# The Best Waterfowl Dog



## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Mike L said:


> LMAO........Gee's Kid you crack me up.....
> Your pretty much getting the picture.......between the lab and the chessie, between the joking there's a lot of truth to whats been said. I won't offer an opinion on the GSP. I've never been around one. You can't beat a Lab for a family dog, and to add more fire to the post there's is absolutely no doubt !
> Get a *Female* They listen better..(Not as bullheaded) and are generally
> a smaller dog. Most females will weigh approx 70 lbs give or take a couple of pounds. There are some good chocolates, but you'll have to look very hard(Old Timer) and the yellow's are pretty until they get out in the mud.
> Hence ? Once you go black you'll never go back........


only met a few chessies that didn't stink like crazy after duck hunting. so theres some truth to my post.


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## Flooded Timber (Nov 1, 2006)

Hey make sure you get a chocolate or black. They hide the mud and swamp muck a lot better on there fur. The wife is always so excited when we return early from a morning hunt and the pup jumps in bed with Mom on her new comforter. Bad doggy:lol:, I told her not to allow him on the furniture even to baby him as a pup. Now she is starting to learn why. But of course its my fault for taking him out hunting anyway...


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## SafetyMan (Apr 13, 2001)

You don't always get what you pay for. 

The guys with high dollar dogs will tell you otherwise.

A lot of guys around here know my dog, she wasn't high dollar, isn't high strung, is very easy to train, and wants only to please me. 

My YELLOW female, Ginger is my best friend. Bar none.


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## duckhunter88 (Oct 19, 2006)

One thing that I would like to add to my earlier post is don't by a chessie if it's your first dog because they will break you down and when your done the only thing you'll be able to do is sing com by ya.


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## Ferris_StateHunter (Apr 24, 2006)

Chessies all the way, that will be my first duck dog, 

I want a dog who wants to duck hunt more than i do... and the stubborn thing, really all he is doing is showing you who is boss


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

SafetyMan said:


> You don't always get what you pay for.
> 
> The guys with high dollar dogs will tell you otherwise.
> 
> ...


This is very true as well. A long time trainer friend of mine said,,, once you have the "color" and "plumbing" right,,, you can close your eyes and pick. You can pick a dud just as easy as a hall of famer.


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## Zero1 (Feb 21, 2008)

yellow labs ..............:evil::evil:


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## chuckinduck (May 28, 2003)

I'm setting the under at 8 pages on this never ending debate. I'm of the belief that all three breeds will do what you want, provided you spend the time training them and get a little bit of luck. You can get lemons that cost $1000's and great hunters that cost much less then that. So pick the breed and color that suits you, spend lots of time training, and with a little luck, the rest will all fall into place. I hunt over a swamp collie (golden) as many guys call them, and although many say they won't hunt in cold weather, lack drive, and are gun shy, he's been a great dog, hunts in all types of conditions and I've never questioned his desire to hunt. Bottom line is, don't read to much into stereotypes, colors, breeds, because in the end, with proper training, all these breeds will work if given the tools to succeed.


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## mudflapimmc (Dec 19, 2005)

chuckinduck said:


> I'm setting the under at 8 pages on this never ending debate. I'm of the belief that all three breeds will do what you want, provided you spend the time training them. So pick the breed and color that suits you, and spend lots of time training, and the rest will all fall into place.


 By "all three breeds" you mean Black Labs, Yellow Labs, and Chocolate Labs right?


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

I will preach this till the day I die. The backyard breeders have no business breeding and selling. Anyone can get papers from the UKC to paper their pups, all it takes is filling out the paperwork......... 

I got my current lab from a backyard breeder. At the time I thought I was getting my mother a pet for home as my other dog had recently passed on. I was not really ready, but when we got home, she said here you go, it is yours. Well, I relunctly took it and never looked back. I love my black lab, I trained him, and he is my first duck dog. He retrieves very well to my eyes. No, he is not a robot, he does it because he wants to and he wants to please me. It is a mutual love. I would rather not hunt than to hunt without him. 

That said, he is three now, and has hip displaysia from basically birth. He also has some serious arthritis in the front elbows. He is in rough shape at times, but he has no idea what it is to live pain free. He has had it since birth. He had MSU operate on his front elbows and it helped a lot. Expensive and yes, worth every penny. Well it is back and he limps now and again after hard workouts. His hips are still bad but they don't bother him nearly as much as the front. 

Moral of the story, go to a breeder who can give you a dog with a clean bill of health. Real breeders have bred the hip, elbows, eyes and ears health problems from their bloodlines. Very small almost nill of your dog developing these problems. If you go pick up a $200 found in the Sunday paper dog you are taking a risk of losing your new best friend very early in life. Trust me, it is not something you want to go through. I would give just about anything to see my buddy be pain free. Please no matter what breed you pick, just go through a breeder who has a long blood line.


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## choc24/7 (Jan 22, 2008)

Ferris_StateHunter said:


> and the stubborn thing, really all he is doing is showing you who is boss


exactly. that could not come back and bite ya in the **** at all. that is why go lab, they KNOW who the boss is the whole time......


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## choc24/7 (Jan 22, 2008)

Bellyup said:


> I will preach this till the day I die. The backyard breeders have no business breeding and selling. Anyone can get papers from the UKC to paper their pups, all it takes is filling out the paperwork.........
> 
> I got my current lab from a backyard breeder. At the time I thought I was getting my mother a pet for home as my other dog had recently passed on. I was not really ready, but when we got home, she said here you go, it is yours. Well, I relunctly took it and never looked back. I love my black lab, I trained him, and he is my first duck dog. He retrieves very well to my eyes. No, he is not a robot, he does it because he wants to and he wants to please me. It is a mutual love. I would rather not hunt than to hunt without him.
> 
> ...


WOW!!:yikes: not to get off topic but can happen at "non-backyard" breeders also, not as often, but can. got mine "backyard" and she is perfect in "my" mind. health has been flawless as well as drive and smarter than i could imagine. did not come from "hunt stock" but you would not know that seeing her from day one. am condsidering getting the next form the same "backyard". if there are problems most will take them back regardless.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

mallard112386 said:


> My girlfriend is wanting to get a dog. At first she wanted to get a weiner dog but i convinced to get a lab so im looking for a lab to train for waterfowl and also use it for pheasant and other upland birds but mostly waterfowl. Where can i find one and what is the best type? I was looking at chocolate labs is there any difference in a chocolate than a black or golden? Also is there a difference in getting a male or female does one listen better than the other? thanks for helping me out


Any dog owned by someone else:lol: If they are a terrible dog, you get to poke fun at your buddy every time out. If they do good they are a joy to hunt with and it is his time invested, not yours.


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## chessiepup (Oct 24, 2002)

Bellyup said:


> I will preach this till the day I die. The backyard breeders have no business breeding and selling. Anyone can get papers from the UKC to paper their pups, all it takes is filling out the paperwork.........
> 
> I got my current lab from a backyard breeder. At the time I thought I was getting my mother a pet for home as my other dog had recently passed on. I was not really ready, but when we got home, she said here you go, it is yours. Well, I relunctly took it and never looked back. I love my black lab, I trained him, and he is my first duck dog. He retrieves very well to my eyes. No, he is not a robot, he does it because he wants to and he wants to please me. It is a mutual love. I would rather not hunt than to hunt without him.
> 
> ...


half of what you read in this thread is B.S. but the above is something you should heed,

having gone through nearly the exact same thing with one of my own labs(in fact it so similar its scary) I to cannot stress that enough, do your research no matter what breed you chose

B.S. back on:







Labs are sissy robot dogs that can't hang!


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## chessiepup (Oct 24, 2002)

TSS Caddis said:


> Any dog owned by someone else:lol: If they are a terrible dog, you get to poke fun at your buddy every time out. If they do good they are a joy to hunt with and it is his time invested, not yours.


poking fun at your buddys dog is a cardinal sin that WILL guarantee you never to get invited again :16suspect


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## everlast1 (Nov 9, 2006)

All dogs that are in the water everyday are going to smell from the oils in their skin and coat. Chesapeakes are no different. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesnt know what they are talking about.  If you want a water/upland dog and you are not an experienced handler cant go wrong with a lab, just be aware of inbreeding and the gene pool that its created.


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## hunteramargin (May 7, 2005)

Tarrin My wire haired pointing Griffon is a hunting machine. Calm and mellow at home or in the vehicle but all out geeked to hunt. rides on the back of my kayak. The breed has my vote for the best all around game dog. That being said if you're talking strictly a duck dog then go with the Lab and be selective, know what you want and don't cave just because a given pup is cute or the price is right. Look for they body type that fits your wants and shop the parents. Sceolan my young lab works half as hard to swim twice as fast as Tarrin because she's optimized for water work. just my 2 cents


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## hunteramargin (May 7, 2005)

"poking fun at your buddys dog is a cardinal sin that WILL guarantee you never to get invited again :16suspect"

Call Tarrin ugly and you'll have to wade out and walk home


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

everlast1 said:


> All dogs that are in the water everyday are going to smell from the oils in their skin and coat. Chesapeakes are no different. Anyone that tells you otherwise doesnt know what they are talking about.


bullsheet.


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## thedude (Jul 20, 2004)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> bullsheet.


lol... yeah.. i can vouch for otto. stinky bastard is an understatement... dog is a hunting machine though!

for the record my dog doesn't stink when he's wet... had him in the pond the last 2 nights in a row.

i don't know the best water dog.. they all have strong points, my _*favorite *_is a BLM and mine is my best bud.
here he is working overtime in canada :lol:


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