Free: Contests & Raffles.
Mine is trained by a pro, but only because the pro spends summers in SD and he can put the dog on more birds in one summer then I can in a lifetime. I started her though, and she was broke by the time she was 14 months old. She was easily trained and held point to the flush from day one... There is a myth that brittany's are soft dogs, they aren't. But you can't beat the heck out of them like you can an EP either. The problem in the NW is that there just isn't many pro's Id send a brittany to, and many of the brits in the NW are not well bread dogs. Basically, IMO there are only 2 trainers I would use on the entire west coast, and only a handfull of dogs I would consider breeding too. Dave Walker, and Paul Doiron are great trainers. Ive seen some of the work of a couple other Pro's, and to say I wasn't impressed would be an understatement. The dogs turned out OK inspite of their training, not because of it. As far as it being a crapshoot to find a good brittany, thats total bunk. I have seen very few that weren't bird fools by the time they turned a year old. Their trial records in all breed trials speak for themselves. Brits took 2nd and 3rd at the AKC GD NC at 9 mile falls this year and the winningest NSTRA dog in history is a brit. Its going to be fun to watch all the dogs run at Ames this year at the AKC GD Nationals.. Id be willing to bet you see a brit on the podium when its all over.
Not really. I know someone looking for a started english setter. No luck with that....
Hey happy, Also the thing about FC's is............... for every one that actually gets hunted there are ten that have never seen a wild bird killed with live gunfire.My personal experiance with seeing actually who owns em..........in setters it's 90% owned by a woman that is 50+ you can figure out how much hunting goes on.
Quote from: wildweeds on December 12, 2011, 04:29:32 PMHey happy, Also the thing about FC's is............... for every one that actually gets hunted there are ten that have never seen a wild bird killed with live gunfire.My personal experiance with seeing actually who owns em..........in setters it's 90% owned by a woman that is 50+ you can figure out how much hunting goes on.Maybe in the NW, but where I live now in the SE, many of the trial dogs get hunted over. Most of the Pro's I know spend summers in SD and the trial dogs see TONS of wild birds. If the dogs don't, they won't get posted in the wild bird trials like the Chicken classics, Pheasant classics, and other wild bird trials.... Many trainers also kill birds over their trial dogs to help improve their steadyness.. As far as foot hunting trial dogs, its just a matter of doing it. Many trial dogs only get trialed, but that doesn't mean you can't foot hunt over them. Before I sent my dog off to the trainer I asked him if he could foot hunt his trial dogs. His response was "every single one of them, even the AA dogs". My dog finished in the top 10 in the country in All Age points in the American Brittany Club. Shes not what I would call a "true" AA dog, more of a big running SD, but I foot hunt the heck out of her for quail and wild SD pheasants. Just because a trial dog doesn't get hunted, doesn't mean they can't do it.
Quote from: jetjockey on December 13, 2011, 08:28:25 AMQuote from: wildweeds on December 12, 2011, 04:29:32 PMHey happy, Also the thing about FC's is............... for every one that actually gets hunted there are ten that have never seen a wild bird killed with live gunfire.My personal experiance with seeing actually who owns em..........in setters it's 90% owned by a woman that is 50+ you can figure out how much hunting goes on.Maybe in the NW, but where I live now in the SE, many of the trial dogs get hunted over. Most of the Pro's I know spend summers in SD and the trial dogs see TONS of wild birds. If the dogs don't, they won't get posted in the wild bird trials like the Chicken classics, Pheasant classics, and other wild bird trials.... Many trainers also kill birds over their trial dogs to help improve their steadyness.. As far as foot hunting trial dogs, its just a matter of doing it. Many trial dogs only get trialed, but that doesn't mean you can't foot hunt over them. Before I sent my dog off to the trainer I asked him if he could foot hunt his trial dogs. His response was "every single one of them, even the AA dogs". My dog finished in the top 10 in the country in All Age points in the American Brittany Club. Shes not what I would call a "true" AA dog, more of a big running SD, but I foot hunt the heck out of her for quail and wild SD pheasants. Just because a trial dog doesn't get hunted, doesn't mean they can't do it.No, it definately doesn't although, percentage wise, how many Brits do you think win AA stakes in contrast to the other pointing breeds? While yours placed in the top 10 of the American Brit club, that is probably less than 1% of all Brits which ran in Field trials in the USA. Brits don't stand up well in numbers when you strickly look at numbers of entries. Very few Brits win FT's. Same as my favorite breed, Chesapeakes. An AA FT High Point Chessie "MIGHT" have 10 points. The AA High Point Lab probably has 250. I know Brits fair about the same as Chessies in FT's.
Wow... thanks for all the responses and opinions... Now I am not so sure on the Brit. Basically, this will be my first hunting dog and what I am looking for is a good dog "out of the box" like someone put it in the thread. I am not saying that I don't want to train with the dog or even go to a few classes from an expert but I don't want to end up buying some expensive dog that will not be a good choice for a guy who doesn't have unlimited time (or experience) to train his new dog. Ideally, I want the breed and genetics of the dog to put me on birds and for me to just help him or her on its way. I heard "Gun Dog" was a good book to get. Perhaps I will buy a copy before purchasing my dog.I have hunted with Brit (he was old but birdy), some labs and a German short hair. I liked the hunting experience best with the old Brit and the German short hair. The short hair was a great dog and had an awesome heart, very personable and is a great family dog as well but I think a little too high strung... I would be afraid of my new expensive doggie running off after a pheasant and not coming home... Hmmmm...maybe I need to look at the Springer Spaniel?Cheers,jg