Sporting/Gun Dog Breeds

Sporting or hunting breeds are also known as gundogs and bird dogs, although they were used before the advent of gunpowder weapons, when birds and other game were netted or clubbed. They are traditionally used for hunting birds, either upland game birds (quails, pheasants, etc.) or waterfowl.

Sporting or hunting breeds are in many cases extremely old. While hunting for game has always been a behavior of the human species, hunting as a pastime or a social activity also has its origins more than 1,000 years ago, and many dog breeds were developed to assist in both subsistence and recreational hunting.

All sporting breeds have in common that they work well with humans and with other dogs. Besides this sociability, they are strong and have great stamina. Although a dog of any sporting breed can be trained to some extent to perform any of the desired hunting behaviors, each breed excels at one of them.

The various jobs of gundogs may include locating game, signaling its location, flushing the birds, and retrieving the downed ones.

These types include:

• Flushers: These dogs are used to locate and flush birds so that the hunter can shoot them. Extremely useful when hunting birds like pheasants that otherwise would tend to run away through the brush, these dogs force the birds to take flight, making them easy targets.

A well-trained flusher will note where shot birds fall and wait for a command from his handler to go retrieve them. Flushing breeds are primarily spaniels, but retrievers can also be employed on upland game. They work quite close to their handlers—within shotgun distance—because it is useless for them to flush birds farther away than that.

• Pointers and Setters: In contrast to flushers, these breeds work at a great distance from their handlers, locating birds and then pointing or crouching to signal. Birds like quail, which tend to bunch together and wait quietly, are best hunted by this method.

Rather than startle the birds into flight, the pointers and setters scare the game into hiding and keep an eye on them until their handlers arrive. At this point trainers differ. Some have the dog remain still while the hunter flushes the game and fires, while others train the dog to remain in position until given the signal to flush the game.

• Retrievers: Although retrievers are successfully used for upland bird hunting, their forte is retrieving downed waterfowl. They often must wait quietly and patiently for long periods and then follow their handler’s shots, taking note of where each bird lands.

Next, when given the command, they must swim out and retrieve the birds. A retriever’s training includes staying on the mark and not getting distracted when other birds are shot while the dog is retrieving and staying out of the way of another dog’s retrieving.

Sporting Dogs as Pets

Loyal, gentle, obedient, and eager to please their owners, sporting dogs make excellent pets. They are typically good watchdogs, but their friendliness makes them poor guard dogs in most cases—the worst an intruder can expect is a sloppy kiss. They do need plenty of exercise and can excel at all types of organized sports.