First log in, a few questions

[sanders27]

I am new to this site. First site that I joined because it seems to have an excellent collection of hunters, my favaorite being pheasant hunting. We have had great danes, boxers, weiner dogs ( mini dachshunds), and enjoy them very much. Our next dog will actually be a pure hunting dog. My brother has had black labs and they have been relentless hunters and excellent family dogs. A black lab took the national field trials. My grandfather had a springer called Ike that was pure hunter- except it took weeks to get burrs out of his coat. I am leaning toward the lab, a chocolate lab that has been bred for upland bird-primarily pheasant. We are in NW Illinois and may be looking to bring home a chocolate lab this spring. What shoud I look for when researching for a proven bird hunter and what characteristics would I look for in a pup? Does the color have any influence on the ability to hunt? Any input would be appreciated including any breeder suggestions for chocolate labs.

[chadsbritt]

I would suggest posting your questions to the bird dog portion of the forum.

As far as selecting the right puppy, make sure you do your homework. Don't settle on a breeder, but find one you feel comfortable with and seems to truly have the interest of the dogs in mind. Obviously, you want the parents to have a strong hunting pedigree. Some lab guys will tell you a lot of labs have been bred to compete in field trials and have become too hyper over the years. Many say the labs with british blood lines may have a more easy going tempermant and may be less hyper. How true it is, I'm not sure. This is only what I read when researching the different breeds I was interested in. Although I ended up with a britany, I love labs and hope nobody takes offense to this.

Once you've found a breeder, you want a puppy that seems alert and interested in his surroundings. Feel free to bring a pheasant wing with you and see which pups have the most interest in it.

[wgwollet]

Originally Posted by sanders27

I am new to this site. First site that I joined because it seems to have an excellent collection of hunters, my favaorite being pheasant hunting. We have had great danes, boxers, weiner dogs ( mini dachshunds), and enjoy them very much. Our next dog will actually be a pure hunting dog. My brother has had black labs and they have been relentless hunters and excellent family dogs. A black lab took the national field trials. My grandfather had a springer called Ike that was pure hunter- except it took weeks to get burrs out of his coat. I am leaning toward the lab, a chocolate lab that has been bred for upland bird-primarily pheasant. We are in NW Illinois and may be looking to bring home a chocolate lab this spring. What shoud I look for when researching for a proven bird hunter and what characteristics would I look for in a pup? Does the color have any influence on the ability to hunt? Any input would be appreciated including any breeder suggestions for chocolate labs.

Get in touch with me on what you find I would like to get a Chocalate Lab, I hear the black is best......I live in NE IL