# Interesting contrast in dog performance.



## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

The last time my buddy and I got out to hunt pheasant I saw something interesting. Legal shooting time in PA is 1/2 Hr. before sunrise, and some guys push it a bit. We showed up at the place we intended to hunt with 3 pickups already parked there. 

We started to saddle up, and the next thing we know a gang of English Setters show up and are acting all birdy! I have my buddy's GSP on a lead while he gets ready, and she is pulling like crazy wanting to go! 

Next thing a bunch of hunters show up, including the guys who owns the Setters, and one guy asks us if we saw a bird on the road, as he shot one and it looked like it went down near there. Nope. Didn't see a bird on the road. 

So,they packed up and left and we turned the dog loose and headed in. Abby, the GSP, kept messing around in the thickets just off the road. My buddy tried to call her out, to no avail. We have learned to just wait in these instances. Next thing we know, Abby comes bouncing out of the thicket with a nearly dead pheasant in her mouth! It had to be the one the guy shot.

I'm not trying to start a controversy here, but why didn't the English Setters find that bird? I'll admit that Abby is particularly skilled at long retrieves and finding dead or nearly dead birds. Why don't the Setters, at least this particular bunch, seem to be?


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## Cvk01 (Nov 10, 2017)

Every dog has its day..


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

But, that's kind of what I was referring to. Abby seems to have more of those days than other dogs. As does her younger Sister. 

We'll hunt ground that guys with dogs have just left, telling us they didn't find any birds! Next thing we know, my buddy's dogs are pointing and flushing birds left and right!

I guess it comes down to bloodlines.


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Because German shorthair pointers named Abbie are the best.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Your Abbie seems to be a bit older than our Abby! Nevertheless, they sure can hunt! She seems to have a desire to find game that can actually work against her health! I've seen her come out of thickets literally ripped to shreds, and bleeding like crazy, and she'll resist us putting her in her kennel!


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

She's 14 and quite slow now. I've had 2 gsp's and they are some top notch hunters. Yes, they can hunt themselves into some real pain.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

True that! Abby is 7 or 8 now. A couple of years ago we had some weird weather around here. It would snow, warm up just enough to start melting the top, then it would freeze solid, and then snow again! It did this over and over so that there were 3 or 4 layers of ice and snow on the ground. 

Abby just got chewed to pieces that day! We met up with a friend who's Grandson's Abby was supposed to hunt for that day. My buddy was going to try to get them some birds, they don't have a dog. 

When she came out of the last thicket head to tail blood, my buddy told them that he was sorry, but he had to take his dog home and doctor it. It's pads were cut up, as was every place on the dog! 

Abby has only one speed, full tilt! We've been hoping that she would slow down as she got older. Hasn't happened yet!


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## NotoriousVIC (Oct 12, 2014)

Setters are not known for their retrieving skills.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

NotoriousVIC said:


> Setters are not known for their retrieving skills.


Interesting. Never knew that before. These are good looking dogs from reliable blood lines. There were 4 of them, and none of them found that shot bird! And believe me, on our club retrieving skills are a must. 

To be honest, I don't why this should surprise me. I've seen Abby make so many mind boggling retrieves over the years!


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## Trucked (Apr 6, 2004)

Cvk01 said:


> Every dog has its day..


Cute!!


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

My Setters have always been good retrievers. Perhaps those were not or maybe coming outbt you and vehicles threw them off and they thought they were done. Lots of things affect ability to find cripples though GSPs are sometimes more likely to track foot scent than another dog focused more on body scent cones.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Interesting! The way those Setters acted, they were obviously birdie! They knew there was a bird in there somewhere. And Abby, the GSP, was yanking my arm out of the socket wanting to get out there! 

Another time, a hunter near us shot a bird put up by one of my buddy's dogs. He thought he dropped it clean, but when he went to pick up the bird (he did not have a dog) it was not there. 

We brought Abby in there and she picked up the track. Soon we heard the singular "cack" that comes from a downed and running pheasant. A little while later we heard another "cack"! I told the guy that Abby would be back with his bird in about 5 minutes, and sure enough she was! 

He offered us the bird, but we told him to take it home and enjoy the meal.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Just got another report from my buddy about taking Abby out to the club. The day he went out the place was chock full. Included in the gang were quite a few guys with totally untrained dogs! 

My buddy ran into a couple of them with a big, fat black Lab and some yellow colored dog of a breed he could not identify! Those dogs didn't listen worth a damn, and my buddy pulled his dog out of there to go somewhere else! And his dog was pissed! She wanted to hunt that area. 

He went to another place and came upon the SIL of a guy we both know who run Setters. He does also, and they are great looking dogs. But, he was coming out empty handed. My buddy heads in and in 5 minutes it's "took, took, took, took" WHAM! One bird down! Ten minutes later, WHAM!, there's his limit! 

He walked out to find the SIL still there! He didn't have his dogs crated up before he heard the first shot! He asked how his dog found those birds. My buddy said nice things about how the birds might have been moving toward the edges to get some sun, etc. He did not say the obvious, that the guy's dogs couldn't hunt worth a crap! 

There's a difference in taking your dogs out for a run, and taking them out to hunt! The dogs need to have a clue.


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## Cvk01 (Nov 10, 2017)




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