Anyone here ever used a working GSD or similar "off" type breed for bird hunting?
I am now here in the big endless prairie and I see many turkeys and pheasants that need shooting...hypothetically if I have a working line GSD that loves to retrieve-is there a practical reason he/she can't bring the birds in? Maybe the mouth is too hard?
Must I look into labs or can I train a GSD for the job? My ego would suffer major cool point loss should I have to buy a lab...save me someone!
(I am currently not shooting ducks-but if some nice land owner offers-that is a consideration as well-too cold for GSDs maybe?)

Twenty or so years ago I shot over my Kerry Blue Terrier. Rocky wasn't much of a pointing dog but would find and flush quail for me. He HATED feathers in his mouth and always retrieved by carring the birds by their foot. A little JRT that belongs to my hunting partner will point quail naturally but sure makes a mess on the retrieve. Most dogs can be taught to do most things,IMHO, but bird dogs should hunt birds, terriers should hunt critters, and GSDs should bite people. Only on command of course <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'm not a bird hunter, but I would give it a shot. I think a good GS would make a great bird dog; there's nothing a quality GS can't do. Some of the hunting breeds were bred to have softer grips, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. Heck, he might not only bring it to you, he'll probably pluck the feathers for you too, lol.

Whichever the breed, a natural instinct to retrieve would be the most important thing I would look for.

I'm a GSD guy, so I would have to say there isn't much a GSD can't do. . .but. . .there are a lot of behaviors and natural instincts that go into a good upland bird dog.

You could do it, but it would be like training a terrier to herd cattle.


There is really only one breed, in my opinion, if you want to find the best all-round bird/hunting dog. That is the German Wirehair Pointer. And just like the GSD, there are two unique bloodlines. There is the true working German bloodline and there is the crappy American one.

The German's have a system that is just like the SV, but for the Drathhaar (wirehaired pointer). There is a working requirement, a show requirement, and health requirements in order to breed a dog.


They are WAY COOL dogs. I have had one, and my pops had a Fousek named Branu that we shot over for years. Best damn birddog I have ever seen. A purely instinctual dog in the field. (Fousek is a Czechoslovakian wirehair pointer, yep they have Czech bloodlines as well!!)


Of course if you just want to play around, I'm sure puppy man can go grab a dead bird just like any other dog on the planet. LOL

Yes, it's possible. A long time ago, when I was a kid, I had a GSD bitch that would hunt rabbits and birds. I'd grown up raising and training Beagles with my dad & grandfather, so it was natural that I would try training this bitch. She was a good rabbit dog, a little too good though, she was so fast, you couldn't chance a shot for fear of hitting her, so mostly we just brought her out to have fun. My uncle helped me train her to flush birds (he was a big bird dog fanatic) and she was much better at that. She just had to learn to carry the birds back in a softer grip than when she started. So it is possible, but it might take a bit more work.

What I didn't mention about my Kerry Blue Terriers is that they were originally bred as all porpose farm dogs, and yes VC, they did heard the live stock. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Then the show dog people got hold of them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

My gsd male(gone now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ) used to hunt grouse with me. He wouldn't go on point but would zig zag just in front of me and flush the birds out. I never really trained him to retrieve, he would find the downed bird and sort of pin it to the ground and mouth it till I got there and told him to release. I did hunt with my brother in law since I lost my dog, who has 2 wirehairs, and I was blown away by what his dog could do. I shot a grouse when I was about 50 yards away from him and the dog, it went down in the swamp,he sends in the dog, 3min or so out comes the dog to my hand and gives me the bird. (That last statement sounds like the makings of a great joke)

There is no reason at all that your GSD could not retrieve birds. I taught my bitch to retrieve at an early age (to save me time and energy while excercising her), and now at two years she lives and dies for retrieving. I have no doubt that I could get her to retrieve a downed bird with a point and a "go get it!!".

GSD=Versatile. Is there anything a good GSD can't do? Maybe drive a car.