Flat-coat Retriever ???

Krakadawn I drink forty creek and highland park scotch by the way. Cass can speak to me anytime as it was a joke but for some reason it has affected you. I fully understand what all the titles mean its not rocket science. I dont really care about campaigned dogs in retriever trials or let alone judging them. But I do know allot about dogs period. And my breed of choice is the spaniel that i continue to learn about and surround myself by professionals in this field. I have learned allot from a couple of them and i am slowly getting my feet wet. They are neither arrogant or condescending trainers and they feel I am on the right track because of my background knowledge. But what I have noticed and for the record so have others that you tend to swoop in towards the end and gather everyone's advice put it in your words and make it your own. You have a fantastic way of presenting this advice but others are not acknowledged . So rather than you getting back on the band wagon and telling me what i already don't know consider my advice.

I for one appreciate the posts that krakadawn and other experienced trainers make and hope that they continue to contribute in the future.

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Originally Posted by trkyhntr21

I for one appreciate the posts that krakadawn makes and hope that he continues to contribute in the future.

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Didn't say I didn't.

Just making sure I wasn't included in the "others" you mentioned YD.

YD, I hope you make good progress with the training of your dog, As I said, learning curves can be steep, challenging and rewarding .Did anyone already say that?)

I mention information around retrievers, trials, health issues and pedigrees as all were pertinent to the discussion. If you do not campaign dogs or contribute to the game by judging then your perspective is probably limited. I mentioned some general overviews about flat coats and retriever trials. Lets not forget this is the prime basis for comparison of the retrieving talent pool. Hunters and pet owners are no different when looking for the best. I mentioned to someone today about one of my Vets who purchased a non litter sister to an old FTCH of mine. That dog never got to retrieve a bird ever but was the smartest dog he ever owned. He wanted one as he knew just how intelligent mine was.......the sharing of information.

So you believe I swooped in and didn't bring other information...at least mine???? YD, respectfully, you have a reading problem, go back and reread what was said.

I don't need to be on anyone's bandwagon and rarely am if ever. Pointing out what you don't know was not my purpose although I could if you desire.

On a more positive note, you have made some good progress getting hooked into a mentor and some others who are in your game. Stay at it, I hope you have some success and put any new learning to good use especially when it comes to training strategies, how dogs learn and solid understandings about our dogs that are important to all of us. Perhaps you'll choose to do some competing with your dog at some point, perhaps you'll even be asked to judge and understand why it's important to give back to our respective games.

Thank you Krakadawn and Sharon . You can train the "go" in a dog to your advantage but you can not put it into them if it was not in the breeding .

Well, asking about the right breed is just as asking for the right calibre ;-)
No matter how you try to spin and focus the question, sooner or later they'll end up the same way. The question is justified and everyone has a good reason for their personal choice.
To continue with the analogy:
Find out what hunting you’ll really do and how many “guns” you will afford.
Get your “gun” and practice “shooting”. The nicest gun is not worth much if you cannot shoot it.

For most of us, it’ll be only one dog. So pick what will be your breed for the no. one on your list. If you put up enough effort you can train the dog as long other things as long as they are bodily capable; e.g. any pointer or flusher can be trained to fetch in the water (they just may die of hyperthermia if they don’t move thereafter). If you are after certain titles or absolute perfection / style, you’d certainly have a different game plan, but I think this is not what you are looking for.

And with respect to your grandchildren, most hunting breeds will knock kids over like bowling pins…

Thank you Watfrudnir. Sorry for the delay in responding to your post ... I somehow missed it until now. I truly do appreciate the time that you and so many others have taken to help me understand the choices and things to consider.

It was always my intention to go slowly in deciding "if" to get a dog and then to select the breed. I how easy it is to let emotion take over when looking at a litter of puppies. My decision is almost final, the next step will be to seek out recommended breeders with the hope of getting on the list for a spring litter.

I don't think you can really go wrong with any gun dog breed as long as it fits the hunting that you do. They're all a pain for the first year or 2 and on the whole are more active than non-sporting breeds but they are all awesome to watch. I love working my guy on grouse and woodcock, but at the same time this past week running the hounds in deer season was just as fulfilling. Watching a dog do what it was bred to do is what its all about. Be honest with yourself about what you need in a hunting dog, and know the limitations of the breed (and dog) you choose. I am very happy with my breed of choice, but I am also aware of its shortcomings. There is no one elite breed - if there was that would be the only type of hunting dog there is. Each generally excels at one thing, some are just a little more versatile (read: adaptable) than others.

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Originally Posted by Cass

I don't think you can really go wrong with any gun dog breed as long as it fits the hunting that you do. They're all a pain for the first year or 2 and on the whole are more active than non-sporting breeds but they are all awesome to watch. I love working my guy on grouse and woodcock, but at the same time this past week running the hounds in deer season was just as fulfilling. Watching a dog do what it was bred to do is what its all about. Be honest with yourself about what you need in a hunting dog, and know the limitations of the breed (and dog) you choose. I am very happy with my breed of choice, but I am also aware of its shortcomings. There is no one elite breed - if there was that would be the only type of hunting dog there is. Each generally excels at one thing, some are just a little more versatile (read: adaptable) than others.

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I don't think so Nick ; just yours. :)

I love those first two years , especially in trials.