Upland Hunting - General

[PirateMcGee]

Well after chatting with a lot of pudelpointer breeders and a few langharr folks I ended up putting a deposit down on a field bred golden retriever haha. The german dog folks were all relatively pleasant but securing a dog was honestly off putting.

I've had great luck with the personality, lack of agression, and intelligence of Goldens and really the main thing I want is an adaptable dog that can go from a wide variety of upland (including ptarmigan here in CO), to waterfowl, to hunting sheds to hanging out at the brewery and home. Retrieving is more important than pointing to me and the breeders were all much more straight forward. Found a litter with good field lines and put a deposit down!

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Well after chatting with a lot of pudelpointer breeders and a few langharr folks I ended up putting a deposit down on a field bred golden retriever haha. The german dog folks were all relatively pleasant but securing a dog was honestly off putting.

I've had great luck with the personality, lack of agression, and intelligence of Goldens and really the main thing I want is an adaptable dog that can go from a wide variety of upland (including ptarmigan here in CO), to waterfowl, to hunting sheds to hanging out at the brewery and home. Retrieving is more important than pointing to me and the breeders were all much more straight forward. Found a litter with good field lines and put a deposit down! View attachment 703547

Golden retrievers are wonderful dogs. My speciation is the German dog breeders want to ensure that their dogs are used for hunting. I think you made the right choice for you.

 

[PirateMcGee]

Golden retrievers are wonderful dogs. My speciation is the German dog breeders want to ensure that their dogs are used for hunting. I think you made the right choice for you.

I hunt and often so that wasn't the issue although very few folks asked me detailed questions. All the breeders were not straightforward about putting down a deposit and providing a general time line. No need to get into the details but honestly it was all a bit eccentric for my tastes.

Oh well! Things typically work out how they are supposed to and I'm stoked to have a new hunting partner that can learn the ropes from my 15 year old Golden. It's nice to finally be able to devote more time to the pursuit of birds although Sept. is going to be a real struggle between birds and archery Elk.

 

[Highlander]

Yeah not sure about the Pudelpointer clubs, but our breed is quite hard to get.
There are only 6 or 7 breeding females available.
I am already securing my future pup for 2024-2025... well I am sort of picky so it harder for me.

including ptarmigan here in CO

Always wanted do to this.
The mountains. the vistas, the bird, the challenge...

 

[Highlander]

@PirateMcGee
May I ask you what's the difference between a Lab and a Golden in terms of hunting?
In other wards why would somebody go with a Golden instead of a Lab? since good hunting labs are way either to get.
I see labs all the time when I hunt, but yet to see a Golden.

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

@PirateMcGee
May I ask you what's the difference between a Lab and a Golden in terms of hunting?
In other wards why would somebody go with a Golden instead of a Lab? since good hunting labs are way either to get.
I see labs all the time when I hunt, but yet to see a Golden.

I’ll toss in my 2¢ worth, too.

From my experience with both breeds, the lab’s coat was the easier of the two to maintain. Cockleburs and beggar lice were really difficult to get out of my golden’s coat. I felt my lab‘s coat was better insulated for cold water work. BTW, both of my dogs didn’t shed, they molted. Years after the lab’s death, I still found yellow hair in my garage.

Perhaps there was more retrieve intensity in my lab. Personality wise, my lab was a better fit for the family, but that may have been a training or breeding trait. The golden would only obey me.

SGH

 

[Highlander]

Is the Golden's hair an issue for water work ? such as muddy mush and cold?

 

[PirateMcGee]

@PirateMcGee
May I ask you what's the difference between a Lab and a Golden in terms of hunting?
In other wards why would somebody go with a Golden instead of a Lab? since good hunting labs are way either to get.
I see labs all the time when I hunt, but yet to see a Golden.

This can be a six in one half a dozen in another type of conversation but in my experience there are some typical differences. More important is the training and personality of the dog but that's not as much fun to talk about haha.

Firstly field Goldens are wildly different than show/pet Goldens in terms of build, drive, and coat.

My experience has been that Goldens from field lines tend to be a bit better problem solvers/instinctual. For waterfowl I would lean towards the Lab being the better option as they tend to do a bit better in cold water and have thicker bodies. For upland I think Goldens have a bit better nose, do better in heat, just like to carry stuff around, and have better instinct for finding whatever you're chasing. Personality wise I find Goldens to be slightly more in tune with their people (Goldens tend to be a bit more sensitive to discipline than Labs but are also less likely to need it). I find Goldens to have a better off switch and be calmer in the house and have a softer mouth while being less likely to chew everything up. Overall I think Goldens are a bit more intelligent and trainable; there's a reason you still see a lot of Goldens being used in therapy, SAR, and disability tasks.

They're also just plain gorgeous dogs when they have reddish coats but it does require more maintenance. I also like that a hunting Golden is pretty unique. As you said you'll see tons of lab but rarely see a Golden in the field these days; it's a shame but the field lines are slowly making a comeback with the pet/show lines mostly becoming goldendoodles these days haha.

 

[PirateMcGee]

Is the Golden's hair an issue for water work ? such as muddy mush and cold?

It's not bad. They are double coated so the outside might be wet but a good shake and it will be relatively clean while the undercoat stays dry. The pet/show ones tend to have less oils and more stuff sticks.

 

[Highlander]

Thanks!

I hear you. I always loved a long haired breeds too.

I grew up with setters and hunted with them for almost 10 years.
They are excellent upland dogs and have amazing qualities for that.

However, I ended up liking waterfowl hunting more and more as well, so they became a bit hard to use as they lacked a strong retrieving instincts and didn't want to stay in blind too long.
In the same time I did not want to give up upland hunting and dog's pointing abilities. I can't hunt where I can't see my dog slam points a bird be it the woods or in the open country.
This is why the Langhaars made a lot more sense for me.
They are excellent pointers, excellent water dogs and have amazing retrieving drive, their tracking and nose arability is phenomenal especially for finding a wounded ducks in marsh or crippled birds. Plus the calmness.
And they look like a Setter. Their movement and gait is also very similar to Setter's as they influenced the breed a lot.
So when I put all the variables in the equation the results was very clear.


I could have gone with a Small Munsetrlander but they are too small for my test.

I enjoy dog training and working with me dog... and they love drills (as all versatile dogs) and working you and for you.
I can take her for a 40 minute walk she loves it, but she much preferers a structured exercise and drills than just walking and running in the park. even shorter then the walks.
All German dogs love tasks and "assignments". If you can't provide it then are not for you.

 

[PirateMcGee]

I really liked the Langhaar. If pups were more available that would have been my route. Basically seem like a pointing version of a field Golden.

 

[Highlander]

I really liked the Langhaar. If pups were more available that would have been my route. Basically seem like a pointing version of a field Golden.

Yes, pups are not available as easily as GWP or GSP.
That is the problem for niche breeds.
I know two people who could get a pup from the club due to the waitlist. One ended up with a DK (German bred GSP) and other one with a Small Mustie.
This is the reason why GSP or Labs are so easy to get. They come in so many variations too.

bwt have you looked into pointing labs?

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

I really liked the Langhaar. If pups were more available that would have been my route. Basically seem like a pointing version of a field Golden.

For future reference, the Large Munsterlander is to my understanding, a different color morph of the Langhaar. Both are beautiful, capable dogs.

 

[Tex68w]

A few from this past weekend in South Texas near Laredo.

 

[Highlander]

@Tex68w
Wonderful.
Man I should have moved to TX or CO when I was being recruited right when I was still in collage

There is good woodcock season going on in east TX now.
Have you paid a visit?