Ask yourself what you really want in a dog.  Is it lining for miles - or finding the fallen bird?  Do you want him sitting patiently at your side, or clawing a hole in the blind?

 

A dog's genetics most definitely are the building blocks that will propel - or deter - your dog to be the hunting companion you've always dreamed of.  But what are the attributes that you want in a good hunting dog?

 

Professional trainer Robert Milner, who has trained over 1,500 dogs over 30 years, addresses these traits in his book:

Retriever Training: A Back-to-Basics Approach.  We find that our breeding & training  philosophies align with Milner's

over 90% of the time.  For more on this, see Milner's site:

 

Our training methods, based on our experience and understanding of dog psychology also align very closely with those of Richard Wolters, author of the best-selling books and DVD's Water Dog, Game Dog, Top Dog and more.  So, with all due credit to these experts, here are the traits we look for an breed into good hunting dogs:

 

Retrieving Drive:  Pup should have lots of it.  He gets it from mom and dad.  Assess the parent's drive.  They should love to retrieve, but bear in mind that too much of a good thing is, well...   too much.  Avoid high strung/hyper dogs.

 

Delivery to Hand:  What does pup do when you toss something?  Is his natural inclination to grab it and run off with it - or come arunnin' back to you?  A lack of the genetic trait for delivery to hand is often masked by force-fetch training.  If mom & dad had to be force-fetched to get the conditioned response, then pup will too.  Expect to invest your time and/or money in force-fetching.

 

Soft Mouth:  Usually goes hand-in-hand with delivery.  The pup that runs off with 'his' prize has intentions other than returning it to you undamaged.  Likely, he's off in the woods tearing to to pieces.  Once again, a recipe that can be masked by and will necessitate force-fetch training.

 

Calm and Focused:  Are the parents welcomed in the home?  Do they behave in a civilized manner?  In field work, are they focused on the task at hand without unbridled, excessive energy?  Hyper parents produce hyper pups.

 

Pain Threshold:  While you want a dog tough enough to handle the rigors of sport, you don't want one so mentally or physically dull that correction has little, if any effect.  A high dullness toward correction usually goes along with hyper-

activity.  This is not a trait conducive to a good gun dog.

 

Game-Seeking Ability:  So pup wanders off the line given, meandering through every cover change, investigating thickets and edges.  He just might get DQ'd in field trialing, but this pup instinctively knows  where game is likely to be found.  That's a wonderful trait in a good gun dog that will contribute to wildlife conservation - and your bag limit!

 

A 'Good Nose':  Goes right along with that game seeking ability.  Pup will head straight for that tall patch of grass, thicket, edge and promptly put his nose to it.  He can sniff out the game.  Once again, his nose may lead him off the line and make him a poor choice for field trial, but he'll help you bring home game.  Which matters most to a hunter?

 

Dominant vs. Subordinate:  How obedient and respectful are the parents?  If they are running high, tail held up, ignoring their handler, they are likely to pass this on to pup.  While you don't want the wall flower in the pack, you also don't want the one you will constantly be vying against for the role of pack alpha.  A subordinate pup obeys.

 

Tractability:  Do commands need to be repeated over and over for the parents?  Does the handler need to put an e-collar on them to keep them under control?   Tractability, or the 'desire to please' is the keystone to natural gun dog training techniques.  Without it, expect to be forced to use tactics such as the force-fetch and high tech devices.

 

To find these traits in a pup, look at pup himself, then closely peruse pup's parents, rather than just the parent's pedigrees.

Assess their behavior, working and around the house.  This is the genetic basis for your future gun dog.

What advice did you get when assessing pedigrees?  Likely, you were told to look for lots of titles, as well as a plethora of health tests and clearances from abnormalities.  Good advice perhaps, but not necessarily complete.

 

While it is important to have a strong, healthy dog, it is equally important to be aware that there are a number of genetic defects that go hand-in-hand with certain temperaments, traits and bloodlines.   Many of these have been bred into the retrieving breeds based largely on the decision of breeders to produce dogs that are in high demand based on their parents' and grand parents' performance in field trials or hunt tests, regardless of the inherent health defects such dogs propagate into the breed.

 

Below are some things that have significantly impacted the gene pool of American retrieving breeds.

 

Field Trials:  Excellence in this discipline is denoted on a pedigree with titles such as FC or AFC.  A puppy with a pedigree will make a great field trial prospect.  But will that make for a great hunting dog?  Over the past 50 years, field trial skills have diverged widely from hunting skills.  For instance, the ability to ignore one's nose in order to stay true to a line given; or the ability to override game finding instincts and rely instead on the handler.  These important hunting qualities have been bred out of many field trial lines to produce very successful field trialer - but this doesn't often translate well to a good hunting dog.

 

Additionally, field trial dogs are valued for their speed.  Thus the glut of hyperactive dogs in the retriever gene pool today.  Once again, this runs counter to the focus and intent needed in a good hunting dog that is tracking game or scenting out a a fallen bird.  Pups of high field trial caliber will likely require training and handling by pros and can be quite exasperating for the average hunter to train.

 

Going hand-in-hand with hyperactivity are new ailments, such as EIC (Exercise Induced Collapse) which recently have begun to plague retrieving breeds.  Proponents of exhaustive 'health screenings' insist a dog must be tested for such conditions.  Bear in mind that  according to a study by the University of Minnesota:

 

Solid, long-standing hunting bloodlines that have not been plagued by or crossed with field trial lines have not been made susceptible to encroachment of genetic ailments such as EIC.  Screening for this condition is therefore, unnecessary and only creates an expense which the breeder will then have to pass along to puppy purchasers. 

 

For more information on EIC or to download a brochure from the University of Minnesota, click here.

 

Hunting Retriever Tests:  When the variance in traits between hunting dogs and field trial became apparent during the 1980's, these hunting-simulation events rose in popularity.  They provided a venue in which hunters can assess their hunting dog's abilities.  Over time, however, hunt tests evolved into somewhat of a 'down-graded' field trial event.  They do not emphasize important skills such as steadiness, which is critical in a good hunting dog.  Instead, the value is placed of lining and staying in water, which isn't necessarily practical - or useful - in a hunting situation.

 

Bench Shows:  This is a great place to go if you love to look at beatifully put together specimens of your favorite breed.  The focus on bench shows is to produce great looking dogs, that meet, to a point of excellence, the breed standards for conformation.  A strong bench champion pedigree will include titles such as CH.  While you will likely have a pup that will grow to be very handsome, a strong bench show pedigree tells you nothing about his ability to perform.