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Well-said M/O Woods.

Member Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 40

Jake, WPG, a pheasant getting machine.

He was also a cowboy.

Briar, GWP, 10 years old. Great dog, excellent disposition.

Dakota, GSP, at about 7 months old. She is making an outstanding dog.

Spur, GSP, backing Dakota (his sister) at about 11 months old.
I like the versatile breeds. In my experience through the years all have a lot of natural ability with strong prey drive and easy to train.

This has been a great thread. Lots of good discussion and points raised about the different versatile breeds. My old American Brittany died several years (like 10 now, geez that's hard to believe) ago and I haven't had proper space to have another dog until now, so I am intrigued by the versatile breeds.

One question that has cropped up is being down south here, we get alot of warmer weather during hunting season. It sounds like the PP and even the GWP would be disadvantaged by the heat. Which one of the versatile breeds would do best in warmer weather?

Thanks, and I really appreciate this discussion.

KB

I would think a Visla or German Shorthair would handle the warmer weather well.

If diamonds are a girls best freind; what do men get? A DOG!

We get the better deal! Razz

R. D. GATTIS that is the best photo of your dog on the donkey. I bet he's steady.

Member Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 40

Thanks for the nice comments about Jake. He is no longer with me. He passed a way a few years ago at 13 years 3 months. I still think of him often and miss him very much. He was one heck of a dog. Hope to see him some day in the great hunting fields in the sky.

Choctaw, the mule, is still around. He was thirty years old earlier this year. I bought him as a three year old in the spring of 1980. Sadly, he is really starting to show his age. But then, I am getting a little long of tooth and showing mine as well. Smile

The first place to start is NAVHDA. There are a ton of GSP's that means it will be harder to find the cream of the crop. I started my Pudelpointer Search with NAVHDA and studied years of test scores and breeders. I think the best GSP's out there come from Shooting Star Kennel all their dogs seem to score well and they have a ton of Versitile champions in their lines. The Visla won't have the numbers so it won't be hard to track down. The NAVHDA test scores are very important I like to see NA scores 4 generations deep. The scores don't have to be perfect it just shows the commitment of the breeders to the line of dogs. You want to buy a dog that was breed to hunt not for color and conformation. Some lines have been protected and carefully breed for an end result that is the dog you want to buy. Don't buy a dog from a guy that says yeh they are AKC registerd and the parents are good hunters. A judge that evaluates a dogs natural ability and permently attaches that score to dog is much more trustworthy. Have fun shopping for dogs is a undertaking that produces joy for a long time.

I found a few more:

SD, 2004

Her regal pose

Here's a pic of my dog "Bear" with more traditional game than beaver - Snows, Canadas, Mallards and a snipe, all from a morning hunt a couple of days ago (Thanksgiving). He is one of the long haired, shaggy Pudelpointers. Temp was a couple of degrees above freezing, he retrieved all from cold water. He wasn't happy about being told to stand for pictures this time!

Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 11 Location: Alexandria MN

I'll chime in as one of the Vizsla owners. I really love the breed and I'll probably won't own anything else. Vizslas are very low maintence compared to some other breeds, you don't have to worry about clipping them and burrs caught in their hair. The only thing I do is nail trimming. They are great house dogs with the proper amount of exercise. They need to get out and run for about an hour a day or they can get antsy and destructive. My vizsla is from Bush vizslas and before that I had a rebel rouser from rozanek kennels. If your serious about versatility I also recommend finding a dog from NAVHDA lines. There are only 2 or 3 vizslas to ever achieve a NAVHDA VC so they are rare. A good guy to check into is Lee Dosier who owns Rockwood kennels. I belive a couple of his pups got NAVHDA UT scores this year. His website is

http://www.rockwoodkennels.net/

Good Vizsla breeders are selective in who they sell their dogs to. The people who own hunting lines don't want them going to show only homes, but you will find that there are several DC Vizslas in current breeding programs. I only duck hunt for about the first 2 weeks of the season and she does fine. I'm sure she would try to retireve ducks in half frozen ponds but I usually start hunting kingbirds and pheasants by then. I live in MN and I do think they take the cold reasonbly well, as long as they are moving they are fine. Good vizslas are expensive compared to some of the other versatile breeds, they usually go for around $1000 for decent lines. I think it's great how they can be a lap dog and great in the house then get super intense and crazy when they hit the field. My vizsla takes a fair amount of abuse from my 2 year old son, and she never has shown any aggression twards any of my boys. They are best buds.

Joined: 12 Oct 2007 Posts: 14 Location: Northern Ohio

I joined the "society" a couple of years ago but was not aware of the bulletin board until today. When I signed on the first thread that caught my eye is "Pudelpointers."
I have been hunting with a 16 gauge for 53 years. It was my first gauge in a Remington model 11-48. I still have the gun and several others but now hunt with a Browning O/U round knob in grade III. Best gun ever for me.
I joined NAVHDA in 1975 to find a good GWP/DD and there I learned about the pudelpointer. I went to a pudelpointer meeting in Canada in 1978 and ordered a pup from a breeder that I had to wait almost 3 years for a pup. Since then I have been enamored with the PP and breed one or two litters a year.
It is amazing how popular they have become among hunters.
The perfect versatile pair, 16's and PP's

Bill

Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 42 Location: TX

Here's a few pics of my GSP's, Libby and Princess.

Yea her tail is TOO short, not my fault, not the breeders fault, blame it on the vet!

Yes, they are very versatile, shown here retreiving doves for my nephew.

And here is my most recent trip to Montana last week with a Joseph Harkom 16 and a limit of Sharp Tail Grouse, which was really kewl hanging out with several other 16's owned by Chuckarman and Pete Houser.