As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there are so many terms that a new hunter or sports person needs to learn and at times it can be overwhelming. The all round gun dog is another term that most people starting out are unaware of and it is definitely one that you should know before you purchase your first gundog puppy.
Generally, when you choose a new puppy or even a breed of dog, you will look for a gundog that can do specific things. If you are interested in training the retriever, then you will choose a breed that retrieves and if you want a dog that will point, than a pointing breed is the obvious choice.
While that way of choosing a dog can take you a long way, one of the most important questions that you can ask yourself is, what do I want to hunt? Some breeds are good for hunting water fowl, some are good for upland game, and others are excellent for hunting predators such as raccoons and opossums. If your answer is that you want a dog that will hunt all of those thigns, then what you want is an All Round gun dog.
But what is an all round gundog?
It is simple. It is a versatile hunting dog that can be used to hunt a range of prey from birds to predators. These dogs can function in a range of roles in the field and for this reason; they are equipped to work with their handler regardless of the quarry.
All round gun dogs are dogs that can track prey, point at it and when the time comes, they can retrieve it for their handler. In addition, these dogs are adept at working on both land and water and do equally well in both situations. They can usually handle a large range of terrain, whether it is rough or not, and they have the energy to work throughout the hunting trip.
While all breeds have the potential to be an all round gun dog, it does not a large amount of training and there are some breeds that are better suited to being all round gun dogs than others. Some excellent all round gun dog breeds are Brittany, German Wirehaired Pointer and the Boykin Spaniel
But I think most gundog experts will agree that a Labrador Retriever takes some beating, at present we are training sam to be a all round gundog each week we film Ron putting him through his paces and filming each session
To find out more on this training go to Weekly Gundog Training