The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

The next dog for the dog pack at my house is getting closer to a decision. I have been bringing you into my decision-making criteria for the past two weeks or so. I have narrowed the choices from about 30 down to three. The dog breeds that are still on my short list include the Small Münsterländer, the English Setter and the German Shorthaired Pointer.

The pros and cons of each as I am able to calculate are what follows. The Small Münsterländer is at the top of my list but a formal decision has not been made until my readers have a chance to tell me their sides of the story if they happen to own one of these breeds, and I for some reason have it wrong.

The Small Münsterländer is a smaller dog with a longer coat. The smaller size can be a benefit when it comes to traveling and sharing a living space, but the long hair is a disadvantage when it comes to burrs and other things you find in hunting fields that would love to attach themselves to my dog’s coat and then try to sprout somewhere in my sofa or recliner. They are a gentle breed. I am used to hard charging Labradors so this will be a big change for me. How will this timider dog handle the other Labs he will have to share a house with? Breeders for this dog are far and few between and the travel to pick one up requires many more miles than the other two finalists. From what I have been able to research, they cost about $2,000. The wait time is anywhere from 8-18 months. I only know of one guy who has this dog and I have seen the dog, but have never seen it work in the field.

My second on the list is an English Setter. They have the same longer hair and are a gentler breed. So, in many respects, they share similar traits to a Small Münsterländer. These dogs are more readily available and the costs I have seen are in the $1,500 realm. These dogs are not generally a water loving sort. Not all that big of deal to me, but a certain amount of creek crossing is still pretty common.

The last finalist is the German Shorthaired Pointer. If I end up going this direction I will need to choose a breeder very carefully. These dogs are very high energy and I could not handle or desire a dog that is going 100 miles per hour all the time. I have seen these dogs work and, if chosen properly, I think I can find one that is not a Tasmanian Devil all the time. I have hunted with a half dozen of these dogs and only one of them was calm enough for me.

What other traits are a necessity for me? Retrieving is one of those. I need a dog to bring me the bird. Every breed on my list can do this work, but not all of them are historically prone to do it. Trying to make a retrieving dog out of a breed not known for its retrieving instincts might require more hours of training. Should I save myself the time and effort and eliminate the breeds who have shown to be less than stellar in this department?

A quiet dog is also a mandate in my selection process. Some breeds bark a lot more than others. All of my dogs live in the house and I live in town so all of my dogs need to know that barking is a no-no. Excited dogs bark. How does a novice in the pointing breeds measure what dog breeds bark more than others? I have no idea.

Another purchasing point for me is how prone to genetic defects is a particular breed and what are the breeder’s guarantees when it comes to a dog who has health issues related to breeding genetics? These can be found on breeders’ websites, but they are often not in a common man’s language, so an extensive conversation needs to be had with each possible dog supplier.

I will give you an example of the differences. Two different Labrador breeders guarantee that their puppies will be able to successfully pass a hip X-ray at age 2. If the dog fails the X-ray you can get your money back. One will give you the cash back and then will also take the dog back. You are not out any money but you might be out two years of time and training. What if the hip is only slightly bad and would not effect the dog’s hunting lifetime, but would prohibit you from ever breeding the dog? Would you give back the dog and keep the money? In most cases the answer would be no and as far as I am concerned this guarantee is not worth the paper it is written on.

The second breeder promises the same thing and if the dog fails the X-ray you get your money back, keep the dog and you would be required to spay or neuter the dog in order to insure the genetic defect could not be passed on to other puppies. This is a better guarantee.

So here is my question to you. If you own one of the three breeds that are still on my list, tell me why I should choose it for my next dog. If I have any of my facts or figures wrong, I would like to hear that too. You can reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com to share what you know about pointing breeds.

Remember, when and if you respond, I told you three weeks ago that I am new to the pointing breed world and claim to have no expertise in this area. I am just a die-hard upland hunter trying to expand my options for quail hunting. There will always be someone more experienced in this area and I am looking for input from those who know more than me.

I will share what I have learned and which way I have chosen to go in a few weeks after the readers have had an opportunity to chime in!

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.