Gun dogs for the choosing: author Falk tells us there is no one perfect gun dog, but there are a number of breeds that come close to this ideal

Guns Magazine, Nov, 2002 by John R. Falk

Apple pie without ice cream? A movie without popcorn? A ball game without beer and hot dogs? Some things go so naturally together that one without the other rings a little flat. Whether hunkering down in a duck blind or traipsing dogless through autumn woods, both trigger the obvious feeling a vital ingredient is missing. That's when the thought of some day owning a good hunting dog becomes irresistible.

Soon, the budding aspiration profiles a vivid mental image of a crack game-finder, diligently hunting for the "Boss" with breathtaking style and impeccable manners. Inevitably, the picture becomes obsessive, fairly screaming for fulfillment. Then follows the always perplexing crucial question: "Which is the best breed to choose?"

Too Many Tasks For One Dog?

If you're blessed with an abundance of small game and birds, plus a wide diversity of terrain, you could face a very formidable quandary. On the one hand, you have the uplands: home to the ruffed grouse and the woodcock, the ringneck pheasant, the bobwhite quail, and just possibly sharptail grouse and Hungarian partridge, too.

Now, toss in the lowlands with a glut of various ducks and geese, in such varied milieus as rocky seacoasts, big rivers, sprawling marshes, large and small lakes and woodland potholes. Considering this horn of plenty, it's a rare man, indeed, who can resist the idea of enjoying less than the whole enchilada. And of wanting a dog he can use to hunt it all. Such a dog could offer a quick, easy solution to the basic question. But, which breed embodies these dream talents?

Regrettably, the answer is: none! No single breed exists that can qualify for the title, or measure up to the image, of an all-purpose, "do everything" dog. Grieve not, though, for it's equally true that very few, if any, sportsmen today can find the time to hunt all the game species offered in an assortment of country such a fortunate region encompasses.

"Okay," you grumble, "if no single breed's the answer, that still leaves me out in left field. So which breed do I choose?"

Preliminary Questions

First to consider, of course, is your personal situation: size of home and family, opportunities you can devote to training and ample areas to work a hunting dog plus whether he'll live indoors or be kenneled outside. Keeping these uppermost, you should then seek a breed compatible with those constraints that is best suited for the type and species of game you really prefer and most often hunt.

These guidelines will lead you to concentrate on selecting a specialist, a breed that excels on a few specific game species, rather than a wide assortment.

Your choice will be made among dozens of different sporting breeds eligible for purebred registration in the American Kennel Club. To help you narrow what is a rather daunting number, and to provide at least a solid starting point, 1 offer as my own personal selection the descriptions and specialties of five breeds.

Best Breeds Far Upland Birds

Should the elusive ruffed grouse and migratory woodcock be your primary hunting targets, there is no more thrilling and enjoyable approach to this type of gunning than over a classy pointing dog.

Other types of dogs, such as the flushing spaniels, have successfully brought lots of grouse and woodcock to bag, it's true. But, if it's more than just meat you're after, you're short-changing yourself by hunting these splendid game birds with anything but a pointing dog. And, no two pointing breeds we know of are better suited to the sport than the English Setter and the Brittany.

English Setter

If seniority in working the coverts of the northern half of the country alone were considered, then the English setter definitely has earned and deserves the status of favorite grouse and woodcock dog breed. For more than a century the , stand-by of Yankee gunners, the setter is particularly well adapted to working the punishing covers that grouse and woodcock usually inhabit.

The setter's longhaired coat easily wards off the north country's brisk autumn climate and punishing brier tangles. And, when he's bred and trained specifically for such regions his close to-medium range and moderate pace eminently qualify him to work the brushy woodland edges favored by grouse and woodcock.

Even his coloring--basically white, and ticked or patched with black, black and tan, orange, lemon or chestnut--provides the hunter a distinct advantage by making the dog highly visible, whether moving or on point, in darkened thickets and tangled alders.

A strongly deep-rooted hunting desire, pointing instinct to spare and a classically good nose are talents to which the average setter justly lays claim. And, although maturing a bit later than some pointing breeds (most setters reach their peak at about age three), they seldom forget the lessons taught or the field experience accumulated. Complementing these credentials are a bright, alert personality, a gentle and affectionate nature, and an always companionable demeanor.