I love all pointing dogs from pointers on down. I like style. I like speed. I like obedience, but at the end of the day while hunting and in most field trial venues, its the dog that points the most birds that carries the day.

What say you? Any arguments?

I like drive and intensity. During a point I want to see the dogs eyeballs bulging out. I want to see him so focused on that bird that nothing at all will break that focus

I believe hunters that are always giving commands to the dog lose that intensity since the dog is looking for directions from the hunter

That makes sense to me. My dog is not handicapped by my commands since she has an owner that knows none except for "Hunt 'em up Jenny", "Steady, girl" (walking up to a point) and "Find the bird Jenny" (for dead birds).

I don't know if she points every bird in the woods, but she points a lot of birds so I am very happy with her.

I want them tough, handling to the front, with speed looking for the next objective. Completely broke around game. Dog has to honor another dog. They don't need to be shining my boots either. Let them roll! No self hunting...

But having the brag dog in the field is pretty rewarding in itself.

The dog with the best nose can miss birds. If he's hunting the left side of the cone with a slight wind coming from the left he'll miss birds on the right, happens to the best of them. So give me a dog with a good to great nose that hunts with me no matter the range and that's the dog I want to feed and scoop poop for. In the long run he will find more birds even though he may be out birded on a given day. And give me a smart dog with a good nose every time, he will find birds in a given type of cover and continues to look for that cover and as the day goes on he'll get next to more birds. This kind of dog with an average nose is well worth feeding.

I want a bold athletic dog that is smart and knows his job when put on the ground. I want to him to “work” the field, the wind and the birds. I want him to run big on the trucks and stay in touch on foot and know that his job is to hunt for (with) ME to get birds. I want a one command (whistle trained) dog that will point, honor, hunt dead and handle. My GSP also retrieves to hand, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. I’ll gladly pick up all my own birds!

I'll take the dog that points the most birds consistently, my 11 yr old Brittany Daisy has been outshined one time in her life that I can remember and that was by a pointer that my buddy owns, they both are dogs that know what kind of cover holds birds and they go seek it out, not wasting time on areas less likely to hold birds, but Lola is just faster than Daisy and Lola had hunted this property a few times before too. What sucks is last season was the last year that I am letting her go as much as she wants, this year the old girl is gonna have to take more breaks and not over do it. She has nothing more to prove, she is no longer in the competition, and the title she has will never be taken away.

Give me one that runs fairly big, hunts tirelessly, has an above average nose and will hold as long as it takes. Gotta honor, gotta retrieve.

That dog may not always find the most birds but she will find enough for me.

I personally like a pair that get along together and screw up a lot less than I do. I enjoy watching two good dogs working together and complementing each other. I use to have siblings that were great together. One day one would have the most finds the next trip the other would and I did not need a whistle, or collar but I always used both. Very seldom would shock but could if needed.

I'm with Chet on this. I like a dog with a great nose. I have a pointer that does not always listen, will not pick up dead birds, freezes up if any electricity at all, gets called a few bad names; but at the end of the day, he finds the most birds.

One of the greatest things to witness in the field is watching two considered great dogs start going after it and competing. You will see a definite competition going on, but they still honor one another. When I see this happening, all I can tell you is to just hang on for the ride. They will not give up on a prayer, trying to beat the other's brains out with birds and finds. You will know it when you see it. It is the capture of these moments that I live for. Even the handlers may start talking a little smack and that makes it even more fun.

Don't field trial, so I can't swear to it, but have been told that the dog who finds and points the most birds, may well not carry the day if another has more style and covers the field better, in the eyes of the judges.

Now that never made sense to me...How can dog number two be covering the field better, if dog number one is finding the most birds?

It happens but not often. Most are qualified or they wouldn't be there.

The few trials I judged was mostly derbies and puppies. Broke didn't matter. I always chose the dog I would want to take home with me that I saw the most potential in. Now I like a dog covering a lot of ground and looking great doing it. I want that head up and tail cracking over the back. I like a short coupled dog that appears to float effortlessly over the ground. I don't want one running trails or roads. I want to see one hit an objective and handle to the front. They need a good nose and be smart enough to find birds.

Nothing worse than watching a dog run where the bird planter and horse have been. Yes they get trial wise and do that.

This happens quite often in the AFTCA trials. Case in point, just this year in a Amateur Walking Championship, a dog won with one find and the second place dog had 5 or 6 finds. The judges thought the winner looked better covering the ground. Heck, how can the runnerup dog show ground coverage if it is stacked up on point the whole brace? My gripe is this is a walking trial and why does a dog have to run the limits if it is doing what it is supposed to do right out in front of you still at a admirable distance? The field trailers will take run over birdwork 99% of the time now. I don't understand that and that is why I probably don't trial as much as I use to.

I judged NSTRA trials. I even judged at nation NSTRA trials. We used scores on the areas that I mentioned in the OP. We scored on finds, retrieves, coverage, obedience, and one back. Most dogs retrieved, so the dog that had the most finds usually won. The coverage, obedience, and back were usually the deciding factors when the dogs tied on finds. The finds were scored so style was a factor.

I would probably trial again if the NSTRA ever went to trialing on continuous courses and continued with its' scoring system. I would rather hunt cross country than be contained to 25-40 acre field. It would more like bird hunting to me.

I've given it up because most trials are now during hunting season and there are none near me. The trial grounds have gotten a lot bigger in the last few years. You can barely make it around in 30 minutes at the Corsicana trials. The Anna trial grounds were a joke.

I like a dog with common sense and He isn't hunting cause I want him to and ordered him to but cause he lives for it. He needs to know when to hunt close and when to range. When to slow down. Man I love the communication my dog gives me on point. She'll hold point till I get there but I always know if the bird has run off. She waits for me to find her and starts trailing. She flash points and knows when to stop.
a dog with common sense doesn't need to be whistled at constantly. You end up learning more from them then they do from you. It's a partnership and it's beautiful

I do not know that much about bird dogs. When I was a kid, we had an English Setter who pointed rabbits. My dad traded her for a pair of beagles. She was a better rabbit dog than they were. The last few years I have hunted pheasants in SD and the outfitter exclusively uses labs. I have become quite enamored with one of his pointing labs. That dog locks up as well as any pointer or setter I have ever seen. If I was 20 years younger I would have one of those pointing labs.

Not to disparage, but you should see what a good Pointer or Brit can do on those ditch chickens.


(my bias is showing)