Have a [censored] hot German shorthair pointer trained on quail. Hunt out by Guthrie tx and quail are decimated by last years draught and some eye disease. Tired of having him get all excited only to be left at home. He was taught to hold during shooting and shows interest in ducks. Swims well. Anybody ever do or hear of this?

Had a Springer that was a great pheasant and quail dog. Decided to take him duck huning one day. He was an amazing duck dog, a lot better in the water than on land.

Seen some decent shorthairs turned into duck/goose dogs.

Seems like rhe hardest thing for them is the sitting still for long periods of time when nothing is happening.

The gsp was bred to hunt fur and feather, on land or water which includes duck hunting. they do it all the time in testing organizations and in the real world.

Nope never heard of this at all lol, you might be on to something there buddy hahaha. They are not English pointers despite the fact that many people try to make them into pointer wanna bes.

I hunted with a guy recently that had a German shorthair pointer that was an absolute bang up duck dog

had a pointer that would do water retrieves

My German shorthair is in his first season of ducks after quail and pheasant went kaput and you'd think he's a natural. My only concern is really cold days given his lack of insulation but an Avery vest should fix that. Not only will the bastard water retrieve dead and cripples, he'll go run off through the brush and sniff out the ones that tried to get away.

Seen several weims and labs hunt both.

Thanks for all the responses......did you get him any duck training before taking him out? Nice pic btw.

I've seen it. You should definitely do it. Depending on your background and the dog, you may need to send her off for some training, but your dog will thank you for it.

Already talked with JC out in Decatur, TX. Not going to send him until the spring though.....do have a few quail hunts scheduled.

That is a good looking dog!

I had a lab that would do both. If it had feathers and I wanted to shot it, he never complained.

Don't waste your time with JC - he stills owes me $300 for a "trained" dog that he sold me that's gun shy, has no desire to hunt, and couldn't fetch or whoa to save her life. I'd find another trainer.....my other GSP (that duck hunts) actually does what the trainer said he'd do.

Good luck finding a lab trainer that will take a GSP
Call Charlie at wildrose GSPs

My Vizsla will hunt and retrieve whatever has feathers. being shorthair and slinder cold days aren't great for him in the duck blind. But if its an active day he's great. Just get a vest for him.

I have a Weim/Choc Lab Hybrid that does great on land and water. Luckily she even points thanks to the Weim in her. My neighbors GSP was trained for quail and pheasant and then waterfowl and does amazing at both.

Here is my Weim/Choc Lab named Riley.

I wouldn't worry about sending the dog to a trainer if it already retrives quail for you. Teach it to stay steady by your side while you sit in a chair. Shoot a blank and have someone throw the duck. Then send him to retrive it. He will learn to watch the skies and mark falling ducks on hunts.

Had him out twice to retrieve ducks and it has been an experience. First time he wasn't there for the shooting. Ducks were on the ice and he didn't like that too much as he kept breaking through.....but liked to get the ducks that were near shore.
Second time was funny but good....had him zipped in a blind because he wouldn't sit still and stay in blind. First time I started shooting I thought he was going to rip right out of it, the blind was literally rolling on the ground as he was trying to get out. Funny as [censored]. Let him out and he got the ducks though...in deep water. Have to teach him how to sit still I guess.

Whoa broke is your friend for a upland dog turned ducks. That or place.....mine is the same way, you'd think he does cocaine....

Yes. I've always taken my dogs with me anytime I break out the shotgun. As long as you can control your dog it shouldn't be any problem teaching them what you want them to do.

Regarding the sitting still problem: I once read in a Milner book that you should have the dog on a leash until it is steady. Makes sense to me!

I have a springer that stays on the leash for now. It's not that hard to unbuckle the leash for retrieves.

I've never seen this but I saw a guy on an outdoor show a while back do just the opposite. He took a fully trained duck dog; yellow lab, pheasant hunting and by the end of the day the dog seemed to have picked that style of hunting up just fine......These dogs; the retriever breeds, are smart and if they have the right DNA wired in them they can learn anything. My dog is out of Iron Spikes bloodlines and I fully believe I could train her to hunt in the field. She will "hold" on command and even though it drives her nuts she won't move till I tell her to so I think I could break her from busting birds pretty easy and get her to go on point.

Really, I've got nothing but good to say about the guy. Took my lab from A to B and he's a machine now.

James, lets go kill some quail birds!!! I'm excited to see him work.


On a side note, I think I would take your boy to a trainer that works with GSPs and is willing to train a water dog.

-Matt

Got that lined up after quail season. Wish you had been there to see that dog blind flipping. Funny [censored].