I started thinking about all of the gun dogs that I have owned and hunted over and ranked them. I have to say that my favorite is an English Setter that I trained about 15 years ago. This dog almost trained himself (of course he lived in the center of quail his entire life) and was something else to watch in the field. I loved this dog because his speed and endurance was near perfect in the field and his nose was amazing. It did not hurt that his markings made him look awesome as well. I do not have a picture to show you.

What is your favorite past gun dog and what criteria sets them apart? I know this has nothing to do with training, but just thinking about the good old times when our hunting partners had plenty of birds to find.

Favorite dog I ever hunted over was one of my dads old english pointers named Tex. He was trained to hunt off horseback and had amazing range when it came to quail but was smart enough to stay close when hunting pheasants, had a lot of great times over that dog.
Now my favorite bird dog would have to be my current chessie bear. He has great drive and hasnt refused a retrieve yet the best thing though is how he treats my 6 month son, as gentle as can be would upload some pics later. The only bad thing is feeding him and his size ( almost 30 inches and right at 120 pounds).

I would have to say my past favorite gun dog was an English pointer named Skip. He belonged to my grand father. I don't remember this dog ever having anything on except a leather collar. No cc or lead or e collar. At the time being a youngster I didn't think about how well this dog behaved. He would tell Skip to load up and the dog would hop in the back of the truck. Never attempt to get out no matter how many stops you made on the way to the fields. It always looked to me like they hunted in unison each one knowing what the other expected.
Writing this has sure made me miss my grand father, he passed away 16 years ago.

silly question

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My favorites are Shooter, a Brit and Jazz an English Pointer. Both are excellent dogs in that they are good natured, well mannered and fun to be around. Shooter is an excellent retriever who will watch a bird down and fetch it. I've seen him do this for a bird that landed 75 or 80 yards away. He's found birds I was ready to give up on. He hunts close, follows hand signals, honors other dogs on point and will flush birds on command. When dove hunting he sits by my side and watches the sky. He has tipped me to birds I wouldn't have seen. Jazz, the pointer is a long range hunter. If she disappears for 10 minutes, you'd better go find her, and take your gun! Rock solid points, and a good retriever and will out work most other dogs covering three times the ground. Love 'em both, a perfect team.