Anyone have experience with Brittany Spaniels as a Blood trail dog? My brother has a pregnant female and offered me one from her litter when they come. He trains his for quail hunting and they do a great job. I have zero interest in bird hunting but have trained Labs for blood-trailing in the past. I just don't want to deal with the chewing and digging Lab puppy stage again. Rob/PA? Are you out there? What have you heard?
I just ran downstairs to find my copy of John [FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]Jeanneney[/FONT]s book, Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer and I couldn't find it. I believe it to be in my work van. In it, the dogs are broken down by breeds and I could have told you more. In the meanwhile, you could join the UBT, http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/ or even click the Like Button on Facebook if you have an account and inquire there. http://www.facebook.com/pages/United-Blood-Trackers/164761806920151 I can't recall if I remember reading on Brittany's or not.
His dogs have great noses and are close hunters. I just don't know if one will stay on a single track or follow blood. Rebel (my Lab) always did a great job, usually by smelling the air from downwind which made it a very quick recovery. He would often jump a healthy deer and completely ignore it. Anyway, if you get a chance to check your book, I would like to know if Brittanys make the list.
Any working dog (especially one bred for hunting) has enough ofactory sensitivity to be able to trail blood. Some breeds will come by it more naturally than others but it should really be mostly a matter of training to get them to strike and follow a single track.
Muzzy, I hunted with a dog hunting club this year and a couple of the star dogs were English Pointers. They came out of field trial stock and the dog men said they hunted bottoms like quail dogs and didn't leave a likely place without checking it out. They would jump and run with the best of them and didn't try to run clean out of the county.They were the best jump dogs in the pack. Sometimes it is very hard to teach a field trial do not to run deer which is something that will keep it out of the winners circle. When English pointers were developed as a breed they had hound dog mixed in for good measure. I had an English Setter run a deer to the creek ( about 5 miles ) and I found her 3 days later. The next week I ordered a tracking collar. I feel sure that Brittany will do anything you teach it to do. But I am willing to bet if you are married your wife will take it away from you - they make a good house dog too. :D
I have 2 Brittanys. Ome female and one male. I believe either dog could track a deer if they wanted to and knew it was their job and the deer was the reward. Either one can track a running pheasant across huge fields. They know its their job and finding/pointing the bird is part of their reward. The other part is the retrieve if I am able to hit it. While hunting my dogs are bird minded only. But when out in the yard they can track most anything from squirrels to cats. As for chewing.....my male is a chewer and has more energy than any lab pup I have seen. And Grits is correct . They make great house dogs and are about the best lap dog around.
My brother used to have pointers and they pointed deer almost everytime I went quail hunting with him. I'd get so mad because he wouldn't let me shoot the deer over his dogs. Rebel would retrieve doves for me but still track my deer. Yes, Ramona will take the dog and pamper it as will Zach, my son... but I suppose worse things happen in life.
