What's the best breed of hunting dog there is ?

[Hunter007]

What's the best breed of hunting dog ? If there is such a thing or let's say  top 5 

[rob-c]

Well suppose it depends on what your hunting. We had some great beagles for rabbits, had a friend that had execellent blue ticks for coon’s. 

[Pygmy]

You are covering a lot of territory there, Stormy...There are dog that excel at hunting wharf rats and dogs that excel at hunting  mountain lions and bears, and  a whole bunch of critters in between....

Then are those dogs who hang out in singles bars and hunt those split-tailed, double breasted thrashers, and that's a whole different breed...You'd have to ask BIZ about them....

[Hunter007]

1 minute ago, Pygmy said:

You are covering a lot of territory there, Stormy...There are dog that excel at hunting wharf rats and dogs that excel at hunting  mountain lions and bears, and  a whole bunch of critters in between....

Then are those dogs who hang out in singles bars and hunt those split-tailed, double breasted thrashers, and that's a whole different breed...You'd have to ask BIZ about them....

O have know  idea except for the bar dogs I know  plenty of those .

But seriously you cant just train certain breed of dog to hunt what every you want ?

And be good at it ?

Like you could not take something like a German shepherd and train it to hunt rabbits or whatever?

 

[helmut in the bush]

[screamon demon]

Wirehaired pointing griffon - google it. Staring at mine now(griswold). Best dog ever!!!!

[Daveboone]

First you start with what you want to hunt, then you go to how you hunt it.

Birds: Flusher or pointer? retriever? one that will do both? what sort of endurance/ maintenance? Size? Type of coat? 

Rabbits ? How closely do you hunt/ snowshoes or cottontails? what kind of brush? 

Down south they use dogs for squirrels...

Sight hunters, scent hunters? Coyotes, wolves, cats, coons, possoms….

Is the dog going to also or primarily be a family pet? Will you be training or having it trained? 

So far we are just touching the surface of the questions to be considered. 

A crap load of great hunting breeds have been ruined by the AKC breeding for "conformity" and not what the dogs were originally intended for...looks instead of ability.

You are asking the same type of question as if you were to ask what the best gun/ rifle is.

[Pygmy]

11 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

O have know  idea except for the bar dogs I know  plenty of those .

But seriously you cant just train certain breed of dog to hunt what every you want ?

And be good at it ?

Like you could not take something like a German shepherd and train it to hunt rabbits or whatever?

 

To answer your question in a single word, NO ...

Many dogs have been bred for years and years for specialized jobs, such as trailing (hounds) or retrieving or pointing....

Most hounds are bred to bark on the trail, and many other....

Some breeds are quite specialized, and other breeds are quite versatile,  but it would be asking a lot for any breed to do everything REALLY WELL... Complicating things is the fact that many breeds have had their hunting instincts bred out of them over the years  for show and pet stock...

Try teaching a beagle how to retrieve ducks....Reminds me of the old proverb..."Never try to teach a pig to sing...It is a waste of time and it annoys the pig..."

[Hunter007]

3 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

To answer your question in a single word, NO ...

Many dogs have been bred for years and years for specialized jobs, such as trailing (hounds) or retrieving or pointing....

Most hounds are bred to bark on the trail, and many other....

Some breeds are quite specialized, and other breeds are quite versatile,  but it would be asking a lot for any breed to do everything REALLY WELL... Complicating things is the fact that many breeds have had their hunting instincts bred out of them over the years  for show and pet stock...

Try teaching a beagle how to retrieve ducks....Reminds me of the old proverb..."Never try to teach a pig to sing...It is a waste of time and it annoys the pig..."

What about  something like bloodhound 

You can't just train it to go after what ever smell you put in its face like you see  in the movies ? Or is that all bs and  it's a little more complicated then that .

[Pygmy]

17 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

What about  something like bloodhound 

You can't just train it to go after what ever smell you put in its face like you see  in the movies ? Or is that all bs and  it's a little more complicated then that .

Keep in mind that following a scent trail ON THE GROUND is a single task that a bloodhound is bred for....

The movie stuff is not ALL BS, but much of it is, and yes, it's a little more complicated than that...

I think I'll go to bed now...All of this Xmas family stuff has me exhausted ….I think I'll go upstairs, jump up on the bed, turn around twice and curl up next to The mermaid..

 

[rob-c]

3 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

Keep in mind that following a scent trail ON THE GROUND is a single task that a bloodhound is bred for....

The movie stuff is not ALL BS, but much of it is, and yes, it's a little more complicated than that...

I think I'll go to bed now...All of this Xmas family stuff has me exhausted ….I think I'll go upstairs, jump up on the bed, turn around twice and curl up next to The mermaid..

 

 

Don’t forget to lick her cheek goodnight 

[Pygmy]

Nope....I'm not biting on that one....Hehehe...

[NYBowhunter]

My little rat terrier. Guess what hes bred to hunt....lol

[Uncle Nicky]

1 hour ago, Storm914 said:

O have know  idea except for the bar dogs I know  plenty of those .

But seriously you cant just train certain breed of dog to hunt what every you want ?

And be good at it ?

Like you could not take something like a German shepherd and train it to hunt rabbits or whatever?

 

It really doesn't work like that.

With upland birds, you want a dog that will find birds and point them to you or flush them close-by. Duck & goose dogs retrieve downed birds. Hounds scent out game and you have to follow them as they chase. Beagle run rabbits around, hopefully in your direction. Squirrel and coon dogs run game up a tree, hopefully they keep it there until you arrive. My turkey dog finds turkeys and flushes them all wherever she finds them

My father was one of the best dog-guys/small game hunters I ever met. He only had 1 dog at a time, sometimes a bird dog, sometimes a beagle, and he hunted upland birds & rabbits with whatever dog he had. The beagles flushed pheasants, sometimes too far out...we just did the best we could with what he had to work with. I've seen labs, English springers, & GSPs that could cross over from upland to retriever as needed, but that's about the best I've seen.

[ATbuckhunter]

There are dog breeds that are classified as versitiles that do a lot of different jobs very well GSP's would be one of them. It wont do exactly what you want most likely, but it'll do a lot. You have to really look into what kind of dog will best suit your purpose. Im hoping to get a dog with in the next year or two and im really splitting hairs trying to figure it out. 

[helmut in the bush]

I don't think it matters what breed is the best hunter. You have to be lucky enough to get a pup that grows up, has the drive, and wants to hunt. Some are flat out killers, others are couch dogs, I have one, an expensive chocolate lab that won't retrieve, not even a frisbee 

[Chef]

I would say the German shorthaired pointer probably fits the bill for the best all around hunting dog, they are great for upland birds they can point retrieve what ever you want, again they can hunt waterfowl and make good retrievers. They can be trained for other small game such as rabbits, they can we used for blood trailing and hunting other big game where legal. They are called pointers but are really a versatile hunting dog. Someone else mentioned the wirehaired pointing griffon. They also fall into this category. I just think the short hair of a GSP makes it easier to deal with.

Oh Incase you can’t tell my opinion is complete unbias


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[Steve D]

59 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

What about  something like bloodhound 

You can't just train it to go after what ever smell you put in its face like you see  in the movies ? Or is that all bs and  it's a little more complicated then that

It is a lot more complicated. Most hunting breeds are bred to hunt a particular game animal and sometimes cross trained to run something else.  For example some hounds will run a bear and or coon. Some will run coyotes and or fox but you won't get them to run a rabbit or hunt birds. Most "dog" hunters don't want their dog  running anything else but the game they are after. On occasion you will find one that you can squirrel hunt with during the day and coon hunt with at night. You can also come across beagles that will run a rabbit and also a bird like grouse or pheasant but those kind are rare and hard to come by.

 It all depends on what kind of game you are looking to hunt with a dog.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Steve D

[helmut in the bush]

5 minutes ago, chefhunter86 said:

I would say the German shorthaired pointer probably fits the bill for the best all around hunting dog, they are great for upland birds they can point retrieve what ever you want, again they can hunt waterfowl and make good retrievers. They can be trained for other small game such as rabbits, they can we used for blood trailing and hunting other big game where legal. They are called pointers but are really a versatile hunting dog. Someone else mentioned the wirehaired pointing griffon. They also fall into this category. I just think the short hair of a GSP makes it easier to deal with.

Oh Incase you can’t tell my opinion is complete unbias


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Smart dog's, couch dog's

[Chef]

Smart dog's, couch dog's

Couch dogs bed dogs where ever they want dogs

 

This these two jokers right now

 

Forget their expensive a$$ Cozy cave beds they take up mine

 

 

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[BizCT]

What's the best breed of hunting dog ? If there is such a thing or let's say  top 5 

Scottish Fold


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[Nytracker]

Nope not one dog can do it all. Love gsp great grouse pheasants and early ducks and geese. Rabbits  I would have to go to beagle . Labrador retriever  does it all except rabbits and grouse.  Nope not one dog I have ever seen can do it all.

[airedale]

I am somewhat biased! Below are a few photos I pulled off the Traditional Working Airedale forum posted by members from all over the US and Canada.

Edited December 26, 2018 by airedale

[airedale]

Tracking down the "SKIDMARK" Murderer

YIKES!! Get those cheesy drawers out of my face!!

Edited December 26, 2018 by airedale

[landtracdeerhunter]

I like my Spaniel's for pheasant, my Blue Ticks for coon, and my Beagles for rabbit. Really a lot of fun to watch these dogs work a scent.