Hunting Dogs Charging into the cattails, my golden Labrador retriever flushes a huge male pheasant. My dad pulls the trigger, the pheasant is hit, but it is still flying. I tuck my shotgun in, and BOOM! The rooster is falling to the ground. My two dogs a English setter and a Labrador Retriever, takes off towards the spot where they saw the big bird go down. After a couple of minutes of sweeping the area, looking for the pheasant, we couldn't find it, so we moved on. Later that day, as my dad and I were walking in the field, our English setter froze up on point. Both my dad and I walk up to break the point when three Hungarian partridges break I pull up and get one and so does my dad. The night is a fun one, because we eat the two birds and my dad tells stories about his hunting trips. Read on for even more of those stories. The Labrador retriever is one of the most family friendly dogs, I think. According to the American Kennel Club the Labrador retriever is owned by over a million people. "The best for any kind of shooting... generally black and no bigger than a pointer, very fine in legs, with short, smooth hair... extremely quick running, swimming, and fighting... and their sense of smell is hardly to be credited," noted British sportsman Colonel Hawker, referring to the Labrador retriever. The Labrador was originally bred in Canada in the 1800's and used for hunting waterfowl for the most part. With their big mouths, they can retrieve the biggest types of birds like mallard ducks or a Canadian goose in the strong flowing rivers or big cornfields. The Discovery website says that the Labrador needs mental challenges commonly or they will get into some trouble. For example, my Labrador ate three cupcakes off the table, because we left her in the house. We usually put her in a kennel outside. The Labrador is the most commonly used dog for the disabled. If you are blind, they act as your guide. I myself have never had a German short-haired pointer, but I do know a family friend who has one. We went hunting in Huntley on some county land. It was my first time I ever hunted behind a pointer. Once I saw what that German short-hair could do, I was amazed at how it could find those birds. "I always liked German short-haired pointers because of their great temperament, intelligence, and trainability," believes Bob Reynolds, outdoors sportsman. I can see why Bob Reynolds really liked the German short-hair. Within the first 20 minutes the pointer had a hard point. I was chosen to go flush the bird, and as I was walking up to the point, the bird flushed and it scared me pretty bad. Short-hairs came from Germany in the 1600s and were made for all around hunting. Their hair is waterproof and it's thick so that they don't get scratched very easily on their stomachs. The Discovery website says that they can be aggressive to small children and to small pets. The one thing they are meant to do is hunt. They are a very athletic dog, but they can also bark and whine. Roger Caras states, "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." Recently we had to get rid of our English setter. He was one of the strangest dogs I have met, but I loved him anyway. The reason we got rid of him was because he barked a lot. We tried to put a bark collar on him, but he would just sit there and bark. He was a very fit dog and he loved to run around and play. We gave him to my aunt because she lives in Lewistown on some land. We took him hunting a lot these last two years and he is funny to watch hunt, but when he goes on point you have to be ready or else you will miss the bird in a heartbeat. The English setter is one of the best pointers according to the Shooting Sportsman magazine. They were bred in England in the 1300s and were made for covering as much ground as they could, which is a lot. They have very fine hair and they can get a lot of cockleburs in them. When they go on point, their tail will go straight up and they freeze. The English setters are covered in freckles and some have different colored eyes, like a border collie. My last hunt with our English setter was on Nov. 17 and we shot two birds, but we weren't able to find them even after a 30 minute sweep of the area. It was cool when he went on the last point of the day, because my setter was chasing the bird to the end of the creek when the bird flushed. My setter jumped up and tried to grab the bird right out of the air. I have never hunted behind an Irish water spaniel but I saw one of them in a truck going to hunt. I was asking myself, what is that type of dog? I remembered what it looked like and I stumbled upon its picture and I figured out it was called an Irish water spaniel. "They retrieve waterfowl on big water and in heavy marshes, flush and retrieve upland game and then curl up with the kids at night. Not as robotic as Labradors or as compulsive as springers, their versatility is perfect for people like me where the dog's top job is to be a family companion during the week and then go after birds on weekends," opinions Russ Dodd, outdoors sportsman. The Irish water spaniel was bred in Ireland in 1800. Their hair is a "double coded ring look" that repels water and keep the thorns out of them. The Discovery website says that they were just meant for retrieving waterfowl but as years went on, they learned to retrieve upland birds, too. These are my favorite hunting breeds for upland and for waterfowl so far. A lot of these experiences were with my family. My yellow Labrador tried to find the bird but it was her first day and she sadly couldn't find it. But she has found more lately and she is doing well. I hoped you enjoyed these dogs and learned some more information about them.