Deutsch-Drahthaar

[Finfeatherfur]

I have used Jagdterrier for tracking for sometime now and have had incredible success with them. I have a chocolate female lab for bird hunting and she is great. However, I have been studying this breed for sometime now and seem fascinated by them.

I am wondering if anyone here at SC has one, or has ever been with one in the field. From all indications, these dogs are the ultimate - pointer, tracker, retriever, guard dog, and family companion.

Granted, every breed has dogs that are good and some labs will do just what I wrote, along with other breeds. But those dogs are 1 in 100. Just looking for local guys that use the Drahthaar.

[simplepeddler]

I have the Deutsch Wachtelhund...........another German breed that I am extremely pleased with. The germans have very little regard for our way of training. They are more about breeding for natural talent as opposed to trainability. The Wachtel is not a "pointer" as I had no need for that.

The main reason I went with the Wachtelhund is size.........they are shorter at the shoulder and heavy in the chest........making them really good for the pirouge.

There are several Drahthaar guys in the Lafayette area.
And I am sure you know the Drahthaar guys are not the same as the wirehaired guys..........controlled by different visions for the dogs.

They are extremely bold, at the least the ones I have been around.
Crazy hunters.........need plenty exercise..........they really are fascinating dogs......

[Finfeatherfur]

You said a mouthful there Simple! - One or two training seminars in police K9 work and I found out just how bad some of our training aspects are. One guy from Denmark even stated that simple HRC test here in the US try to turn the dog into a "robot" and hearing him speak made some since to it. I don't agree with all the European aspects of it, but he definetly opened my eyes.

[simplepeddler]

I really like the Milner methods and Bill Hillman's stuff......low pressure, high praise......

My OPINION only is..........we have breed our dogs, Labs and such to be "trainable" meaning take a lot of pressure or wash out........that being said we leave the natural instincts behind.........

Good trainers can train dogs to a high lever when Trainable, however a dog with tons of natural instinct can be trained to an acceptable level for the average Joe.....

Will they make 300 yard, blind retrieves in a straight line?
Likely not.

But Quaid will hunt a cripple until his eyes bleed, literally

[Raymond]

S/P, FF, dogs have become smarter through selective breeding and with that breeding are smarter and softer. Most pros are looking for a compliant dog that is a team player and not a wild Indian. My apologies to all the calm Indians in advance! I can tell ya the wild ones are a PIA and require an enormous amount of time and patience.

[Goooh]

I had a GSP that was an absolute natural at everything. Amazing gun dog, amazing companion, got rid of him because I didn't have the room to keep him busy with my schedule.

I will get another one as soon as I move to some land.

The dog was retrieving teal and pointing at 7 months with surprisingly little effort. His prey drive and diligence were unreal. All hand commands by 1 yr (heel, sit, stay, retrieve with direction, blind retrieve with a simple wave toward the bird). At that young of an age he was already positioning himself downwind like he was a vet - my buddies with labs couldn't stand it.

I used the book Gun Dog for all around training, didn't have to focus on one main aspect, he knew what time it was whether it was pointing snipe or springing through the dekes... Water retrieving like a machine too, crazy swimmer.

The wirehair is basically the same thing, I went shorthair for the heat down here.

I will NEVER own another breed. Got him from a guy in Church Point. A buddy got a female from him too and she is exactly the same caliber and natural ability, just more docile.

Sorry for the rant - got me reflecting....!

[Goooh]

P.s. they come camoed out already. I had Liver/Roan spotted and ticked...

[Shawn Braquet]

Originally Posted by Goooh

I had a GSP that was an absolute natural at everything. Amazing gun dog, amazing companion, got rid of him because I didn't have the room to keep him busy with my schedule.

I will get another one as soon as I move to some land.

The dog was retrieving teal and pointing at 7 months with surprisingly little effort. His prey drive and diligence were unreal. All hand commands by 1 yr (heel, sit, stay, retrieve with direction, blind retrieve with a simple wave toward the bird). At that young of an age he was already positioning himself downwind like he was a vet - my buddies with labs couldn't stand it.

I used the book Gun Dog for all around training, didn't have to focus on one main aspect, he knew what time it was whether it was pointing snipe or springing through the dekes... Water retrieving like a machine too, crazy swimmer.

The wirehair is basically the same thing, I went shorthair for the heat down here.

I will NEVER own another breed. Got him from a guy in Church Point. A buddy got a female from him too and she is exactly the same caliber and natural ability, just more docile.

Sorry for the rant - got me reflecting....!

No training? That takes half the fun and reward out of the process IMO. Watching a dog succeed by working the way you "taught" him/her has been very rewarding for me. I do agree however that breeding has taken a lot of the guess work out of "What kind of dog will I have?"

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by Shawn Braquet

No training? That takes half the fun and reward out of the process IMO. Watching a dog succeed by working the way you "taught" him/her has been very rewarding for me. I do agree however that breeding has taken a lot of the guess work out of "What kind of dog will I have?"

Oh no, I worked him a lot and followed Gun Dog. But, I didn't have to "inculcate" him like my previous two dogs. They are so intuitive, you teach them and its there.

I definitely trained him and my wife read the book and worked him while i was out to keep the fundamentals in check. me and the dog's relationship was more "wholesome" because training him wasn't like I was a broken record. He learned, and he did what he learned - I never wanted to knock his block off.