Upland dogs that will also retreive ducks and geese?

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Originally Posted by Fox

That is my target, I know I will have to work with my wife to make sure she knows how to handle the dog. I had a room mate who had a troubled dog, a ridgeback, when he went away for a month and paid me to take care of it I took an evil dog that bit at me to something I could have sit and stay for as long as I wanted and do exactly as I wanted, the moment he got back the dog went back to evil.

I am anxious to have something that works for me but I will not rush in to this and end up with an expensive mouth to feed with no use.

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just be forewarned that your wife will fall in love with your Brittany. They are a breed that crave human companionship and want to please. They are hunting machines but total friken hams in the house. They also have a very strong prey drive and mine dispatches every cottontail that gets through our fence. He even took on a skunk that got in too. I can't Imagine "not" owning a Brittany anymore. I have the Rick Smith puppy development Vol 1 & 2 training DVDs. If you want them you are welcome to borrow them.
I also think a proper daytime outdoor kennel and indoor night time is ideal.

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Originally Posted by Fox

So based on this and what I like as a breed from being around them I have a list of dogs that I would love to own but why they may not work.

German Short Haired Pointer - I would love one but the short hair hurts them for the weather
Lab - The breed standard it too big, flushing dog, roudy when young and not aware of their size
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retreiver - Very costly, hard to find with hunting genetics, insane and documented anxiety issues
Springer Spaniel - Flusher rather than a pointer, I have been told that they end up being a single person dog often, larger at 50-55lbs
Brittany Spaniel - A little small for geese, does not want to sit still, can be over sensitive to training

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Of note - all these hunting breeds are "rowdy when young". Gun dogs are bred to have huge energy stores and high drive.... to the average person this generally translates to rowdiness or hyperness. As for size - in any breed you can find lines within the size you are looking for, even labs. There are plenty of small labs out there that max out at 50-55 lbs. Look more at lines are parentage than generalizations. A britt sounds like a good choice for what you're after.

CptSydor, just want to make sure I understood correctly. You have a 50-55 lb. Brittany female?

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Originally Posted by Ugo

CptSydor, just want to make sure I understood correctly. You have a 50-55 lb. Brittany female?

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Sorry, I looked back and it was ambiguous. I have a 50lb cattle dog mix.

Among the different breeds of hunting-dogs (which I owned) I used to have a American Water-Spaniel who was a WATER-spaniel only by name . He loathed water but was a damn good pointer and retriever on land . --- It was probably my fault that he was "water-shy" . When he was ~ 5 months of age I took him for an "off-leash-walk" along the pier (Whitby Harbour) . There used to be big (12"x12" ???) wooden beams at the edge of the pier . Suddenly he "spied" a gull sitting ~ 50' ahead of us on one of the beams . He took a running-leap at the gull and ended up in the water . --- A drop of 12 to 15 feet and the water was rough and icy (early spring) . I managed to "fish" him back out again ; however , since then he never went into water again . --- My German Wirehaired Pointer was just the opposite , it was "hard" to keep him out of the water . --- Many times , when I dove of a ~ 30' high rock at our camp , he'd be right "on top of me" without being coaxed . --- As gutsy as he was , he would have attempted to retrieve a hippo . --- Lol ---

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Originally Posted by terrym

just be forewarned that your wife will fall in love with your Brittany. They are a breed that crave human companionship and want to please. They are hunting machines but total friken hams in the house. They also have a very strong prey drive and mine dispatches every cottontail that gets through our fence. He even took on a skunk that got in too. I can't Imagine "not" owning a Brittany anymore. I have the Rick Smith puppy development Vol 1 & 2 training DVDs. If you want them you are welcome to borrow them.
I also think a proper daytime outdoor kennel and indoor night time is ideal.

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That pretty much describes my English Springer Spaniel . lol