Thread: Springer Spaniel

Originally Posted by BushHunter

I really liked the idea of a Springer Spaniel, But as Deer Stalking is my main hunting then probably not from reading above, Thanks for reply's.

Lab is off the list as wifey doesn't want one.
Will look into Vizsla.

What about an English Pointer ? ........

if you keen on a pointer come out home and check out Holly and see if thats the type of dog you want before buying one and also Bagherra brought a chap out to the shoot on sunday who breeds vizla cross for deer hunting he is out on the raglan road pm Bagherra if your interested i sure he would help you touch bases with him.

Originally Posted by mucko

if you keen on a pointer come out home and check out Holly and see if thats the type of dog you want before buying one

From your pics, theres not a lot of 'pointer' in your pup as such, more the german pointing breeds.

BushHunter, Forget the Spaniel breeds and the Pointer (and when I say Pointer, I mean the one commonly called an English pointer, even though tis true name is just Pointer) for deer work. While there are indivisuals of both breeds that will do it, they are the exception, and probably poor examples of their breed. If you want to use another pointing breed for deer, such as Vizsla, GSP then go and look at a lot of dogs before you commit.

I'd say Lab, but as mentioned above it may be a case of retraining your missus. Nothing is irreparable, just be prepared to put a fair bit of work into her to get her right again. Good luck

Originally Posted by Pointer

From your pics, theres not a lot of 'pointer' in your pup as such, more the german pointing breeds.

BushHunter, Forget the Spaniel breeds and the Pointer (and when I say Pointer, I mean the one commonly called an English pointer, even though tis true name is just Pointer) for deer work. While there are indivisuals of both breeds that will do it, they are the exception, and probably poor examples of their breed. If you want to use another pointing breed for deer, such as Vizsla, GSP then go and look at a lot of dogs before you commit.

I'd say Lab, but as mentioned above it may be a case of retraining your missus. Nothing is irreparable, just be prepared to put a fair bit of work into her to get her right again. Good luck

1/4 English 1/4 GSP 1/2 WireHair apart from the whiskers of the wirehair she does have a strong resemblance to GSP still a pointer thou isnt it Jim

it's a wirehair cross.......thus being 50% of it's make up.
personally i don't refer to them as pointers, simply wirehairs.

Yes, a pointing dog sure, but not a "pointer" in the sense written above. It's only word games mucko, But I sould say your dog is more a wirehair than anything else going by the pics

EDIT Kawhia beat me to it

I would like to comment on some of the tenets listed below...

Here is a quick primer for any novice dog trainer and a useful reminder for old hands at the game.

* Dogs do not reason; they cannot connect an action with its consequences if time or space has elapsed between the two. It is therefore pointless to delay any corrective intervention until the dog comes to hand.

Never remonstrate a dog that has come back to you even though he has made a misdemeanour...he has come back, right? so why beat him?
* Dogs do not understand English (or any other language for that matter). So don' read them the riot act expecting them to understand all the details. What they will react to is the tone of your voice, your movements and your general posture. If all that points to a painful experience in the past it will reinforce what they are facing at the time. The fact that they then look wary is often interpreted that they feel guilty.

Wrong. Dogs do understand languages...buy in a foreign speaking dog and you will find out. Dogs do understand words, in fact, I believe they understand more words than we clever clog 'umans give them credit for. Yes, there is alot about our demeanour that they pick up from, in my opinion they probably know alot more about us than we do them. If you have to constantly correct your dog, then YOU have failed in your training, not the dog.

* Dogs are highly sensitive to your moods, your state of health, anything that is out of the ordinary. Never train your dog if you are agitated, in a bad mood or in a hurry.

Like der...a bad mood or a hurry...you have the next 13 to 15 years with this beautiful animal, why be in a snot when you are hoping to gain its confidence in you, for you to train it in a manner that will be conducive to many happy years together...



Dog training is most successful if you are relaxed, do it at the same time and in a familiar environment. Initially anyway, the more routine you can make it the less the dog is distracted by novel things and the more it will concentrate on you.

Flawed I would say...same time...how? Familiar environment...if you do not extend your dog to other environments, how it is going to cope with experiences outside of it's close niche...you are going to make a complete wimp out of it...

* Never punish your dog for not following a command. The most probable answer is that the dog has not yet grasped what you want from it. Either it had not had enough training or your methods were too confusing. Simple exercises, repeated often coupled with lots of praise are the keys to creating a good working dog.

* Last but not least, never give a command unless you have the means to enforce it immediately.

Originally Posted by mucko

if you keen on a pointer come out home and check out Holly and see if thats the type of dog you want before buying one and also Bagherra brought a chap out to the shoot on sunday who breeds vizla cross for deer hunting he is out on the raglan road pm Bagherra if your interested i sure he would help you touch bases with him.

Cheer's Mucko I may just do that, Will Pm you when time permits, Thanks.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Sounds like you didn't put enough effort into training your wife in the early days.
Have you considered cutting your losses and getting a new one?

Many times, But I'm in up to my balls now, Cant back out

Originally Posted by BushHunter

Wifey says no : Labs, Collies or X-Breeds. Fark. She did how ever suggest a Rhodesian Ridgeback into the maybe list .............

.

I am getting a Ridgeback once back in NZ, more for a trail dog when running and MTB but wil be taking him bush as well.. They aren't known for it but I have seen a few being used as deer dogs - one on this site even http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...-useful-11137/

I have a nice little two year old Gsp who is looking for a new home. I can't give her the time she deserves as I work away a lot. She is great with kids etc. if anyone is interested. She needs to be on a farm.

Originally Posted by sakokid

I have a nice little two year old Gsp who is looking for a new home. I can't give her the time she deserves as I work away a lot. She is great with kids etc. if anyone is interested. She needs to be on a farm.

Has she done any work?

I've run springers for near on 30 years and I don;t recommend them for deer work at all. The occasional one will do the job, most will not.

I'd be going back and having a chat with your wife. A well bred working Labrador is the best breed to tick every box you have. It is also far and away the best breed for a first dog. A Pointer would be a disaster. You could look at a Versatile i.e: GSP, Viszla or GWP but if it's your first dog you'll struggle. German Wirehairs are not aggressive dogs if you get one from a reputable breeder but they do not take any shit either and will not tolerate kids that want to see if their legs screw off, ears are attached with Velcro or if a poke in the eye makes them blink!

PS: Dogs don;t understand languages or words. They are dogs.

Originally Posted by sakokid

I have a nice little two year old Gsp who is looking for a new home. I can't give her the time she deserves as I work away a lot. She is great with kids etc. if anyone is interested. She needs to be on a farm.

@sakokid I have a mate of mine that may be interested he hunts atleast every 2nd weekend so would suit the dog well PM me if you want

Hey iv had a couple of springers excellent natured dogs the first 1 i had a bitch was a machine was really good with hand signals and was a very steady type of dog she was the real deal on all of the above though i never tried her on deer the second springer a male when i got him he was around 16 months old which with some dogs is less than ideal if they have already picked up bad habits...after around 7 months of training and many beatings all i wanted to do is shoot it! lucky for the dog someone wanted to breed with it so i happily dropped it off and never returned to pic it back up .
For a first dog my money would be on a lab or lab x cattle easy to train "theyl do anything for a sausage" and great nature im a little bias when it comes to cross breeds as that has been what i use for pig dogs for many years and when you get a good line they become very versatile ...a mate of my,n had a GSP and it was a total mutt it was about as bad a deer dog as you could get if it had of been my,n i would have gotten rid of it long ago but he persevered then one day we went wallaby shooting and all of sudden this crazy dog found its purpose it was brilliant and im sure on pheasants etc as well but deer tits on a bull.
some fallas get a dog and only take them out 1c or twice a month and wonder why they can not get it to go ! to really get the ball rolling take it out 2 or 3+ times a week in the field .
Cheers.