Thanks you guys, you gave me a lot to think about. I'm not in a big rush to get a new pup, so I'm gonna puts some thought into it. My daughter is excited to get a new pup, we already decided if we get a lab, we just need to do it, bring it home and surprise my wife, she will not like it, but she will look in the pup's eyes and we will give her the "if you want us to take her back we will " .

I really do not goose hunt, so don't need a big dog, big enough to retrieve greenheads all that is needed. Smaller dog takes up let room in boat and in my camper, less weight in boat...And also smaller dog has to be less hair!!

I have an AWS. They don't shed, but they do blow their coats twice a year. Mother than those 3-4 weeks of daily brushing you can get by with brushing once or twice a week. This is a cold tolerant breed, but hard to come by in Texas. He is usually happiest about the time the ponds start icing over.

AWS is an all around dog. I enjoy hunting waterfowl with him, but he's a natural on the uplands.

There are quite a few Toller breeders in North Texas. You might want to look at those. I'm considering one of those next time, but I have years to go so haven't put tons of research into it.

my medium sized poodle comment was not a joke, great dog given all the reasons you stated above...weight in the boat, size and you only duck hunt and so size should not matter at all.

Barney agrees, I agree and I am pretty sure Judd agrees also

Well i think it's a dumb idea. Hth

shouldnt you be on the roof working?

Couple pics of my Boykin. Minimal shedding, and at 38 lbs, much easier to sit in your lap (in the house, car, or boat). And no person can resist the amber/yellow eyes of the Boykin, they can make you do anything

I tried to send you a PM so we could work this out for Guy but your are over your PM limit

This breed doesnt shed Deutscher Wachtelhund

I have trained a bunch of Dutch dogs. Their ability to understand is impressive.

So far as small dogs, they can get the geese as well. Look at Alex Brittingham's JR terrier. HE was no taller than a boot and man handled the geese.

Blaze is 65-70 lbs in this picture. I am sure a 30-40 lb Boykin can do it especially with cacklers, but magnum canadas on long rough water retrieves, climbing in and out of boats, on and pushing through Ice, 300 yard field retrieves, retrieving cranes, etc. I really needed a larger breed. And a breeding and pick from a litter in that direction as well. For large ducks, any of the breeds mentioned in the thread would do Guy just fine since the largest birds he hunts are big ducks.

Yea that's terrible. I guess our dogs just don't shed much? 2 of ours hardly have any hair come off of them when we brush them and the other has a quite a bit come off but nothing like that.

On the roomba yea it doesn't hold much but we clean it at least once a day and run it for a couple hours each day and it does a good job.

I have a DD that is almost 10 and this is the first in have ever heard about them blowing their coats twice a year.

Mine sheds a lot and I will get a short hair for my next dog. It's also too hot to have a wire coat on on Texas.

Per the artical below, dogs that shed do so twice a year.

"During the spring moult, the animal sheds its thick winter coat, and grows a sleek new coat for the summer season. As the temperature falls, the summer coat is shed and replaced by a nice warm winter one."

http://www.thelabradorsite.com/shedding-labradors-its-the-moulting-season-again/

I think dogs that shed all the time, like mind did, do so because of skin issues, which I know mine did have, and it got worse as she got older, and I never did a good job of addressing it with supliments. When she was young, the hair was not as much of an issue, and during the winter, she grew a thick winter coat. But as she got older, she never held her coat, she lost it from shedding all the time. On top of that, she had other allergies that effected her ear, so she was always shaking flinging hair everywhere.

If you haven't noticed, I'm talking myself into getting another lab.

My new lab

Then get a chocolate one because we know they are smarter

I concur

Chocolate would match my wood floor.

A small back female lab is the dog I want, I'm still keeping an open mind to other breeds, but this is the dog I want. When I was a kid in the 70's, I had a small back lab, I drove a Yamaha RD 400, I strapped carpet across my gas tank, and my dog sat on the tank. She only jumped off once.

I knew you had it in you. Just got to let it come to the surface.

I have a labradoodle. Probably the best dog I've owned...but he can't hunt a lick. He's super energetic and my boys can tackle him without a worry of him being even slightly aggressive. He's great with my 8 month old and my wife is allergic to pretty much anything that sheds and he's great with her. But his attention span and ADHD won't allow for training at this point (he's 2).

I hunt over my buddys' labs and boykins. The little boykin is fantastic but she is small and thin framed so she struggles with cold and geese.

I'll never be able to own a lab because of my wife. My next dog will be a poodle, labradoodle or some type of spaniel but whatever I get it will come from hunting blood lines. I believe that's the single thing that you cannot overlook when getting a dog. You can get lucky and train a dog who's parents didn't hunt but I took that gamble and lost with my labradoodle.

Good luck man!

I love my Wirehaired pointing Griff. I can't tell if she sheds and more importantly, neither can my wife. I do roll/strip her coat in the spring and summer to cool her down and increase new hair growth for the winter. Even with a vest on she is not great in super cold water, but where I hunt its not required most of the time. She does not have that dense of a coat so I am not sure if that plays a part in it. Never goose hunted so I can't comment on how well they do with that large of a bird. She 52lbs. Super smart and great with the family.

My (current weight) 53 lb pudelpointer did just fine on land retrieves of speckle bellies and snow geese last season. She was 10 month old at the time and under 50lbs. I think the only concern with size for any of the dogs suggested would be greater Canadas in water which the OP doesn't seem to go after.

Viszlas are great. Good sized and no shedding.

Small birdy labs are awesome I have a few tough to beat if they have a nose.

I have hunted with labdoodles that were awesome hunters. They tend to be a little difficult to train because they have so much energy and intelligence. I would recommend professional training.

I vote for the hypoallergenic

Thatta boy Wal. I pick my DD up in a few weeks.

I like what I'm reading about this dog. Do they shed less than a boykin, or about the same? I like the look of this dog more than the boykin.