doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Looking for a good (no allergy) bird dog !

My wirehairs have all hunted close. I hunt everything from the various desert quail to Sage Grouse and waterfowl with them. I have hunted woodcock and ruffies with good success with both of them. To me they have been great for someone who lives somewhere you can hunt more than one species or hunts across the country. I have a Lab, English Pointer, and the two Wirehairs. If you want close work stick with a flusher or a pointer similar to mine such as a short hair. Be careful though with the short hair as some guys are trying to breed them like EPs to run bigger. Short hair does not always mean less shedding. The worst dog I have is the English Pointer.

I do not agree with the labradoodle thing. There is no consistency in breeding as you are essentially getting a high priced mutt IMO. A couple friends of mine have them. One is a good hunter but the others could care less to look at a bird. Any of the rarer breeds mentioned are good dogs as long as you find some good lines. There are some guys in my NAVHDA group that have Puddelpointers, Spiniones, Visilas, and Griffons that all are great dogs. They may not be as "out there" as some, but if you visit a NAVHDA group, you should be able to see and watch the various dog breeds work. From there you can determine which breed is for you. We are all biased and think ours is best lol.

I have been training bird dogs for over 20 years and am partial to Brits and GSPs. Do NOT get one of these if you have allergies. Do attend a training organization such as Navhda or
a Shoot and Retrieve session. At one of these Events (There are a lot in Colorado)You can find local chapters on the internet there will be plenty of friendly people who will talk all day long about there dogs and you can find good breeder leads. See the dog breeds work and find out that there are a lot of fine working dogs that will fill the bill for you. They are all going to look great. Your allergy is a real consideration to the happieness of the familyand dog dont rush it will be worth it to get a correct fit.

There's no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. But, there's some advice here from the Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypoallergenic-dog-breeds/AN01953


Wade,
We've been giving fish oil to our E-pointer for about a year now. It has drastically reduced shedding. We've had to adjust the quantity to keep her from getting too loose, but settled on a small cod liver dose. The large fish oil capsules were just too much for her 38 lb size.

I've never hunted behind a Spinoni, but a friend has had them for pets for many years and they are allergy-free and excellent pets. Can be a little physical for anybody tiny or ancient, tho--big dogs. Same deal with doodles and Standard Poodles; all can be trained to be excellent hunters, but are a little big for some people.

Chuck, the dog-allergy thing seems very relative to the individual and the dog. Some people are allergic to any dog, including the breeds mentioned.

I guess anyone who wonders about it needs to visit a lot of breeders/dog shows (and have medicine and an anti-allergy "pen" handy....). And I suspect that an allergy might come on long after you have the dog in the house, since repeated contact seems to provoke allergic reactions in some people. People with severe allergies need to do some "experimenting before buying," for sure. Those who can keep the dog outside most of the time are in a better position, I think.

Hi Mike,
Yes, the allergic reaction intensity seems to be dependent on the individual with the allergy. There's no way of telling what the reaction will be from what little I know. I'm allergic to many airborne things. I have prescription meds for my allergies. When I hunt, I'm always dealing with some level of reaction. I was very concerned about getting my first dog. In fact, I told my wife "no pets" when we got married, due to my allergies. I did have some reaction, but over the years, it has all but gone away. I never had a reaction to anything that was at the level of needing an Epi-pen.

Regarding Spinoni, I like the stuff a lot. The Italian restaurant we frequent serves it.

Funny how many Italian words make one hungry. (And then there's the women....).

Look, all I know is that poodles aren't a problem and English Setters are. I've gone online and, as with most things medical, everybody has an opinion. It's the dander, no, it's the saliva, no, it allergens that have been tracked in....sheesh! I do miss having a dog around (the house seems sooo empty), so I'll have to do hard work to figure out what I can get away with and what I can't. I appreciate everybody's input.

Well, that link to Mayo Clinic says there's research suggesting female dogs and Labs may put out less allergens. A female Lab is a great companion. I have one. They hunt close, are easy to train for hunting. They are generally limited in their hunting endurance and heat tolerance, speed, and range, compared to E-pointers, GSPs, etc.. But, my 50 lb female Lab is a super companion, has a good nose, and produces birds reliably.

Poodles make great hunting dogs. There is a very dedicated group of people breeding hunting poodles and running them in various kinds of hunting dog trials. Some of the many players are: Jac Harbour of Tudorose poodles in Oregon; Jaci Bowman of Oakwind Kennels in Wisconsin; Dr. Grace Blair of Cosmic Poodles in Montana. Those are a few to get you started. There is also a hunting poodle group on Yahoo.
By the way, I have a hunting poodle and they are wonderful. But get one from a breeder who is serious about hunting and knows their stuff.
Regards, RCC

I've been allergy tested and am mildly allergic to cats and dogs. Dogs stuff my nose up pretty good, but heck, I'm sure not going to give up my bird dogs. And for me, a bird dog is an English Pointer. I keep some of them in the house esp when they are young so they don't get kennelized, but mainly my dogs live in a kennel. I do have a toy poodle named Keke....a beautiful dog and supposedly hypoallergenic. A show dog. She is in the house and still makes me sneeze a little. I've thought about carrying the little 4 lb girl in my hunting vest to see if I could get her to run the birds out while the pointers are pointing, but I'm afraid it might mess up her show coat. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Good luck finding what you want. There are good dogs in all breeds, or so I've been told. If you want a medium range dog, don't get a poodle or a spimoni, or a lab.