Cannon Crew Ag said:

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The new hunting buddy thread from a few hours ago had me thinking about a tough decision I've had on my mind for the past couple months. If y'all were to choose between a GSP and a chocolate lab, which is your choice? I'm barely leaning towards a GSP, but I don't know if the energy level they come with will just be too much for me being a first time dog owner, as in the dog would be my own, not one of the dogs my family had growing up.

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Don't fit a square peg in a round hole. The dogs are designed with a purpose. Sure, they can be versatile though. If it's a companion that you will just occasionally hunt with, either should be ok. In my experience, labs are generally a little less high strung than GSPs, but it really depends on the breeding. I am biased towards field goldens though. Find a responsible breeder with biddable stock with health clearances for whatever you choose. Don't get a silver or pointing lab.

That's a show dog. That looks like a dog shampoo advertisement. I see not one bit of evidence that that dog hunts.

And those are pen raised birds. All the green leaves on the trees are a dead giveaway. My mom's schnauzer can hunt pen raised birds.

Just to go full on OB and throw in another breed not part of the original discussion- Boykin spaniel.

Legend says they're originally from a cross between a Chessie and an English cocker. But they're bred to be an all around dog. Sure, they won't excel as a pointer like an English or a GSP (they're flushing dogs after all) and they won't retrieve as well as a Lab but they'll point/flush better than a Lab and retrieve better than a pointer. I'm trying to convince Mrs. Finn to go with a Boykin for our next dog.

Have you ever seen a boykin run in a hunt test? Yeah, they're neat little dogs and a great size but it's tough to compare them to field labs and goldens for the same work imo.

I've also seen a miniature poodle pass a senior hunt test stake I was working so I'll be adding pics of them shortly. (To his defense, he was a damn good little dog and ran clean, but still...)

Edit: you addressed the jack of all trades master of none in your post and I missed it.

reddog90 said:

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Have you ever seen a boykin run in a hunt test? Yeah, they're neat little dogs and a great size but it's tough to compare them to field labs and goldens for the same work imo.

I've also seen a miniature poodle pass a senior hunt test stake I was working so I'll be adding pics of them shortly. (To his defense, he was a damn good little dog and ran clean, but still...)

Edit: you addressed the jack of all trades master of none in your post and I missed it.

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One of my fraternity brothers from A&M had a standard poodle we hunted over. She died last year.

He's almost as big of an upland bird freak as Sean and wanted a bird dog but his wife is allergic. So he ran down some kennels which breed field-line poodles. I forget where he got her but Scout was a tremendous dog. Extremely smart and eager to please. Never hunted ducks with her but shot many a pheasant in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle over her.

It doesn't make us freaks, it makes the REST OF YOU freaks for not getting with the program!!


...then again if the rest of you knew what you were missing then the bird fields would be too crowded. So forget I said that.

Sean98 said:

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It doesn't make us freaks, it makes the REST OF YOU freaks for not getting with the program!!


...then again if the rest of you knew what you were missing then the bird fields would be too crowded. So forget I said that.

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Don't get me wrong, I love upland hunting. Watching the dogs work is amazing.

But, when it comes to knocking feathered creatures out of the sky I prefer duck hunting.

And all of that comes way behind fly fishing in shallow salt water.

While you may be right about them being pen raised birds, that dog hunts and quite a few people on this board could attest to that. Thanks for the compliment though! He is a pretty great looking dog, got lucky I guess...

Here is a picture of his first retrieve at 6 and a half months old:

Here he is a year later at a year and a half old:

Fess up, those were hand thrown birds.

No, he's a nice swamp collie with a great personality.

You know damn well those weren't hand tossed birds lol

If I could upland hunt as much as I wanted to I would never think twice about giving up duck hunting. Watching good dogs work a field is never gets old.

Another vote for the Boykin!

Sorry everybody for dropping the big debate question and then not showing up again. I got swamped with work and then preparing the site for when the tropical storm would hit. I'm much more of a duck hunter, so rarely would I be giving a GSP the chance to point. That being said, I've found that I like the temperament of a GSP a bit more from the different ones I have interacted with. Still a tough decision though.

Sounds like a swamp collie is the right choice for you.

I have always heard that you should choose the dog with the energy level that matches yours. I am not sure that is even true because I am fairly laid back and I thoroughly enjoyed a hyper Brittany for about 16 years.

Note: My neighbor owned a laid back Brittany which I thought was pretty rare. He was still a good bird dog.

Just one guy's opinion here, buy a retriever. A shorthair is not made to sit still in a duck blind. Hell, mine very rarely will even get in water that's too deep for him to stand on his feet. He swims like Squints on Sandlot.

GSPs are awesome dogs and I love mine. But given what you just said you do most I don't think it's probably the best choice for you. Just my $0.02.

reddog90 said:

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Have you ever seen a boykin run in a hunt test? Yeah, they're neat little dogs and a great size but it's tough to compare them to field labs and goldens for the same work imo

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My Boykin says "Hi" from the 2016 HRC Spring International Grand Hunt Test.
Also, FWIW the highest point currently living HRC dog is a Boykin, GRHRCH Chief

Lab is the obvious choice.

Also, not sure if you guys that are saying a GSP will retrieve as well as a lab have ever seen a truly great lab work. My WPG tolerates duck hunting, and is awesome at the typical pond hunting that I do. But he isn't ever going to make those 300 yard blind retrieves that most labs can make.

I do love being able to go get a limit of ducks with my pup and then take him to limit out on quail in the same day.

Didn't say they can't do the work at all. I see them at tests sometimes. IMO they are disadvantaged for the same work though.

You clearly have a nice dog if you're running at the grand and I'm glad you had Mark capture your boy. He does spectacular work and is partial to swamp collies!

Big fan of Mark and Team Red Dog! Boykin-nation is lucky for him to always be the photographer for our Boykin Spaniel Society National Field Trial every year, I have several great shots of my girl-kin from Mark and his team at UpClosePhoto over the past couple years.

Clearly not a hunting dog... No evidence to show that that dog hunts. Clearly a shampooed show dog

Yeah he's a rotten SOB. He prefers frisbees and squirrels and mosquito hawks. Picks up an occasional duck every now and then.

This thread is getting out balance. What it needs is more Labrador pictures. Here's Gus after his first hunting retrieve:


He's still very much a pup in that pic. I felt bad that first hunting morning. It was brutally cold for north Texas and he was shaking pretty good at first light. After that first duck we both walked backed home for pan seared duck and coffee. I assumed he was shivering from the cold. But now we can hunt when it's 70 degrees out and he'll be sitting beside me shivering when the birds start flying.

I'm very much an amateur duck hunter and Gus is the first pup I've trained. We might not have the best looking spreads but we sure have a good time hunting together.



I love Labradors. I hope my family is never without a good one.