Quote:
Originally Posted by John Dallas
Agree with all that has been said. I'm a Lab/Springer guy (just lucky, I guess), but I would add that you should ensure that any new pup come from a hunting/field trial line. As an example, most show-bred Springers, Labs and Goldens will be less than stellar in the field.
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Words not to take lightly. The last class I took with Hickox in Idaho, a student brought his house pet Springer. That dog could care less about a bird. It wouldn't even walk over to it when tossed on the ground. I've seen the same thing in two labs around the neighborhood. I had a live pigeon in my birdbag at a local city park, waiting for dark to run a drill with my lab. Two neighborhood ladies had their labs there watching us. I teased them (the ladies' dogs, not the ladies
) with the live bird. Neither dog (nor lady
) was interested.
Predatory drive is bred, not trained. Training hunting dogs is just about harnessing that predatory drive.