doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: anybody hunt birds with a Doodle?

I have owned a number of dogs that were AKC breeds with paperwork.
This Australian Labradoodle completely outclasses any of them with respect to health, conditioning and service from the breeder. I now view the AKC as a 'money tree' for those involved in the breeding and selling of dogs. To look upon some organization as constituting whether or not an animal is a breed with papers or a 'mutt' is nonsense or that if not an AKC breed then the animal is diminished. Anyone with money can purchase a dog from an AKC breeder, you cannot purchase one of Beverly's dogs unless she agrees that you and the dog are suitable for each other. The amount of money is irrelevant that i paid for Lily as it will always be a comparative bargain to what the dog has delivered to us!
I probably will never own another AKC animal again but would purchase another 'Doodle' from Rutland Manor in a heartbeat!-Dick

I recall having a similar conversation with a well known trainer. He said there are excellent examples in a lot of breeds. You are looking for just one. You will increase the odds that you will find what you are looking for by finding the breed that is prevalent and proven in U.S. competitive dog trials, and that is well known to have the traits you are looking for.

Like many looking for a field dog, I looked into every breed that anyone mentioned. Saw a lot of great dogs from a lot of breeds, some very obscure here in the states. When it got down to it, more source of breeders, trainers, and individual dogs are available in mainstream U.S. field competition breeds. Even then, since I was looking for a trained dog, it was really hard to find what I was looking for in a search that took me all over the U.S. and took months.

As far as the AKC, I think they are trying to be all things to all types of dog owners and have lost their standing with some of the field dog people who have branched off. I have one dog that is AKC and the later dog is FDSB registered. Neither registrations mean much to me as a hunter with no competitive asperations. But, the FDSB one comes from a line of dogs that at least a few are FDSB Hall of Fame and repetive champions. My logic was that I had better odds that I'd end up with a dog that was a great hunter. We'll see. The older Lab seems to come from a well campaigned line of trial dogs that has some popularity in the midwest competitions and she's turned out to be an outstanding upland hunter.

"...if you don't love your dog and think your's was the best, why would you keep the filthy beast?..."

Gentlemen: I want a bird dog that is intelligent, has the world's best nose, that seeks out objectives, uses the wind to their advantage and that has loads of stamina. These things cannot be taught to a dog. It is innate and most of these dogs are born bird dogs. I have found this in a strain of English Pointer and I personally will stick with that breed. I have had several setters along the way which turned out to be pretty good dogs but it seemed like it took forever to get there. They matured more slowly than the pointers and were of a softer nature. It is harder to find a setter with loads of stamina. I think there are good and even great dogs in all sporting breeds, but I think you have a better chance of getting a GREAT dog if you go with the more traditional breeds. IMHO, and for me, that is the English Pointer.

A buddy has two Labradoodles from Australia. They are pretty much 50 lb. lap dogs and are great housedogs, but in fairness to him and the dogs, that's all he wants. He has not tried to field train them although Billy has had a lifetime of duck dogs. One feature of them is no shedding and they are hypoallergenic.

I agree buzz pointers like a top fuel car compared to the lab which is more like a bracket racer door slamming car

Chuck sounds like you better get out the 4" 12 ga. mAg'minium loaded with Cordite and plew'tomium shot for Kansas..


















Either that or some foe' ten slugs an a good scope

This may be off topic from Doodles but one year my neighbor and I took his three Corgi dogs hunting. Be darned if those little cattle dogs didn't make good retrievers with no prior training.

Boy howdy! I just got home from another day out with the new pointer. Wow! Speed, nose, stamina. I'm just starting to get comfortable driving this race car. The wobbles are getting smaller and I'm getting to where I can hold her in tight in close cover and open her up in the wide open. Lots of throttle.

jOe,
I have a .264 Win Mag that'll hold 3/8" groups and has a 24x scope. Mounted in the helicopter I rented, I should be ok.

Chuck. From your description of today's events it sounds like you won't need any manginums on your hunting trip because your dog is handling for the handler. IMO intelligent dogs will move in in tight cover and move out in the open. But they always have to handle. On a big running dog I have found a Garmin GPS takes a lot of the stress out of hunting. Have fun with your dog and your .410 !!

Buzz,
Thanks, got the Garmin before I got the dog. The collar unit was defective and giving erroneous positions by a lot, then finally died. The outfit I bought from was absolutely committed to supporting me and sent a new unit with no more than a single email about what happened. Steve Snell's Gundog Supply is the best. They have my business for everything I need for dogs now. I'm a fan of theirs.