Questions to ask a dog breeder.

[Drunk_Dynasty]

Okay, so I'm in the market for getting a dog, not immediately but I've been thinking about it for some time. I've never picked out my own dog before, and I'm really.... really trying to get this right the first time. I've heard way too many stories of guys impulsively getting the first dog they see from the first breeder they talk to, or just getting dog from a backyard breeder and it not turning out to be a great hunting dog.

Here are a list of questions I think I would ask a breeder currenlty

"What are the strengths of your dogs?

Do your dogs readily find downed birds? Will they retrieve them? Could be used to duck hunt?

How much do you care about what happens with your dogs after they are sold? Do you answer questions about training in the future?

Do you do training? What professional trainers would your recommend?

Are you dogs mentally stable and do they travel well?

How are your dogs with kids and in the house?

I will be primarily hunting WILD pheasants and waterfowl, and occasionally grouse, with zero interest in doing field trials or hunt tests. Will your dogs be suited for this purpose?"

Anything else I should be asking or looking for?

Should I be letting a trainer pick a puppy for me or should be doing that myself?

I'm not dead set on any certain breed, but from what I've researched thus far, potential dog breeds that would suit me well would be a lab, GSP, GWP, springer spaniel, or even a field bred cocker spaniel. Possibly a Golden but man that coat is a lot of maintenance.

Not super into the setter breeds. I've hunted over gordon setters my whole life, and only one of them hasn't been despicable. Don't tell my best friend, but his dogs have been well.... DOGSHIT

[Quack]

Well if you can get a breeder to Return your call and answer questions that would be a good start to narrowing down the list. I can’t tell you how many My friends and I have contacted in the past two years and gotten absolute horse crap feedback or no call backs at all. Hopefully the puppy market has slowed down and they are returning calls now but I think a lot of them had more business than they knew what to do with.

Mental stability, prey drive, exercise requirements, and tractability are the traits you need to ask about and most importantly assess your own desires. Hunting dogs need exercise and most people fail there first. A lot of people think they want a fireball to hunt over but then they don’t provide the physical and mental exercise those dogs require. You seem like a person who would be willing and able to handle a go getter if you want one.

As you said, you don’t want to impulse buy or settle for whatever is available just because the market sucks.

I just got a Drahthaar pup from Jake Strege / Eichel Grat and would strongly recommend his dogs. They are excellent at upland and waterfowl and very good at fur/blood if you’re into any of that.

[Drunk_Dynasty]

Appreciate the feed back.

I have a lot to think about. I know a lot of people who have gotten dogs on impulse and the resulting chaos is nothing I want a part of.

I guess I just don’t take getting a dog lightly because it’s a huge commitment. I really got lucky my family dog I had from age 16-30. He was a good enough bird dog, tons of energy in the field, and I could take him to a small party and he would just sleep in the corner the whole time with no fukcs given, never took him to a wild college party or anything cause why take the chance? I also know people who literally can’t be anywhere without their dog, because their dog will go insane without their owner.


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[Drunk_Dynasty]

Appreciate the feed back.

I have a lot to think about. I know a lot of people who have gotten dogs on impulse and the resulting chaos is nothing I want a part of.

I guess I just don’t take getting a dog lightly because it’s a huge commitment. I really got lucky my family dog I had from age 16-30. He was a good enough bird dog, tons of energy in the field, and I could take him to a small party and he would just sleep in the corner the whole time with no fukcs given, never took him to a wild college party or anything cause why take the chance? I also know people who literally can’t be anywhere without their dog, because their dog will go insane without their owner.


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[Drunk_Dynasty]

Edit: double post

[Nershi]

I think a good reference from a reliable source is far more important than any questions a breeder will answer. My bro was referred to a breeder and his dog was great so I got my dog from there and couldn’t be happier.

To me temperament is the most important trait. That’s why I went with a British lab. I know lots of guys hate on British. My dog is super chill,
loves all other people and pets and I can take her anywhere. After a little money at a trainer she has turned in to a fantastic hunter for upland and fowl.

If you don’t have time to train pay a trainer. I trained my dog the basic commands but just didn’t have time to do the field training. Sent her away for a few months and she is dialed.

Ultimately I think most dogs that are bad are due to the owner not the dog. A lot of people don’t know how to treat and talk to dogs.

Good luck on your search. It’s exciting and nerve racking all at once.

[Drunk_Dynasty]

My fiancés parents have a British lab that I have been hunting with and is a very good bird dog. I’ve worked with her just a tiny amount and I can shoot pigeons out of the barn and she won’t break from her heel command even when the pigeons are dropping out of the sky right infront of us. Great temperament, get along with everyone and seems very mentally stable. My biggest complaint is that she gasses out pretty quick pheasant hunting. I think a lot of that could be resolved with better conditioning, as she doesn’t get out a ton of hard exercise. Great nose in her tho and had no problem pulling crippled pheasants out of the cattails.

Towards the end of the day pheasant hunting she will be walking behind me. with my old dog, if he was ever walking behind me, he was DEAD, like dead to the point he might not be able to hunt the next day.

With her tho, she seems to lose drive more than actually being tired. Will be interesting to see how she does if I have time to condition her before pheasant season.

I’d def be open to a British lab for sure.


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[maplelakeduckslayer]

Ya I think a certain level of that is conditioning but also partly bred in. My lab gets a 3 Mile run almost every day it's over 0 degrees or under 80...and usually he'll still want to fetch while I grill dinner. He actually kinda scares me that I have to be in tune with what his body language is telling me because I think he'd go til he died rather than feel he's disappointing me.

Good luck with your search, I don't have a lot to add since I was kinda one of the ones that just went with it and saw where the chips fell. Gf did some research on the breeders but she's obviously not a hardcore hunter and I just went with the flow

[Quack]

The “on-off” switch is another thing to talk about- turn it on when hunting and turn it off at home. That’s what the majority of people want, I think. And I think a lot of knowledgeable breeders produce dogs that have it.

I take the breeders recommendation for which pup to take. If you have a friend who is really good at judging puppies bring him/her along. I Readily admit all puppies look good to me so I defer to more objective sources.

Exercise- your dog will need long runs to be in shape for pheasants. I know a couple people who whip tennis balls with a chuck-it for their labs as primary exercise and it’s no bueno. The dogs get obsessive about it- ie mentally unstable and that kind of sprinting doesn’t transfer to a day of pheasant hunting.

[Fish Felon]

I don't know shit from Shanghai when it comes to dogs.

My buddy paid $5K for a started black lab once and it was a hell of a dog, but he also wasn't afraid of laying his hand on it when needed in order to reinforce the trainer's work. Dogs are like women in that you need to be a dick occasionally for the relationship to work and prosper.

Someday I'm going to get my dream dog.....a black lab border collie mutt.....and it'll be the greatest bird dog ever. Training a dog isn't hard....encourage positive traits, beat the negative ones out of it. Establish that you're the Alpha right away and you'll have a good dog....unfortunately this requires you to hurt your dog....a little.....not a lot.....but about the same as taking a punch.....you wake up and the side of your face is sore and you're like, "I'm going to avoid acting like I did to deserve the response I received."

Shock collars are the worst thing for training.....gives dog owners the placebo effect of believing they're the Alpha.....when the dog has zero respect for their owner.....just a mild fear of a shock.

The only way shock collars will really aid you is as a tool after you've established that you're Alpha to your dog. If your dog doesn't respect you for being the top dog.....what the fukc is the point?