Grandpa looking for a pheasant dog.

[dustysags]

My gramps oldest lab passed away this year at 13+ years and he has another 8 year old lab who is getting up there in age. He has always wanted a smaller dog but always ended up some how getting a lab thrown at him. We both love labs but I want him to finally get a smaller upland dog. Were looking for an older dog because he wants to hunt it this fall with his lab. I've always been interested in the cockers and brittany's but have never hunted with any of them. We just want to get him and smaller dog under 40 pounds. It needs to be a close range dog because even though he hunts 2x a day all season hes not into sprinting. Let me know if you guys know of any dogs or even give me some info on smaller upland dogs with close range habits. thanks

[netcoyote]

tag

[shootem]

Don't know if there is a little Boykin Spaniel available but take a look if there is. There also are some small labs around.

[NW-GSP]

Maybe a Brittany?, I've never owned one but have friends that have them and they are Cool dogs that are smaller.

[Colin]

Saw my first field bred cocker spaniel this past weekend at the UKC Hunt Test. You might try contacting Whistling Wings or Cascade HRCs to get in touch with some owners of the less common types of hunting breeds.

[Blackjaw]

The majority of field bred cockers would fit the under 40 lb bill, but older ones are tough to come by. They are flushing dogs that are meant to quarter the ground in gun range, but they need to be well trained or they will punch out of range (unless you get a 'boot licker', but they aren't very fun to hunt behind.). If I hear of any older ones coming up for sale I'll let you know.

Rick

[pens fan]

A Boykin would be about right. English cockers as well, but both are hard to come by...cockers especially.
I have a line on a ten month old Boykin that was being trained for duck hunting. The owner got transferred to San Diego and can't keep the dog.

[Forks]

Pointing or flushing breed is the first question that needs to get answered I would say.

[pens fan]

That wasn't specifically noted. But I'm thinking he's talking about a flusher.

[T-Bone]

I'm a spaniel fan, but the high energy (exciting to me still at age 62) maybe too much for Grandpa.

Why change breeds? Several strains of Labs come in a smaller 40-45lb. size. With another breed, Grandpa will always be comparing the new dog to his last Labs.

Tom

[dustysags]

He's not picky on pointer vs flusher. He's always had retrievers so I'm not sure a pointer would require more training he might not want to get into. He does pheasant 98% of the time daily during the season then he's on close to 200 acres so the rest of the year would be a farm dog with the lab. He takes the lab daily for walks in pheasant grounds almost daily in the off season so he walks a lot.

[Forks]

French Brittany would be my vote for Gramps.

[AspenBud]

Field bred English Cocker Spaniel sounds like the right choice. Small, hardy, and nice house dogs.

[Man Tracker]

Might try the NW Boykin website or check with Tanwax Kennels

[pens fan]

^^^That would be me. I started Northwest Boykins Spaniel Club and Tanwax Creek Boykins. You can come by and see our dogs anytime. I think you've found your answer.