The LABRADOR The ENGLISH The TOP

The The BOYKIN OUR PICKS FOR THE BEST MODERN BREEDS OF SPORTING DOGS THAT TRACK, FIND AND RETRIEVE ANYTHING WE CARE TO HUNT

By COLIN MOORE

or as long as anyone can remem- ber, man has always fared better in Fhis pursuit of game when aided by a canine. But which breeds are best? Our choices for the best pointers, , flushing dogs and hounds follow, but with hundreds of different sporting breeds to choose from, you really can’t go wrong.

The BLUETICK The ENGLISH Credit Tk Credit Photo:

NOVEMBER 2011 || 67 The BEAGLE The GERMAN WIREHAIRED POINTER The SPRINGER SPANIEL POINTERS RETRIEVERS

FETCHING ’EM UP THE UTILITY PLAYERS OF GUN DOGS, THESE EAGER HUNTERS JUST APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK

ne crisp September is just as efficient in pheas- The The ENGLISH POINTER afternoon in a north ant country as it is in flood- OFlorida peanut field, ed timber. Labs seem to I hunted doves with a man understand there’s no such who had trained his pit thing as a free ride, and one bull to retrieve. The sat will hunt as if it’s afraid it’s patiently beside us, waiting going to get kicked off the to show off its skills, and team. Fat chance—it’s an sprang into action when all-American. I downed the first dove. At the owner’s behest, the Runner-Up: The BRITTANY The GERMAN WIREHAIRED POINTER The HUNGARIAN pit bull galloped to the The golden retriever has dead bird, scooped it up remained a favorite both in its maw, turned back for its happy-go-lucky per- any other sporting breed, toward us, made a couple sonality and its depend- QUICK TO THE POINT TIP which proves they’re as of crunching sounds and ability. It’s the kind of dog WITH A CERTAIN AIR OF DIGNITY AND STOICISM, THESE HIGH- good as they look. swallowed the dove whole. that’s going to look good in Tongue lolling, it then the backseat of the family The STRUNG BREEDS GUIDE THE WAY TO THE GAME The best way to ensure a Runner-Up: English Setter bounded back to us, obvi- sedan, or patiently waiting won’t be sensitive to In the category of field ously pleased with the way beside a goose pit. n the days when bird Top Dog: Brittany gunfire is through acclimation gun dogs, the Brittany is things were progressing. hunters and field For this kind of work, we to loud noise. Begin by making first among equals. The “He’ll settle down after trialers knew more need a biddable dog that loud sounds when a pup or gorgeous German short- he eats one or two,” said I young dog is feeding, then about the dams and sires isn’t willful, has good man- haired pointer is the most the proud owner. And, increase the volume over time of their favorite dogs than ners around other dogs, is until you can fire a shotgun popular bird dog in the sure enough, he did. they knew about their own fairly carefree and seems near the dog without causing American Kennel Club’s ancestors, big-running to understand what gun it to flinch or shy away. registry, and its wirehaired Top Dog: Labrador Retriever English pointers with 12 range means. and longhaired brethren Most dogs, be they squirrel o’clock tails seemed to be We’ll go with the are abundantly capable feists, rabbit beagles or pit TIP everyone’s favorite bird dog. Brittany. Known as the hunters. bulls with large appetites, The GOLDEN RETRIEVER The STANDARD Thus, it’s almost sacrile- Brittany spaniel when The English pointer, as can be trained to retrieve gious to pick any candidate the American Kennel mentioned, is perhaps the game. But it’s those whose Many dogs retrieve naturally except that breed as the Club first acknowledged most celebrated point- bloodlines have been fine- because they enjoy it. top , but times the breed in 1934, the ing breed. Still, we can’t ly honed over centuries However, a dog should be have changed and so has the “spaniel” was ultimate- help but recall “The Road that excel. For finding and taught that retrieval of game is not optional recreation, nature of bird hunting. Now, ly dropped when hunters to Tinkhamtown,” and bringing back waterfowl but rather an important part most of us are hunting small began to realize that the Cider’s white plume of a and the larger game birds, of its job description. Never patches and field edges, Brittany could point birds tail in the distance. We’ll the Labrador retriever has give a natural retriever the grasslands, highlands and at least as well as it could go with Corey Ford’s judg- no equal. It’s weatherproof, benefit of the doubt; it must old farmsteads for chukar, flush them. Brittanys have ment here and stick with waterproof and tenacious— be trained to retrieve on command. ruffs, partridge and quail of more dual championships the English setter as our the epitome of a hunter. The NOVA SCOTIA DUCK The CHESAPEAKE various sorts. (show and field trial) than runner-up to the Brittany. Bill Buckley, Chip Laughton/Windigoimages.com, Bryan, Denver Bill Buckley, Bryan, Denver top left: from Clockwise Opener- Cocotos Tom All illustrations: Bill Buckley. and Alamy Lon Lauber, Bryan, Denver Spomer/Windigoimages.com, Ron (3) DK images Corbis, top: Shutterstock, from Clockwise This page: DK Images. Opposite: This working-class breed TOLLING RETRIEVER BAY RETRIEVER

 Delmar Smith is the only trainer inducted into both the Field Trial Hall of Fame (1998) and the Brittany Hall of Fame (2000).  The Elhew line of English  Despite its popularity, the Labrador retriever has never won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.  The French poodle was first developed as a pointers was originated by Robert Wehle in the mid-1930s. “Elhew” is “Wehle” spelled backward.  The first four breeds recognized by the AKC in 1878 were the retriever in Germany. The standard poodle, with its thick, oily coat, remains one of Europe’s more popular gun dogs.  Early in the 19th century, two Newfoundlands swam FAST FACTS English setter, the English pointer, the and the .  The Hungarian vizsla is among the latest bird dogs recognized by the AKC (1960). to shore after surviving a shipwreck off the Maryland coast. These hardy, web-footed dogs were bred with English otter hounds, resulting in the Chesapeake Bay retriever.

68 || OUTDOOR LIFE NOVEMBER 2011 || 69 Rat terriers were bred SCENT HOUNDS THE ÜBER-DOG to hear faint scampering THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS THE PERFECT HUNTING DOG, BUT WITH ATTRIBUTES in the dark. Their cupped BORROWED FROM VARIOUS BREEDS, WE THINK WE’VE GOTTEN PRETTY CLOSE EARS don’t miss a thing.

“Here I am,” says an The EYES of a saluki English setter’s TAIL. It’s will help our hunting dog a good beacon in thick spot its quarry from long cover. distances.

The COAT of a Griffon The bloodhound’s NOSE The BEAGLE turns back sharp thorns. will provide all the The COLOR of a brindle scenting ability we need Plott is the ideal camo. for game of any size.

The deep CHEST and To catch feral hogs, no unmatched stamina of breed has a surer MOUTH an English pointer can’t grip than the Catahoula be beat. leopard dog.

The We’ll take the Built for speed, a Newfoundland’s greyhound’s muscular enormous webbed FEET LEGS won’t let anything for water work. outrun our über dog.

FLUSHERS The The BLACKMOUTH

Descended from the hearty ALWAYS ON THE GO HOT ON THE TRAIL stock of canines from the TIP ONCE THEY GET A SNOOT FULL OF SCENT, THESE DOGS WON’T southern Appalachians that AS LONG AS YOU CAN KEEP UP, THESE ENERGETIC BREEDS WILL served the first Scots-Irish STOP UNTIL THEY’VE REACHED THE END OF THE LINE KEEP BIRDS IN THE AIR ALL DAY LONG settlers, the blackmouth There are various cur is an able and utilitar- concoctions that can be used et’s face it: Packs of neighbors, chances are you’re ian hunter. You can chase to treat the coat of a hunting ny of the spaniel retrievers and springer big hounds are so going to have trouble keep- coons all night and squir- dog that’s been sprayed by a breeds have centu- , and a few genera- yesterday. Coonskin ing penned hounds, much rels all morning with this skunk. A mixture of 3 percent ries of game-flush- tions later a separate breed L hydrogen peroxide (1 quart), A caps are never coming back less casting them. pooch, and it will still have The BOYKIN SPANIEL The SPRINGER SPANIEL ing history behind them— was developed. Boykin baking soda (¼ cup) and into style, and watching enough go to jump a rabbit liquid detergent (2 teaspoons) except for our choice for gave his dogs a lot of Dancing With the Stars on Top Dog: Blackmouth Cur or two for you on the way is one effective home remedy. best flushing dog. hunting chores, including an otherwise boring week- What we need nowadays home. Rub the blend into a sprayed scattering flocks of wild day night is a lot less labor- is an opportunistic hunt- dog’s coat and then rinse it Top Dog: Boykin Spaniel turkeys in the fall. intensive than keeping up er that comes in a com- Runner-Up: Beagle off with tap water. A hunt- with a pack of hounds in a pact package, doesn’t need Beagles are another option er named L. Whitaker Runner-Up: Springer Spaniel dark woods. a kennel, has a good nose if rabbits are all you’re Boykin was given a stray A good springer spaniel Today’s night hunts and and can serve double- or likely to hunt. And the white spaniel in the first doesn’t waste time look- bench shows are echoes of triple-duty for a variety of various breeds of mountain decade of the 20th cen- ing for pheasants in places a distant past. And unless small game, and even crit- and feists make great tury. He bred the dog and they’re not likely to be, nor you own a lot of land or are ters the size of feral hogs. small-game hunters and its offspring to American does it put birds in the air

on good terms with your That’s the blackmouth cur. treeing hounds. (2) DK Images Givens, Shannon courtesy DK Images, top left: from Clockwise (3) DK Images Crites, Bill & Dawn courtesy top left: from Clockwise The The water spaniels, pointers, out of gun range.

 The , named after a German who immigrated to the highlands of North Carolina in 1750, is the only American hound not descended directly from  From the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, dogs were bred and trained to assist hunters who didn’t always use guns to harvest game birds. For instance, the English hounds. Jonathan Plott brought five Hanoverian hounds with him, and the line developed from these, bloodhounds and curs. The Plott was selected as the springer spaniel was developed to flush birds for a falconer. are descended from breeds trained to crouch down on point so that the hunter, armed with a cast net, FAST FACTS state dog of North Carolina in 1989.  The is the most popular breed registered with the United Kennel Club. could toss the net past the dog’s head and onto the bird it had located.  Dachshunds and Jack Russell terriers are popular with modern falconers for hunting rabbits.

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