Currently, we have a pair of goldens at our house. One was a rescue, and the other is my hunting buddy. Both are absolutely wonderful girls and I love them to death. They are calm when they should be (mostly), but my hunter is ready to go whenever I am. Just really nice dogs. But, sometimes I think they might be just a little too "easy" or "nice", for lack of a better word. Growing up I had dobes at home, and I spent a couple of years right out of college fostering for Aussie rescue. Out of that, I got a pair of Aussies that I had a very fun 6 and 10 years with. All those dogs had this quirkiness to them that made them not for everyone, but really kept me on my toes. I wish I could explain it more concretely. Like my goldens, they were incredibly smart animals that wanted nothing more than to do what I wanted them to do, but there was also just something goofy and fun about them. I didn't realize how much I missed that until recently when my brother moved in with us with his Weim. She's smart, goofy, fun, and actually quite stubborn, but not hyper. Much of the stubborn part comes from my brother not being consistent with her.

I'm not in the market right now. I just happen to be an uber dog dork, and am trying to avoid work this afternoon and figure thinking about dogs is as good a reason as any. I can rattle off all kinds of book knowledge about a whole lot of breeds, but my only first-hand experience comes with working with doxies, these goldens, a couple of dobes, and a few years with Aussie rescue. I wanted to see if my "quirkiness" description resonates with anyone, and maybe I can get turned on to a particular breed that I can really work on spending some time with and see if it's the breed for me, when the time comes.

I know every dog is unique unto themselves, but there are also trends within breeds, and maybe that perfect short-haired, versatile, smart, goofy, good with the family, good in the house, barks at strangers outside, easily trained, obedient hunting breed exists, and I just don't know what it is yet!

Thanks!

You just described a black female lab.

Deutscher Wachtelhund just take the time a read about em . I been hunting her since she was 6 months old and she 10 months now doing great . The DD are great dogs also and theres a couple of guys on the forum that have that breed

Sounds like you need a well bred GSP

^^^this^^^

I second the black female lab!!

Is this going to be a house dog or a hunting partner ? If it's a house dog then a black lab would be a good choice although not a shorthaired.

Can a lab not be both a house dog and a hunting partner?

It's going to be a house pet and a hunting partner.

Every GSP I've ever met or hunted with was a big running, half-retarded, maniac that didn't care one bit about the owners desires. Is that a function of the way trialing is done now, and trying to get them to be more like the Pointers? Are there lines that are really birdy but still will be owner focused?

My brother has a GSP that has already got a lot of drive for the hunt at just shy of six months old and has a lot of drive to retrieve. He has done well on the planted quail we have done with him and he has already started retreiving ducks for us in some swampy, nasty water. To answer your question more directly, he has this drive while still being a very owner focused dog and very calm and well mannered in the house. My brother got his dog from Charlie Rose of Wild Rose Kennels.

Lol, to answer the question yes it seems most have been bred to be pointer wanna bes. That is why I said a "well bred GSP" and they are not hard to find.

Maybe a GSP is the way to go. I've always felt like a GSP was SUPPOSED to be what I wanted, but experience never played that out. I thought I might have more luck going the DK route, but maybe this is something that might warrant a more patient approach.

I was excited to hear about the German Spaniels someone recommended on here. I always love learning about new (to me) and rare breeds. Unfortunately, I hunt in areas with a lot of burs and such. It's already a problem with my golden if I don't remember to put the detangler on the night before. Still going to look into them, though. The wife likes them fluff dogs, so if a little Show Sheen before going on a hunt is all that is required to get a great dog and the wife's buy-in, it's a small price to pay.

Anyone have any experience with hunting behind weims? I know it's really tough to find lines with any hunt in them, and most all the breeders focusing on hunting lines seem to be way up north.

I'll have to start doing some research on breeders now. I sure like the stated goal of that D2 Shorthairs. Will likely visit them a time or two, to get to know their dogs.

Thanks for everyone's input.

David puts some fine dogs on the ground and tends to breed "the switch" into them. My 6 y/o out of his D2 Buddy Lee and Unodibar's C-Dot-Run is a serious bird finding machine in the field and a big 'ol momma's-boy lush in and around the house. It's almost like having two dogs. Most obedient, biddable dog i've ever had.

If you talk to him, tell him Danny said hello and that Chance is still a machine!