doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Looking for a good (no allergy) bird dog !

Llyod,

If I remember correctly, poodles have hair, not fur. Dogs with hair do not shed like dogs with fur and also put out much less allergens. That's why poodles are good for folks with allergies. So, a poodle or a poodle mix might be the answer - as well as looking to see if there are other breeds with hair instead of fur. Poodles were originally bred and used as water retrievers, so while they may not be commonly used as hunting dogs today, their genes do provide the oportunity to find a good hunting poodle.

Lloyd,

The Irish Water Spaniel is also listed as a good allergy hunting dog, and possibly the Portuguese Water Dog. Does anyone have any experience with these breeds?

I had a GWP who was an outstanding Pheasant dog. For whatever reason, I just could never get her to swim. She now resides with my son and his family where she is loved and fussed over by my Grand-daughters.

Because I am now primarily a duck hunter, I wanted a breed that would take to water like a duck, retrieve, and flush the occassional upland bird. Because I wanted a smaller breed, I settled on an American Water Spaniel. He is going on 3 now and we have had a blast together. Loves to hunt. Loves to train. He has a nice, tight coat which causes no allergy problems for me or my wife. Whenever burrs get stuck on his ears, I spray a little PAM on the comb and out they come. He weighs about 40 pounds and has handled everything from quail to geese. I have also rediscovered retriever hunt tests, which is an added bonus of fun.

Tough to find, as they are somewhat of a rare breed, but the good news is almost all that own them are hunters so they have not been split into "field" and "show" types, yet.

Anyway, something to consider. Good luck. I like them all.

If you are allergic to the poodle, it is a different allergy than the other dogs-cats. Dogs and cats fur produced dander. Almost all people allergic to dogs/cats are allergic to the dander. Poodles do not have fur. They have hair which grows much like human hair and does not shed and thus, do not have dander.

Thanks guys! I'll look into the Water Spanials (both Irish and American). In a perfect world, I'd prefer a pointer to hunt with, but it seems that the flushing dogs make for easier house pets. And, as a practical matter, any dog I end up with will spend far-more time at home than he or she will in the field.

Jakearoo- There is definitely a difference between hair and fur, at least for me.

All of them do. I'd like to hear what you end up with. Pix too, of course.

A Vizsla is to gundogs the same as what bagpipes are to music.
A wailing inconvenience.

Lloyd3:

Be very wary with the Irish Water Spaniel. Great breed, super, super smart. Loves to please. Problem is, almost no one hunts with them anymore. The IWS was my first choice. I love the history behind the breed. They are the clown prince of the marsh, and I thought it would be fun to have and train one.

Believe it or not, there was a time in this country when they were number one. But, the easy care and early trainability of the Lab and other breeds pushed them off the map.

Today, the breed has pretty much been taken over by the show and fluff crowd. Field stock is out there, but you have to look really hard and examine the pedigree carefully. Don't be fooled by the Junior Hunter title and "my dogs hunt." Look for Master Hunters on both sides. Do the breeders actually duck hunt, or just go to hunt tests? Big difference. I have never seen an IWS at a NAHRA or HRC event. I even searched in the UK, with most breeders telling me that they import dogs from the US.

This is why I went with the American Water Spaniel. Almost every breeder of the AWS is a duck, upland hunter or both.

Good luck.

Oldmainewoodsman: Thank you for that insight. I'm at the point where I'm lining up different types of dogs to "visit" with to see how I respond. I was at a Vintager's dinner last night and got a bit more local information to work with, so now it's down to a process of elimination.