for what we would likely to do with it as well as being a loving and loved family pet.

I should of asked about your experience with dogs
To add into my first reply. The dog is probably going to spend 80-95% of its time at home and the rest hunting. Lots of pointers make good pets but are more hands on when not hunting.

While pointers are hunting dogs and bread for it, lots of other dogs will work just as well AND be half as intense at home.
A more mild dog will probably be easier at home and to train general behaviors etc. And will require a little more input on you for hunting. They will indicate game for you just probably not with the iconic "point". Mine stops and raises her nose or her body stiffens up, ears point straight up and she wants to head in that direction. All dogs have amazing noses and once they realize the game they will have no problem tracking / finding game for you.
If the dog is a handful at home and overexcited it will also be a handful and hindrance in the bush as it will be the one in control not you. Too exited to listen.

AND no matter what dog you get, it will have problems. Some behavior or issue that you would want fixed. Getting a pointer wont automatically mean its an amazing hunting dog, getting a lab wont make it an amazing family dog either.
Some of its easy some of it will take time. My issues are the chasing, pulling on the lead when walking and not getting along well with other dogs. Chasing im working on, the walking i dont really care about as its off leash walks or some other form of exercise. And not liking other dogs is part of her personality, so im not too fussed on that one either.

Cant go past a good lab from working lines (not some average bread pet dog) even retrievers and foxys.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBobthebuildernz/videos The armed tramper has a lot of success from his lab.
The owner of deer dog blue print uses a hunter way or heading dog from memory.


As mighty duck says avoid getting back yard breed dogs, while people find another good hunting dog to put over theirs. Often the price is not far behind going from a reputable breeders. Breeders will have health tested the parents and should of hip scored them, usually come with health guarantees too, so will either pay to fix the problem or refund your dog. No good saving 1000 bucks on pup only to find out at 2 or 4 years old its got bad hips or other health problems. Its already part of the family and you have put in alot of time and money into it.

My preference is for smaller / medium dogs. Its easier to lift over fences, smaller so easier to fit in places and not take up as much room in the tent etc. Also i have a bitsa as the same reason, it was a rescue and in the hope would be lower chances of health problems.