What is the best breed?

[JakerGreen]

I was just wondering what the best breed fo dog was? I want a dog but don't know what to get.



Thanks, JakerGreen

[JCAMERON]

That depends alot on what you are going to use the dog for. Duck hunting... Upland birds... coon... or maybe just a friend?

[thunderpout]

The best breed is the breed that suites what you plan to hunt for and even more importantly, where and how you live.... (do you have a family, a yard to run in, will it be a house dog or a kennel outdoor dog ect) take your time & read some books & investigate a bit... nothing wrong with em, but there really are more breeds out there than Labs and pitbulls!

[Outdoors Junkie]

Jake enjoys both duck hunting and pheasant hunting.  Plus, the dog would be a family dog (Jake has one younger brother and two younger sisters). 

But first he must convince his mom he can take care of a dog.

[JakerGreen]

Thanks Everyone for the info.
                         JakerGreen

[pheasantman2121]

Cant go wrong with a LAB they are a good alround dog family and in the feild.  I have 2 labs and wont buy any other breed.  I did have a irish setter and by far she was the worst dog ever way to hyper and not a good dog around kids. 

[thunderpout]

Ive had three english setters from two different lines... I like them more than enough to say they are the best breed, but I wont... I personally would try other breeds, there are a bunch of great ones out there, Drahtars, Visalas, Munsterlanders, Gordon Setters ect. ..... I guess what Im sayin is that there is no "best breed".... only breeds that will suite a person better than others for their needs... and probably more important than what breed is best, is that whatever the breed, you get your dog from a good line and breeder, there are terrible dogs from all breeds, for example, I know people with awesome labs, and just as many, or more who have had worthless labs... and its not all about getting a dog from a line that has a dog or two with a room full of feild trial trophies and ribbons... all that looks great on paper, but it really isnt going to help you with your end result of having a family companion/ hunting partener that will be with you for ten or more years.... research your breeds, then research your breeders!  Good luck!

[kingfisher1]

Cant go wrong with a LAB they are a good alround dog family and in the feild.  I have 2 labs and wont buy any other breed.  I did have a irish setter and by far she was the worst dog ever way to hyper and not a good dog around kids. 

I agree with the lab.  I have had a lab before and it was a great hunting dog as well as a great house dog, and a loyal friend.  They're great with waterfowl as well as upland birds.  i used my lab many times for ducks, geese, pheasents, and grouse.  I was fortunite to have a pointing lab, which are a little more expensive, and good for grouse hunting.  If you're not going to  be doing much grouse hunting, then any regular lab will due just fine.  As far as colors go, some will say that it doesn't matter, but I have found, after helping train many labs (and other breeds) that black labs have a better temperment and are easier to train.  Just my 2 cents.

[guythathunts]

Jakergreen - If I were you I would get a Lab. I have a lab and he is the greatest dog in the world. He is good with kids, loves to hunt, he gives hugs and even shuts the lights off for me! There are a lot of great dogs out there, but I am a Lab guy. A lot of guys will talk about the breeder that you get it from and the blood line that it comes from, but the most important thing is that you train your dog and spend lots of time working with it. I have seen $1200 dogs be put to shame by $100 dogs from a farm. If you put the time in your dog will be just fine. Good luck and keep us updated!

[Moving2thecountry]

I like English Springer Spaniel.  Probably worthless for duck hunting.  Mine would be...she doesn't like to sit when she knows it's time to hunt.  Likes to cry. 

Other than that, for pheasants great.  Also nice sized (still a lap dog, if you have a big lap).  Great with kids, doesn't bark, very good temperment.

[thunderpout]

Watch it Moving to the Country... you'll rile all the Lab fans that hang around here.... there is NO better breed for anything... they do it all perfectly, upland and waterfowl hunting....  they are easier to train than all hunting breeds (I never knew this one...), are a better house breed, have a better temperment than all other breeds.... seems nobody has ever owned a bad Lab, so its the only choice apparently...

[Auggie]

Cant go wrong with a LAB they are a good alround dog family and in the feild.  I have 2 labs and wont buy any other breed.  I did have a irish setter and by far she was the worst dog ever way to hyper and not a good dog around kids. 

I agree with the lab.  I have had a lab before and it was a great hunting dog as well as a great house dog, and a loyal friend.  They're great with waterfowl as well as upland birds.  i used my lab many times for ducks, geese, pheasents, and grouse.  I was fortunite to have a pointing lab, which are a little more expensive, and good for grouse hunting.  If you're not going to  be doing much grouse hunting, then any regular lab will due just fine.  As far as colors go, some will say that it doesn't matter, but I have found, after helping train many labs (and other breeds) that black labs have a better temperment and are easier to train.  Just my 2 cents.

     I gotta call  on black labs having a better temperament and being easier to train than other colored labs. Coat color is a matter of genetics. No different than eye color. That is like saying my blue eyed kid is smarter than your brown eyed kid. By the way that is just an example, I don't know what color your kids eyes are and I am sure he/she is very smart. I used to breed labs. Eyes, hips, papered the whole nine yards. Some litters would toss all three colors. They all had a different personality, but the coat color is pure genetics. They are a great dog.
Some other breeds not mentioned here are Chesapeake, German Shorthair (i have one and love), German Wirehair and cocker spaniel and the poodle. All of which are good hunting breeds too.
      Another avenue you may want to pursue is a mixed breed. The best dog I ever had was a Lab/GSP cross. Great water dog and a phenomenal upland bird dog. They also tend to have a little better health than some of the pure breeds and many times can be picked up for free or adopted from the pound.

[kingfisher1]

while I agree that coat color is purely and completely genetic, I was just stating an observation that I had found.  Nothing scientific aout it, just an observation.  While all labs are easily trained, I noticed, in the labs that I either trained or helped train, that for whatever reason, the black labs were a little easier.  As I said, it was just an observation that I made. 

[Auggie]

    Exactly why I called it out. Nothing scientific about the observation. I didn't want young Jake to feel he had to get a black lab because they are easier or smarter if he had set his mind on Old Yellow. A dog is a big responsibility for a young man, and coat color doesn't need to be a factor in his decision. With that said, I love labs and think most make a perfect dog for a boy to grow up with.
     I agree with guythathunts about big money and field trial pedigrees. All the paper in the world will mean nothing if the time you spend with your dog is limited. Like I said my $15 lab/GSP cross was the best hound I ever had. He put many high $ dogs with big pedigrees and titles to shame while hunting along side them. Including some of my own. While I believe a dog either has it in them or not, I can't stress enough how much time they require to bring them to their full potential.
Good luck with your decision JakerGreen.

[kingfisher1]

that is another point that I completely agree with.  I ha a lab/? mix that I got from the MPLS pound that out hunted, had more stamina, and ws all around better in the field than a fully blooded lab I had that had had parents and grandparents that had a combined 8 national titles, 6 state titles and many other titles on his pedigree, even though they had the same training.  Not saying mixed breeds make the absolute best hunting dogs, just saying that they should be an option as well.  One thin that I might suggest is try going to an animal shelter and look at the dogs they have there before checking with local breeders.  The shelters are running at pretty much full capacity right now due to the economy.  Some of the best dogs I know came from an animal shelter (another/personal opinion).

[thunderpout]

Thanx Augie!  I was jerkin the other "Lab Guys" chains, and I dont think they even knew I was ... good to hear someone think theres a possibility that there are other hunting dogs worth having on the planet besides Labs, and that comming from a Lab guy....(there I go again with the sarcasim... ) Oh well..... Thanx again Aug for being openminded and not living with lead re-inforced blinders on!

[microchipped]

YIKES!!!! A MIXED BREED? BAD IDEA!!!

Here is why, and I am not trying to start a battle or say anyone is nuts for having a mixed breed dog but.....for a kid and his first dog you really want to optomize his chances of getting a quality animal that is going to more then likely be a bit easier to train and that is a lab. I have trained for 20+ years and my dad was a trainer and breeder before me. I have trained just about every breed of gun dog out there dozens of times over the years. I have my favorites and some I absolutely hate to see come in for training but for the most part they all have their place and purpose and are great working dogs. Here is the problem with mixed breeds or for that matter outcrossing of the same breed. Every breeder, well at least every breeder should be trying to consistantly produce dogs of superior quality. This isn't the case all the time or even most of the time. The only way to to consistantly produce uniform litters of superior quality pups is by line breeding. You need to know what you are doing and make sure you utilize the tools we all have at our disposal these days. Make sure your imbreeding coefficients are not above 18 and that the parents and lines you are concentrating on are both clean genetically and have all the traits you are looking for in a dog. If they don't, you shouldn't be breeding them in any case. Many people are afraid of linebreeding because they think they are going to get a screw ball animal when in fact when done right they have a much greater chance of getting more then what they are paying for. When outcrossing your pups in the litter are going to be as different as pups from different litters. That shouldn't be the case. When breeding two field champion labs together that is a total outcross, statistically if you have eight puppies two of them will be above, four average and two below average. You have no greater odds of producing a uniform litter of great puppies by breeding to a field champion when outcrossing this way then breeding to Odie down the block. When breeding two field champions together that are from the same lineage, but not too close and are clean genetically and have all those traits you are looking for in a great dog your odds of having an eight puppy litter of uniform well above average puppies is greatly increased. We have seen this time and time again in the pointer world and now a lot with labs in the last fifteen years. It is no different then cattle breeders. Genetics are genetics. I am not damning mixed breed dogs to death. I have owned them myself. They are on this planet and deserve to have a good home and comfortable life. What I am saying is we want to be responsible and do whatever we can to  prevent mixed breeds from happening. One mix that kills me is the labradoodles. One day someone decided to throw together two breeds that have an unreasonable amount of health issues within their own breed the way it is then they go and cross these genes up having no idea of the awful traits and genetic problems they are going to end up producing down the line. The problem is it may take five or even ten generations to rear it's ugly head but it will. Anyway, for a youngster and his first hunting dog in my opinion he should get the breed that is great with people and about the easiest there is to train. At least train to an acceptable level in the field where the dog will do you justice and not take away from the hunt. If I had to make a second choice for what would be a good dog for a kid to start with and have in the house is a field bred English Cocker. These little guys are fire balls and fantastic upland bird dogs. They are hard to beat in the upland field and are good little cuddle buddies at night when the little guy goes to bed. They are very loyal and personable little dogs with great temperments and a good attitude towards training. Good luck with your new dog if you get it little man. I hope you find what you are looking for. Good training.

[kingfisher1]

Gene Hill said it best in his article called "Brown Dog."  Every boy should have a brown dog.  If you don't know the article I'm talking about, or have no idea why I bring this up, go to the library or find it and read it.  It's a great article.

[NDGUY]

Well said Microchipped

[Auggie]

YIKES!!!! A MIXED BREED? BAD IDEA!!!

Here is why, and I am not trying to start a battle or say anyone is nuts for having a mixed breed dog but.....for a kid and his first dog you really want to optomize his chances of getting a quality animal that is going to more then likely be a bit easier to train and that is a lab. I have trained for 20+ years and my dad was a trainer and breeder before me. I have trained just about every breed of gun dog out there dozens of times over the years. I have my favorites and some I absolutely hate to see come in for training but for the most part they all have their place and purpose and are great working dogs. Here is the problem with mixed breeds or for that matter outcrossing of the same breed. Every breeder, well at least every breeder should be trying to consistantly produce dogs of superior quality. This isn't the case all the time or even most of the time. The only way to to consistantly produce uniform litters of superior quality pups is by line breeding. You need to know what you are doing and make sure you utilize the tools we all have at our disposal these days. Make sure your imbreeding coefficients are not above 18 and that the parents and lines you are concentrating on are both clean genetically and have all the traits you are looking for in a dog. If they don't, you shouldn't be breeding them in any case. Many people are afraid of linebreeding because they think they are going to get a screw ball animal when in fact when done right they have a much greater chance of getting more then what they are paying for. When outcrossing your pups in the litter are going to be as different as pups from different litters. That shouldn't be the case. When breeding two field champion labs together that is a total outcross, statistically if you have eight puppies two of them will be above, four average and two below average. You have no greater odds of producing a uniform litter of great puppies by breeding to a field champion when outcrossing this way then breeding to Odie down the block. When breeding two field champions together that are from the same lineage, but not too close and are clean genetically and have all those traits you are looking for in a great dog your odds of having an eight puppy litter of uniform well above average puppies is greatly increased. We have seen this time and time again in the pointer world and now a lot with labs in the last fifteen years. It is no different then cattle breeders. Genetics are genetics. I am not damning mixed breed dogs to death. I have owned them myself. They are on this planet and deserve to have a good home and comfortable life. What I am saying is we want to be responsible and do whatever we can to  prevent mixed breeds from happening. One mix that kills me is the labradoodles. One day someone decided to throw together two breeds that have an unreasonable amount of health issues within their own breed the way it is then they go and cross these genes up having no idea of the awful traits and genetic problems they are going to end up producing down the line. The problem is it may take five or even ten generations to rear it's ugly head but it will. Anyway, for a youngster and his first hunting dog in my opinion he should get the breed that is great with people and about the easiest there is to train. At least train to an acceptable level in the field where the dog will do you justice and not take away from the hunt. If I had to make a second choice for what would be a good dog for a kid to start with and have in the house is a field bred English Cocker. These little guys are fire balls and fantastic upland bird dogs. They are hard to beat in the upland field and are good little cuddle buddies at night when the little guy goes to bed. They are very loyal and personable little dogs with great temperments and a good attitude towards training. Good luck with your new dog if you get it little man. I hope you find what you are looking for. Good training.

The biggest problem with line breeding is the health issues. There are to many clowns out there doing it and that is the biggest reason many of the pure breeds carry these poor genetic traits to begin with. With line breeding, you statistically have just as good a chance of bringing out the non desirable traits as well and increasing the severity of them. I agree it can be done well to a point. I have seen it first hand in my pen raised whitetail as well as when we used to breed labs. But to many do not know what they are doing.

[gabby1963]

I've had labs and springer spanuals the lab was and is the best all around hunting dog but very stubern the springer is the most willing to please and very easy to train they love the water and allways have there nose to the ground and are a awsome fam dog i've had many of both labs and springers the springer is the smartist i've had probably a better speller too lol   

[JakerGreen]

Thanks for all the talk about dogs. It so hard to chose which dog it sounds like theres a lot of good breeds.
                                 JakerGreen

[JakerGreen]

I also still need to convince my mom. Think I'm getting to her so it shouldn't be soon for a dog.
                                              JakerGreen

[Auggie]

Microchipped and gabby1963, I forgot to welcome you both to the site! :happy1:Be sure and go to the home page and check out the 4000 member contest and get your name in the hat.

Good luck with your Mom JakerGreen!

[kingfisher1]

microchipped, welcome to the site!!!   

[JakerGreen]

 
                       JakerGreen

[Duckslayer]

If you are really going to use it to hunt then I would say that a Lab would be the ticket.  If you just want a "brown dog" go to the local pound and rescue one from there.  We had them as kids and never had a bad one in the neighborhood!  They are the best friend that a lil boy young man can have.  Good luck with wichever one you decide to go with!  Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[thunderpout]

Work her Jaker... work her!   Auggie, you said it best, lots of boneheads out there do major damage to lines then ya have some who just dont know any better.... then that small portion who actually keep lines healthy & on the up and even improve lines... we need alot more of the latter!

[beeker]

I personally like the lab... they seem to make the best all around dog.. I like to have the dog in the house and with me as much as I can just because I like have'n her around. I'm on my second one and don't think i will switch when it's time for a 3rd.. (hopefully a long ways off...)

when I was working my ma the trick was to get the critter in her hands and then she couldn't say no... tell you want to go test drive a few pups.. you'll get her.

[JakerGreen]

Ok I'll do that beeker. Thanks




                   JakerGreen