I am researching a new dog. My mom and I trained and hunted over a yellow lab when I was a kid. Gunmaul (Molly) passed when I was 18. 35 years later I still get emotional when I think of her or stumble across an old photo. I was out hunting with a friend and his Springer did 2 awesome retrieves for me… totally rocked me and got me dreamin of past glory with my girl. My lab was decent at flush and retrieve upland hunting and great in a boat or blind doing water retrieves. She would not hold and point, but then I never expected that of her nor tried to train her to it. With my next dog I would like to have that bit of extra versatility… point, flush, retrieve wet or dry and a great nose for blood trailing… doesn’t need to be a rock star, but should be a breed with good potential and we shall see what training will do. Above all else is being a super family dog. It will live in the house with us. This means biddable and eager to please, great personality, laid back at home and intense in the woods. I prefer a larger breed, just because… but also to make water retrieval of geese an easier job. I have two kids 11 & 13 that are starting to shoot/hunt and really want a family dog badly. May take a bit of effort to get the wife on board though. Small yard, but back onto the dyke trail system in poco, where we run/bike etc. The entire family are either fit or ultra-fit, so outdoor time and exercise will not be an issue. We hunt fish and camp pretty regularly and will be incented to ramp it up with a willing canine.
As much as I loved my lab, shedding of the short coat and rolling in everything imaginable was a very large pain. Thought I would change it up and look at a different breed, although I haven’t ruled out another lab altogether. Also thought to get a male instead of female just as a departure from Molly. I have narrowed down the breed to a few, guess I am looking for leads on closest proximity breeders of the following dogs and start to make some calls. Pudelpointer, GWP or Deutsch-Drahthaar (are they the same? differences?) The obvious options are in the states… be nice to find something in BC… Seems all Canadian DD breeders are in the east… Are there significant behavior differences between males and females to be aware of? I have only had female dogs.