[Marvin]

I have a black Lab, have just used him for duck hunting though. My father has had a couple of german shorthairs, one of which was a pretty good dog, oddly enough, he retrieved better than he pointed.

[birdman]

Marvin,

My dad also used to have a german shorthair that was a retrieving machine!! That damn dog loved water retrieves, but as you could imagine, she was less than graceful swimming and didn't stand a chance against the web footed labs...

[Pointers X's 5]

Hey guys,

Signed up a while back and not sure that I ever posted, not quite sure why.

The dogs of choice for me have always been EP it is what I grew up hunting behind and they just kind of stuck. So much so that i know have 5 of them, i guess I enjoy the style and grace with which they run and the high head and tail when on point. I also threw a lab into the mix last spring and he is coming a long nicely for his age. Dont get me wrong a good dog is a good dog no matter what the breed. I myself have jusgt always been partial to the hard heads.

Take Care

Mike

[oucorry]

I hear ya mike. I prefer the Ep's myself. As a matter of fact I just picked another one today!!

[Marvin]

I've been hearing good things about wire haired pointing griffons, but they run a little steep in my price range to consider one.

[birdman]

Mike,

Welcome to the site... I think we're all on board with the hard head breeds... They all have their moments of glory as well as total brain farts. Nonetheless, the key to any successful dog is practice, practice, and when you think they learned it, practice it some more. In my eyes, the only way to truly enjoy a hunting dog is to see them succeed in the things you've both worked hard on....

[Pointers X's 5]

Thanks for the replies guys,

You are right about the practice. I prettry much try to work them year around, until it gets way to hot or we can no longer get birds. But pretty much from the begining of August to the middle of June you will find us out working them every weekend. Between that and the competetions we run itkeep us pretty busy for sure. I have 2 dogs on there way to Alabama right now for the UFTA Nationals. It is killing me not to be going but I am taking some others to Nebraska next week and I just could not get 2 weeks off of work. I am sure they will do fine but it is going to be a long week for me..

[birdman]

PointerX,

Congrats on the dog work and good luck on the upcoming competitions.

I've got a yellow lab (Rex) from a pointing line. By no means would I consider him a pointing dog, although there are those rare occasions where he'll lock down pretty solid. I hunt alot of pheasants and as I'm sure your aware can be quite tough on pointing dogs if they're in the running mood .... I was just curious if you had any insight on how to teach a flushing dog to whoa when he points?

Thanks,

[Pointers X's 5]

Good afternoon Birdman,

Thanks for the wishes of luck for the dogs. I sent 3 down there 2 of the EP and the lab so we are hoping for the best. I like you have a lab that points. He is out of the Trevian line on the *****es side and 2X GMPR MH Wannamakers Hot Tub on the sires. He has a ton of point in him for sure while I am no expert and I will never claim to be this is what I did. I like the fact that he pointed, I could let him range and not have to worry about him putting a bird up out of gun range. However as he got older and built up his own confidence I knew there was something that I needed to do, the answer was I whoa broke him. same as I did for the pointers. Now when he gets on scent he stops and stays there until or God willing anyway I get there and tell him to get it. Does this happen each time? No it does not but the older he gets the better he is getting as he knows what I expect of him. He is getting better all the time but it is still a work in progress and we have fun each time we go out. Again I am not saying this is right or wrong it is just what I did. There are a lot of Pointing Lab sites out there and each person has a different angle on things. I am not sure if it is allowed for me to post the websites or you may already know them so I wont go there until I know it is acceptable. Sorry for being long winded and my punctuation skills but i hope this helps in some way?

[widespreadpanick]

Black lab. Just a pup and learning the ropes as we go.