Looking good Kraig! I love all dog’s on point; even if they are “ugly” ones . What breed? My typical hunting buddies are mainly running german wirehairs now and they are some high powered dogs for sure!

Are you looking for a hunting dog, or a family companion? If a hunting dog, are you chasing ducks and geese, upland birds, or both?

I run pointing dogs, so I cannot help you in the lab world, but I can share some things that have worked for me in terms of picking a pup.

There are a LOT of breeders out there especially in the lab world and when you think about it a very small percentage of the dogs in that breed should actually be bred (with the goal of improving the breed). For me; that rules out any breeder that only breeds within their own breed stock. The odds of one breeder having multiple males and females in the top 1% of that breeds population is not good. I stick to guys that are agressively trying to improve the breed by searching out the best mate for their dog and seeing what the outcome is. Just becasue one dog is great, doesn’t mean their offspring will be. Because of this, I will stick with repeat breedings where the previous ones were successful. Bare in mind, this isn’t going to be cheap, but you do get what you pay for and the purchase price of a dog is not a big deal when you think about the total cost over their lifetime.

In order to find this caliber of dog, it’s easiest to attend hunt tests, or field trials of the type you’re interested in and talk to people. There are some great people in these events and their knowledge about hunting dogs in your area will be invaluable. I’d guess that as you do your research at these events, there will be a few breedings that will rise to the top and be the overwhelming favorite among your areas experts.

From there, chances are you’ve landed on a very knowledgable guy to buy a dog from and I’d let him pick the pup for you out the litter. He’ll be able to best match a pup to your needs.

Good Luck! There’s nothing better than getting a new puppy, and turning it into your dream dog.

Thanks Kooty. I didn’t even know there was a hunting side of IDO until Cougareye pointed it out to me when I was fishing with him last week. I think I’m going to like it here ……

I’ve got 3 English Setter’s. Two are brothers from the same litter and are 9 now, so slowing down a bit. The third is 5 and just getting into her prime.

I had a freind that used to live and die by those Screamin’ Eagles and I can tell you that he was deadly accurate with that thing. I do remember a few times bear hunting though when he’d try to shoot sitting down and the limbs would catch in his boot or a random branch and pull the bow out of his hands. I’d say that’s they’re only real downfall is that there is so much moving on that bow when you release the string. We always teased him that if he got a flat tire on the way home from archery league that he could use the Screamin Eagle as a jack somehow