Gwp as a waterfowling dog

[Mark r 208]

Hi bas anyone got or had a gwp before I'm thinking of getting one Iv got two spaniels at the min and had a lab before. It will be mainly used on duck and geese on ponds and rivers if I do get one. Reason I'm thinking of one over a lab is I'm thinking of using for flushing foxes also thanks in advance 

[stu847 2]

Hi mark,

Ive got a GWP. He is a cracking dog on the geese. very powerful swimmer.

Some people say the HPRs can be hard to get into water. Ive not got a great deal of experience to draw from but my lad cant stay out of the stuff!

They are a little more high maintanence than a lab and i'm sure a lab would flush foxes just fine if allowed and learnt the ropes.

As i say not a great deal of experience but i love mine and wouldn't go back. They come into there own if you've got any rough shooting. Watching him got from full pelt to a rock solid point is a sight that gets the heart pumping.

Cheers,

Stu.

[butcherboy 68]

When I had a GWP she was excellent in the water & brought geese back for fun. No problems as long as the introduction to water is done correctly. 

 

Not sure I would have a GWP purely as a 'Fowling Dog but each to their own.  "Flushing" a fox would have been the last thing it would have done if it was that near to one. 

Edited October 11, 2018 by butcherboy

[Mark r 208]

Ok thanks for the advice the Farman and Europeans use them for foxes and dispatching them. Only trouble is finding a well bred  one

[butcherboy 68]

22 hours ago, Mark r said:

Ok thanks for the advice the Farman and Europeans use them for foxes and dispatching them. Only trouble is finding a well bred  one

I'm tempted to get this one.

http://www.huntingdogseurope.com/dogs-for-sale/

 

 

 

 

[low plains drifter 10,378]

8 hours ago, W. Katchum said:

Much is that mate?

40 sheets

[Flairball 141]

GWP is a versatile dog, but the fowling aspect of its versatility is not what it was bred to do as its first job. It is a dog that was bred to point and retrieve game, both feather and fur, and retrieve from water when needed. As well as blood trail. I think you should think about what you will use the dog for 80% of the time. If you will spend most of your time shooting ducks and geese, you’ll be better off with a Lab. A GWP wants to run. I think a Lab could, with some training and exposure, become a proficient fox flusher. Training to scent track (Fox scent), and to retrieve fur (Fox fur) could be the ticket. 

[gnipper 6,426]

A lad I knew used a first cross gwp x greyhound out on the marsh and out on the shoots aswell as working to longnets, lamping etc. I think he wrote an article in the edrd about her.

[forest of dean redneck 11,543]

1 hour ago, gnipper said:

A lad I knew used a first cross gwp x greyhound out on the marsh and out on the shoots aswell as working to longnets, lamping etc. I think he wrote an article in the edrd about her.

Didn’t pointer used to be on here use his gwp lurcher like that ??

On the lab side there was another member on here had his lab retrieving shot foxes over 5 bar gates , think it was a leadburn ?bred lab always stuck in my mind.

[Born Hunter 17,751]

Split the difference and get a hybrid! 

Apparently popular on the moors anyway.

[MIK 4,756]

It is not in a GWPs make up to sit still for long periods which is required for wild fowling you and the dog will just get frustrated especially if you have no experience with the breed 

 

[Mickey Finn 3,011]

On ‎16‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 12:42, MIK said:

It is not in a GWPs make up to sit still for long periods which is required for wild fowling you and the dog will just get frustrated especially if you have no experience with the breed 

 

Quite in the blind can be a challenge. Mine did better with more than one hunter sitting next to him as opposed to just one. I relate that to letting him fidget as a pup. When the geese can into the decoys he would literally hold his breath.

 

So, I'd suggest picking a pup from a litter that is used for waterfowl and not selecting the pup that runs around like a mad man.

If you do this and go through your training with the understanding that this dog is not a lab or a spaniel you'll have the best gun dog available.

[two crows 3,342]

19 hours ago, Mickey Finn said:

Quite in the blind can be a challenge. Mine did better with more than one hunter sitting next to him as opposed to just one. I relate that to letting him fidget as a pup. When the geese can into the decoys he would literally hold his breath.

 

So, I'd suggest picking a pup from a litter that is used for waterfowl and not selecting the pup that runs around like a mad man.

If you do this and go through your training with the understanding that this dog is not a lab or a spaniel you'll have the best gun dog available.

the dog held his breath cos he was on point, why do people think because someone else had success with the wrong dog they will, dog breads have been developed to do variouse tasks over many years, get the right dog for the job. not the dog you fancy,

[Mickey Finn 3,011]

 

 

 

7 hours ago, two crows said:

the dog held his breath cos he was on point, why do people think because someone else had success with the wrong dog they will, dog breads have been developed to do variouse tasks over many years, get the right dog for the job. not the dog you fancy,

Maybe you are unfamiliar with the breed?

[two crows 3,342]

19 minutes ago, Mickey Finn said:

 

 

 

Maybe you are unfamiliar with the breed?

not at all an old friend of mine had one years, good old dog he was, but no way as good as a proper fowling dog, I have picked geese with a cocker, but a lab or retriever would be a better choice why handicap ones self for the sake of it.