What breed

Stacey

Well-Known Member
I decided that I will get a pup sometime through the winter but im unsure which breed to get. I have 3 labradors at the moment but they are gundogs. I was wanting a pup to train through the winter for deer, as I have been told I cant shoot at all till at least the spring time :( I will have plenty time for training

Does anyone have any tips for which breed would be suitable?

Stacey
 
im goingto sound biased but a gwp ticks all the boxs as it happens I have a litter here at the moment :D
best of luck with whatever you choose regards pete
 
They are nice looking pups. I havnt owned a gwp before, do they have a good temperment etc..?

Stacey
 
There's nothing wrong with a Lab as a deer dog - in fact they make bloody good deer dogs, and you already have experience training them. Like any dog temperament will depend on the individual, gwp's are great dogs but can be a touch headstrong for some, to be honest it sounds like you have experience with dogs so that shouldn't be a porblem for you. You could try a lab/pointer cross and get the best of both worlds.
 
There's nothing wrong with a Lab as a deer dog - in fact they make bloody good deer dogs, and you already have experience training them. Like any dog temperament will depend on the individual, gwp's are great dogs but can be a touch headstrong for some, to be honest it sounds like you have experience with dogs so that shouldn't be a porblem for you. You could try a lab/pointer cross and get the best of both worlds.


Or the worst of both, you never know when crossing
 
There's nothing wrong with a Lab as a deer dog - in fact they make bloody good deer dogs, and you already have experience training them. Like any dog temperament will depend on the individual, gwp's are great dogs but can be a touch headstrong for some, to be honest it sounds like you have experience with dogs so that shouldn't be a porblem for you. You could try a lab/pointer cross and get the best of both worlds.
Do Labs make good deer dogs? For scenting deer?
 
+ one with roedinator on the GWP.
I have used labs for deer and yes they are very capable, but the GWP is head and shoulders over them on deer.
Sinbad

Forgot to add, A lot depends on what you want out of your dog, I use my GWP as a trailing/companion dog, ie he walks with me points deer in woodland that I cant see and finds deer I have shot, he also moves deer gently for waiting guns in heavy forest.
If you want a full on tracking dog there are some excellent threads on here to guide you regarding the best dog type for your personal needs.
All the best in your quest for the best mate.
 
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I decided that I will get a pup sometime through the winter but im unsure which breed to get. I have 3 labradors at the moment but they are gundogs. I was wanting a pup to train through the winter for deer, as I have been told I cant shoot at all till at least the spring time :( I will have plenty time for training

Does anyone have any tips for which breed would be suitable?

Stacey

out of interest hav you not tried any of your labs you hav now to see how they perform on a track??
seems like you already hav the perfect dogs to convert to begin with before needing a new dog
 
If I were to get a deer dog it would have to be a Bavarian mountain hound I think there stunning dogs and track like a demon so that's the way I would go.....
 
If I was you i would try one of your labs on tracking. It takes longer than 1 winter to train a pup. If after trying the lab you still want a dog for deer then a GWP would be my choice. I have 3 of them. Two adults and 1 pup. the 2 adults do everything that they have been bred to do. Deer work and bird work
 
One of the labs I have will follow the deer and is quite good, but she is 9 and is starting to struggle to go out for a stalk. The other 2 labs have no interest in deer; I got a lab pup last year to train for pheasants and she is quite a nervous dog so is sort of ok on a shoot day when there is other dogs around her, and the other lab i have is 2 years old and I just use her for pheasant beating and she wont even look at a deer.
By the sounds of things I wont be able to do any shooting for a while so will have plenty time for training a pup

Stacey
 
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I have a lab and a gwp, both very well bred and both trained on birds. I decided to take up deer stalking because a gwp doesn't really suit the type of game shooting that I do and I want to get the best out of my dogs.

The pointer will work as a Labrador does but is only doing it because i ask her to and is only really happy if she can range far and wide hunting. She was quite hard work to train too. Very intelligent, but a sneaky little bugger too!
The Labrador is excellent at doing what Labradors do but (I think, I haven't tried) would be a nightmare to train to track deer. She's just not interested and can't fit a deer in her mouth! Maybe if I'd trained her on deer first, like people on here would advocate, thing may have been different.

From the get go though, the pointer has been well up for going out after deer. She's a natural born killer and a slave to work. She just seems to know what to do, she responded to low whistles and silent hand signals, points deer, moves behind you when you're putting sticks up, she sits quietly for extended periods of time and seems to find everything that I've asked her to find all without any training at all. I'd heartily recommend one. They're fantastic dogs. Just make sure you get one from parents that have good temperaments.

I'd also be interested in Wirehaired vislas and short haired pointers too, if I was thinking of getting something else. If I shot enough deer in a year, I'd be looking at scenthounds too.
 
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I'd also be interested in Wirehaired vislas and short haired pointers too, if I was thinking of getting something else. If I shot enough deer in a year, I'd be looking at scenthounds too.

If you shot that many deer in a year you'd probably find your GWP would be good enough so you wouldn't need to fuss about with a scent hound.
 
If you shot that many deer in a year you'd probably find your GWP would be good enough so you wouldn't need to fuss about with a scent hound.

You're probably right. I'm not sure I'm a bad enough shot to warrant a scent hound. :stir:
 
Have a look at the Large Munsterlander too,better looking and just as capable as the rest of the german pointers,well i think so but i could be a bit biased.
 
Labs make great deer dogs - just got one after a long break! Loads of people on SD using them :) BVBH are good dogs from what I've seen though!
 
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