I agree no doubt. lol
Teaching a dog to retrieve and get the job done isn't that hard I wouldn't think. But unless you just want to do it I wouldn't worry with getting a GSD to do this. I would get a Lab, or if you like an aggressive hunting dog, get a Chessie.
i'm sure a GSD can retrieve birds.
the instinct aspect of the retrievers and pointers is they know the difference between quail and sparrow.
they will not go after your basic back yard birds.
they go for game birds.
i do know a golden that is quite good at herding, but a true herding dog instinctively knows a sheep from a horse and leaves the horses alone.
A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.
--Roger Caras
A GSD could be trained to retrieve birds, but no GSD will ever be as good at it as a good gun dog. To answer the original question, though, no I have not heard of any. But there are a lot of things that I have not heard of.
Different breeds were developed for different purposes. I think that you could teach slmost any breed to retrieve birds but you could never compete with the breeds that were developed to do so. Sometimes when the breeding is not good the dog will not perform up to par. I have a German Shorthair that is bred for field trials where retreiving is not that important. As a result, she is an excellent quail and pheasant dog but a poor waterfowl dog even though her breed is supposed to do both. I have never seen or heard of a gsd retreiving birds but, i used to own one that would point quail. This isn't so surprising since people developed pointing breeds by utilizing the natural genetic defect in dogs that would hesitate too long before they pounced. My gsd must have had that defect.
I had a Kerry Blue Terrier that would find and retrieve birds shot over him. I've seen a JRT that would point quail, and there was a man in Denver some years ago that used a Border Terrier to push phesants up. Would I hunt over any of them on a regular basis? Hell no! Any good bird dog would hunt/retrieve circles around all of them. It was fun to do as a novelty, but nothing more. Thats why bird dogs are called bird dogs.
I own two Labs Ive taken to hunting titles. You are right. You can, and I have seen poodles and GSD at hunt tests. The trouble wih the GSD as a bird hunter is the way there put together. The big thing is their coat. In cold water the lab willstill be going when the GSD is frozen. Also I dont think the GSD would have the boyantsy ( sp) to swim as long as the Lab. Also, most non retrievers detest all the feathers in their mouth.
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