I'm not suggesting they are the best dogs for bird hunting at all but my border collie has turned out to be a very versatile and amazing little bird dog. A good friend of mine has a professionally trained field lab and we would walk our dogs together out in the bush. The field lab was constantly looking for birds and putting them up. I took my dog out with his dog on a hunt and she learned what the lab was doing in 2 trips including commands. Now I can take her on my own, send her to find birds and being a border collie her default is to slowly stalk in on them. That's how I know a bird is around when I can see her. She is a bit too competitive and now when we are with the lab she tries to beat her to the birds - so not a perfect bird dog by any stretch! That and she is missing the 'soft' mouth. I think with good training you can teach dogs to do a lot of things. Having the natural instinct of a pointer of a lab is a big plus for sure. But I also have to agree with what someone else said - hunting season is short so pick a dog that you enjoy being with the rest of the year and matches your lifestyle. She is no perfect bird dog but a decent one and a blast the rest of the year.
|