Originally Posted by elkhunter11
I agree on both traning and breeding. I have hunted over quite a few dogs, and I have shot over many more during NAVHDA tests, and some dogs have much more natural ability, and learn much faster than others. Some dogs become great hunters with lesser skilled trainers, and some dogs will never be better than average, regardless of the training. My personal weakness is a lack of experience in training dogs, but I was fortunate to have a pup that learns quick, and has a lot of natural ability, so despite my shortcomings as a trainer, he is a very productive hunter. Other dogs of the same breed that I have hunted over did not produce as well despite months of professional training. They are more obedient, and they look more polished, but there weren't as productive at finding and working birds. As far as the pointer or retriever preference, if I was hunting primarily waterfowl, I would have a retriever, but for pheasants, sharptails, and Hungarian Partridge, I prefer a pointer. The more open the terrain, the more I prefer the pointer as you can have multiple dogs covering a lot of area, and the handlers don't have to be in shooting range of all of the dogs. I have hunted over as many as four pointers and we just watched the dogs, and when one went on point, they would remain until we walked over into range to flush the bird. Of course a retriever can be effective on open terrain, but I prefer not having to keep within shotgun range of the dog in open terrain. And in tight terrain either pointers or retrievers can also be effective, and I prefer to keep the dog much closer in that situation, regardless of the breed. I haven't hunted over both pointers and retrievers at the same time very often, so I am looking forward to hunting my dog alongside the pup sns2 is waiting for. It should be interesting.
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