Last big dog

[tungularafishcamp]

Said goodbye to my 14 yr old lab/chessie mix a couple weeks ago. Time to downsize in the dog department. Kids are all gone and we will be traveling more and even though I love labs they are a little big to travel with. Still want a dog to hunt with but am thinking about trying upland bird hunting as we travel down south. Would be nice to try pheasant, quail, turkey, dove and some of the other birds I have heard about. Was thinking maybe one of those tolling retrievers might be a good size, combination of skills or maybe a ???? Always had good luck with mutts that found us but it is time for us to find one. Any suggestions?
Rick

 

[kevindsingleton]

Said goodbye to my 14 yr old lab/chessie mix a couple weeks ago. Time to downsize in the dog department. Kids are all gone and we will be traveling more and even though I love labs they are a little big to travel with. Still want a dog to hunt with but am thinking about trying upland bird hunting as we travel down south. Would be nice to try pheasant, quail, turkey, dove and some of the other birds I have heard about. Was thinking maybe one of those tolling retrievers might be a good size, combination of skills or maybe a ???? Always had good luck with mutts that found us but it is time for us to find one. Any suggestions?
Rick

I'm interested in the turkey and dove hunting with dogs!

How does that go, again?

 

[Redneck_Randy]

Sorry to hear you lost such a long time friend Rick. Wife and I have no children so our pets are our children.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Thanks Randy even with kids our dog is part of the family.

Other than ptarmigan and waterfowl I have never hunted any birds Kevin. I would assume a dog could help find and retrieve doves and as far as turkey goes my dog goes deer hunting with me and just stays by my side unless I am looking for one that has rolled down the mountain, then she looks too so I would think they could do that too. I am looking forward to learning a few new things as well as trying some new taste treats
Rick

 

[77transam]

Sorry to hear about your loss TFC.

How 'bout the local shelters? Have you checked any out? Always lots of lab-mixes and retriever types in our local shelters here in NC.

 

[jimmyj]

So sorry to year about the loss of your loyal companion. What about a spaniel? Aren't springer spaniels pretty good bird dogs?

 

[TMR]

Rick...sorry about your dog...

We had labs for close to twenty years...two separate yellows. We have been w/o a dog for about five years for many of the reasons you mentioned but are beginning to think about getting another dog. Going through much the same thought process about potentially "downsizing". Out thought is 40-50#s might be better than 70-80#s. There are many hunting dog breeds under 50#s to consider.

One thing I came across is the term "canoe lab"...which is essentially a lab bred to the smaller size. Something we may look at. I think you could google and find a guy in Tenn (I think) that has a couple of litters of canoe labs a year...Robert Milner (I searched This allows the personality/traits of a lab with smaller size.

Good luck on your search...keep us posted...Tom R

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Thanks guys....
I have never heard of canoe labs Tom but will check them out, would be great to still have a lab only smaller. I wonder if they would live longer, being smaller? That was one of the reasons I was thinking about a tolling retriever.
'Rick

 

[brin]

Thanks guys....
I have never heard of canoe labs Tom but will check them out, would be great to still have a lab only smaller. I wonder if they would live longer, being smaller? That was one of the reasons I was thinking about a tolling retriever.
'Rick[/QUOTE

So sorry to hear about your Dog....Have you considered a Brittany...They are the American version of the Brittany Spaniel...I have a Brittany and he is a great bird dog and companion...Google " Brittany " They are very loving and easy going.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The best bird dog I ever had was a dumply looking little field bred springer spaniel. In all the years we hunted, she never missed a retrieve. If I brought it down, she found it, either upland or hunting ducks over decoys, no matter how heavy the cover. She worked heavy brush cover like a champion. Several times I got good shooting working 100 yards behind another group with dogs. She would kick out pheasant that other dogs walked right past.