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Tank
12-23-2005, 12:45 PM
This question seems to follow a common theme in this section of the forum, but I'm gonna ask it anyway:

What breed is the best compromise for someone looking for a full time family dog/part time cat hunting dog?

Steeleco
12-23-2005, 12:56 PM
Excellent question Tank, I've been thinking about a dog for Family first and hunting as a bonus, the few breeds I've checkout so far have been a little bit to "high maintenance" for me just yet. Lets hope some experienced folks post up with some good ideas. My altime favorite pooch is a Rotty. Great family dogs if brought up right, not sure about hunting dog though??

NEEHAMA
12-23-2005, 12:56 PM
your going to have a loud family pet then.

ex bc guide
12-23-2005, 01:24 PM
I have found the hounds to be great pets as well as hunting dogs,although they can get quit loud at times.
Mike

Tank
12-23-2005, 01:50 PM
your going to have a loud family pet then.

This is obviously one of the main issues, but I figure there has to be a reasonable compromise out there.

I'm not expecting a dog that will win any awards for his nose, noise or enthusiasm....but am looking for an animal that is atleast interested in the idea and has the traits to get the job done.

bsa30-06
12-23-2005, 01:57 PM
I have a golden retriever she is an excellent family pet, strangers cant get anywhere near the kids she is very protective.She is very loud i can hear her barking at something right now,And with no training she has taken an instant dislike to any bird that lands in her yard.Oh she also doesnt like skunks she found out the hard way that they stink, actually she found that out twice two nights in a row.What a stink!!!. But on the seriuos side i dont think you could go wrong with a golden retriever as a family pet and would probably make a decent hunting dog with the right training.

Tank
12-23-2005, 02:11 PM
A Golden Retriever has actually been near the top of my list for a while now simple due to their qualities as a family pet. I just wasn't too sure about their suitability as a trailing dog. That, and I haven't run into any breeders in the caribou yet...

Sniper
12-23-2005, 03:14 PM
Hounds can be good family pets but I wouldn't recommend them because they don't listen well at all especially if they pick up the scent of a cat, raccoon ect. I would use 1 dog on Bobcats or Lynx but know way on Cougar, I know I know some guys do it but but your asking an awful lot of a dog to go up against a Cougar alone.

brotherjack
12-23-2005, 04:46 PM
German Shepards are AWESEOME pets (ask me how I know), and I know the police use them for tracking purposes all the time, so I would presume they're not the hardest dog in the world to train to follow a trail. Never tried to train mine to hunt or anythning though, so I don't know for sure - just making some assumptions.

CHilko21
12-23-2005, 04:49 PM
I'd have to say a labradour retriever. My uncle has one, Gunnar, who's an awesome family dog, he just loves " his" kids, and he's also a good waterfowl dog...don't know that my uncle has used him for other game yet, but he's been great at what he has been used for. Hounds tend to get real loud, and they can be hard to train, lots of energy and all that.

Barracuda
12-23-2005, 05:20 PM
you should check out some of the cur dogs . most of the trailing dogs will cover ground fast, hounds especially .
You can find some close hunting hounds and there is a certain amount of influence that an owner has on a dog that can make a hound into a manageable animal . heck one of my hounds will even retreive stuff for me .

K-1
12-23-2005, 05:23 PM
Tank: I would take a good look at an Airdale, check out Clint S. wed site.....

DBM
12-23-2005, 06:45 PM
I'm looking for something similar. Clint pointed me in the direction of a few books on the Airedale. If you're interested I'll PM you the titles.

bsa30-06
12-23-2005, 06:47 PM
Tank our golden retriever came from a breeder in kamloops, sorry dont know the name the dog was a gift for my daughter when she was just little.I cant get over how protective she is of all our kids she even barks at me if she thinks i,m playing to rough with the kids.They train alot of these dogs for the blind as seeing eye dogs if they can do that kind of work im sure you could train them to follow a trail.

BlacktailStalker
12-24-2005, 05:48 AM
Dont have one, buy an ex does, a chocolate lab, eager to please, docile yet energetic, good genes and you have a helluva partner. 1st year is crucial though, put in that time required, and you'll get the results you want depending what you are looking for, as with any breed I am sure.
Good luck.
Note; grew up with a springer and she was excelent at whatever, pheasants, grouse and even protection against the neighborhood bully lol, but noW i AM 6'4: 240LBS, with extensive kickboxing training, so thats not an issue, cheers :)

Dirty
12-24-2005, 07:23 AM
Get a golden retriever, they are protective and good hunting dogs if you train them. Most dogs are smart it just takes proper training to make them a good hunting dog. Our golden naturally picked up retrieving and is protective when people are rough housing similar to BSA's golden. My vote is definitely for the Golden Retriever.

Tank
12-24-2005, 02:44 PM
Lots of good advice comming! Thanx! I have been emailing some Golden Retriever breeders in BC for more info. I've also been looking closely at German Shorthair Pointers. I have heard a number of good things about them (like many of the breeds mentioned already), but I haven't been able to locate any BC breeders for more information. Anyone have any experience/ advice with these dogs?

bsa30-06
12-24-2005, 03:23 PM
I think ruger#1 has german shorthairs you may to pm him he will probably be able to help you out with info on these dogs.

harbinger
12-24-2005, 05:49 PM
Look into the Brittany Spaniels as well. Great hunting dogs (actually are pointers) and super family pets. Now you said in your post that you wanted a cat hunting dog and a brittany would NOT be a good dog for that. Would turn into a snack I'm sure but if you are considering GSP check out the Brits. They are easy to train eager to please and super birdy. Also I have a buddy w/ two springers and they are great dogs as well.
One of the nice things about these dogs is that they are not huge which is nice if they are an indoor dog. As well their coats are very low maintance and they do not smell bad like some of the breed mentioned here. Good Luck!

ruger#1
12-24-2005, 09:02 PM
hi tank, i have 2 gsps, one is stocky and all liver with a white patch, has treed a few bears , and like to go for birds, my advice would be , do not get one that someone else has had for a few years, my liver one was a pup when i got her, she is an aw some dog , the other one was given to me, it was one year old and has very bad habits, that are getting broke slowly,they are very affectionate dogs. Ive had them up north, in November they don't mind the cold. in the buy sell there were pups for $400.00 each . I'm sure whatever bread you get you will be happy.a good book to get is [ guide to hunting dogs] i have so many books on dogs guns and hunting it isn't funny.we had a black lab , very good dogs. if you do get one i would advise on a female, they don't pee all over your plants on the property.i also use electronic collars and they do work good ,mine will work up to 1/2 a mile. in case they are chasing the wrong game. pm me if you need any info. Mark

Tank
12-25-2005, 01:07 PM
I located a BC GSP breeder in BC and emailed for info. They mentioned that they do have a litter comming, but the price is $1000 per pooch!! Friends of mine just bought a chocolate lab for $750...so i guess this is in the same ball park...but really?!...$400 out of the buy and sell sounds alot better!

Steeleco
12-25-2005, 06:22 PM
See if the breeder has some that are less than breed perfect with respect to breed standards. I know if a Rotty has a white spot on it they are not allowed to show or register them, some even destroy pups with these flaws, others just make sure they're fixed and sell the otherwise normal dogs to pet people.

DBM
12-25-2005, 10:13 PM
I thought you were looking to chase cats with it? Most of the breeds mentioned (labradors, golden, pointers etc.) aren't going to cut it when it comes to chasing cougar. If I were you I'd look at Airedales.

ex bc guide
12-25-2005, 10:24 PM
you want to chase cats get hounds!
Mike

Tank
12-26-2005, 10:03 AM
The reason I'm shying away from hounds at this point is that I have neighbors! Having no experience with hounds I am concerned about the noise levels of these dogs when playing the role of family pet. Is this concern justified?
And I have started to do some reaserch on Airedales, but my better half has shown a real liking for the retrievers, labs, and GSP's....

oldtimer
12-26-2005, 12:37 PM
Tank For a family dog you can't beat a Lab that are also the best water dog there is, but I don't think they would do well for cats. I think you may have to compromise one way or the other. Hounds for cats for sure and nice family dog but it is their nature to howl.Airdales for cats but high strung as far as I know. I don't know that much about cat dogs but some guys up here have german short hairs.
For me I would concentrate on the family side and that means LABS !!!!!

Fred
12-27-2005, 12:08 AM
I met Ruger#1's GSP's today and they are pretty nice dogs, And I am not really a dog person. :wink: Fred

Barracuda
12-27-2005, 12:26 AM
how about a nice black mouth cur ?

farside
12-28-2005, 07:18 PM
We have a GSP and he has been great. Once we got over the puppy stage (2yr) he has just got better and better. Short haired and they hardly smell so good for in the house as well. 1st rate with kids and pretty much figured out the bird dog thing on his own. This breed has a very strong "desire to please" attitude and this makes them pretty easy to train. Only barks when there is a need and understands the words "hush-dog".

As our boy is getting on we are thinking about a new one and will probably get a female this time (no more dead bushes). $400.00 is too cheap for this breed and I would wonder about quality (hips/heart) but 1000.00 is WAY too much. With any breeder, hips, heart and temperment should be GTD. A friend of the family bought a "cheap" GSP and it died from a heart attack at the age of 3 yrs. Genetic heart defect. Get references and CHECK THEM OUT!

ruger#1
12-28-2005, 09:54 PM
Ive had no problems with my dogs, and to me paper is just paper. i have no papers with my dogs, my dogs are healthy and i did pay $400.00 for one , and another lady wanted $500.00 for the other one Ive got, when she seen my other gsp , she just gave me the dog, and said i could have it as long as she could come over and visit. the only two things wrong with the dog is it has some bad habits, and has a ridge going down its neck that is six inches long. it looks okay, but with a defect like that breeders destroy this kind. the dog was given to me at a little over a year old. and i have the same vet that she had, heck i bought a dog from the swap meet and it lived for over 14 years until i had to put it down , and i only paid $50.00 for that one.

Clint_S
12-29-2005, 02:50 PM
Don't really like to try to sell dogs here but I don't think you could go wrong with one of the Airedale/Bluetick crosses I think I have on the way.
A hundred bucks will get you a dog with lots of nose, some voice, half a bucket of brains and enough coat to keep it warm through those cariboo winters. I had this happen before and the pups were dynamite little dogs.

If you know of a nice safe kids horse under $1500 I might even deliver. :)

http://www3.telus.net/airedales/misc_images/levi-dogs.jpg

Barracuda
12-29-2005, 03:28 PM
Thems is nice lookin dogs (insert hillbilly voice) The pups should be really nice do you ever have any with short fur or do they all come out wire haired?
Post some picks of the pups when they come

Should be a nice combination of grit & nose and enough voice for you to find them when they tree . I would like to see them on a bear, they should work real well (:

ruger#1
12-29-2005, 03:42 PM
Clint that blue tick sure looks nice, show some pics of the pups.

Clint_S
12-29-2005, 04:37 PM
My Airedales have pretty good working coats so these pups won't be hairballs.
I had posted this picture under Bluedale pups. She is from a different accident (I'm gonna hafta nueter that dog some day :mad:).
If I wasn't dog poor right now I'd raise one up myself although at this point I'm not even sure it took, I'll know that in a couple weeks.

Here's the parents at work ftp://ftp.timberland2001.ca/pub/outgoing/clint/

Right click and save to disk (beartree.avi) if you have a fast connection, ignore it if you don't.

http://www3.telus.net/airedales/misc_images/Bluedale.jpg

timberhunter
12-29-2005, 06:58 PM
Clint

Are those the same two dogs you brought to Rendel creek, 3-4 years ago?.

Clint_S
12-29-2005, 09:48 PM
The Bluetick is, but the Airedale I had there is gone.

black 'n blue
12-30-2005, 07:09 PM
Barracuda,
Funny you should mention a blackmouth. I have one (see avatar) and while I have found it to be a great companion (my wife adores him) I haven't had much luck hunting with it. He's put a couple of bears up by himself on very short runs, and has the fight, but I haven't seen him go more than a mile then come back, even when turned out with the hounds. Maybe this would be ideal for some. He's just 2 and hope that he will turn on but don't honestly don't see it. But this is just one dog out of the breed. I'm sure there are ones that are great. They certainly wouldn't be a bad choice at all for the all around dog with some compromises, and be different from the run o the mill lab....

john-brennan
12-31-2005, 11:18 PM
I have a buddy with a redbone and he's a good alround dog.

Here's a pic of my english pointer, she's a great bird dog and loves the family especially the little guy. she's no cat dog but i thought i would show her anyway.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c42/johnnypointer/2005-04-08008.jpg

Tank
01-01-2006, 11:44 AM
Its nice to see pics and get opinions on everyone's different hunting dogs. The more i'm learning about dogs, the more I realise that I won't get it all in one dog! Now If my fiance would only let me bring home a half-a-dozen different pooches I would be in business!