Wirehaired Griffons

[davidlpope]

I'm looking for a versatile dog, wanted mostly for upland hunting but with some very occasional need for duck retreival duty. The big game bird here is the ruffed grouse, which are great for pointing dogs and also much needed, and the habitat is typically thick and thorny, meaning a wirehaired dog is best (I think). An advantage of the Griffon is that the local breeders are all field people and there is little to no danger of puppy farm or show dog genes creeping in as has ruined Irish Setters and Labs for field purposes, for instance.

This sounds promising.

And as mentioned, I don't want a wide ranging breed that you need a horse to follow with, ie as with Pointers or Setters, if only because wide ranging dogs are at risk of getting themselves lost under local conditions. A lot of local bird hunters have in fact taken to putting those loud electronic beepers on their dogs, something that drives me batty because it's so industrial.

Hunting down here is all on foot, although field trials can be mounted. I've had both Pointers and Setters that were as close-working as you'd ever want them to be but have seen some big-running Pointers. In every case the dog was responding to the way they had been trained, so I think you might be underestimating that aspect.

GSP, GWP, Visla, etc. are not used down here much because you can't see them in thick brush/woods. Most of the Pointers and Setters used show lots of white so that you can see your dog once they've pointed. Otherwise, your dog could be on point for thirty minutes before you can find them in thick woods. Some folks put bells on their dogs' collars, but I haven't had to do that.

Best of luck with your search!