I think the European versatile's were bred for feather and fur Dean...

That's exactly right.

Good breeding & tons of exposure is key - emphasis on exposure IMO

Exceptional intelligence sure doesn't hurt either.

I'd like to hear what Jeff has to say too :corn:

If I shoot a snowshoe while bird hunting they retrieve it for me. Then we continue hunting birds. It's that simple. Often late in the season in ct when we go cottontail hunting I'll bring my shorthair (not pictured here) for retrieving duties out of the thick brush because my dads beagle won't do it.

I will say rabbits are usually targets of opportunity and I don't encourage them tracking fur if I know that's what they are on. Once in a while I'll shoot one because I want a rabbit in the pot, but more often I call them off and don't take it.

Kansas turned four today..best dog I have ever had :)

Good question Dean. My Lew last year at 9 months old pointed three Porky's in Maine. I didn't know whether to kill them in front of her or not because I didn't want her to think we were hunting Porky's.

Maybe Legh Higgins will chime in and tell us how he keeps his dogs away from Porkys.

They are to be avoided at all costs... Vet bills after a run-in with a Porky are pretty expensive.






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I would call her off immediately. If you shoot one in front of her she might try to retrieve it or mouth it at least. or maybe the next dog through the area will try to worry the carcass or roll in it... Bad, bad medicine those porcupines!!






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Not only the expense but a Porky can put a dog down for the season (that's what happened to my Magic when he got a couple of hundred quills in his hind quarter) or it can kill a dog. In my book there is only one kind of Porky, that's a dead one....

I've never had a quill in any of my setters. They have pointed quite a few. I simply pull them off with a stern warning and tell them to move on.

I know several guys that porky proof their dogs in a similar fashion to snake or deer proofing. Set the dog up to investigate a fresh road killed porky and when the dog shows interest burn them with the collar hard. If the dog has any brains at all it should only take once, maybe two times.

Of my bird dog owning acquaintances those with continental breeds are most plagued with porky problems and vet bills. Some on numerous occasions. The propensity to grab and kill is bad news. I always discourage it, be it mice, chipmunks, skunks, or anything else.

Daisy has a vendetta against porkys and will go after every one she finds. Once she got into one but not to badly and I was able to pull out the quills. Twenty minuets later she was ripping one to shreds. That resulted to a trip to the vet and just to be a pain in the ass we were hunting up north so it was an ER visit to the local vet.

Here she is relaxing after a days hunt.....no porky's:) She's a big fan of the heated seats after the hunt:)