Need dog help

[duckhunter101]

alright just got the news that the litter of puppyies were born. we are buying one. but my ?? is should we get a male female??? which colors red yellow maybe silver...last but not least any thing i should look for in the dog????????

[Quackaddict9]

I've only owned springers in my life...and two have been males, 1 female. From what I have seen with my dogs are that the males are more wild and little more stubborn when the female are calmer and not as wild around kids. All 3 were great hunting dogs, mostly upland. I guess it depends on how you train them. I see the same way for Labs as well....but not every dog has the same behavior. More people will chime in and give you their voice. Good Luck with your new pup if you get one! :)

[1shot1kill]

color makes no difference, its all in a persons preference. i have yellow, black and cream labs----havent had any trouble with male or female, but then again its all how they are trained. "Remember a dog is only as good as its trained".
Good luck with getting your new pup.

[duckhunter101]

sorry forgot that they are labs sorry

[Just Hunt]

First of all color is strictly a personal preference. Nothing more. As far as male or female??? My experiance? I have had 6 labs in the past 40 some years and although I have had good and not so good males and females but it seems that females are a little easier to train. The drawback to a male is if they are not nuetered the see to be hard headed. I did not have mine nuetered. But a on the other hand if a female it is not spaid there is a possibility they can come into season in the fall and if that happens around hunting season and you have males around... well??? My recomendation (and I am sure there will be many other oppinions) is a female and if you are not going to breed her get her spaid and if you spend time with her OR send her to a trainer you should have a good dog if it comes from a good line. As far as what to look for in a puppy look for the pup that is out exploring NOT the one that is off by itself in a corner. And most importantly find a reputable breeder. Good Luck!!!

[mlgorecki]

Misty's right about color; it makes no difference.

As for sex, I personally like males (no worries, I'm very hetero :lol: ), but females will do the job just as well. Field trial comps certainaly illustrate this point (many female champs out there). Theoretically, males (especially ones who've already had a taste) tend to be on a constant "booty call", whereas females are less distracted. Out on the open water, where there's little to no sent, Scout is a machine; however, in a field, he is constantly sniffing around for his next beeyatch.

[duckhunter101]

the prob is i want a male and my dad wants a female
he says the males piss way to much any opions on this

[HRK]

Females burn spots on your lawn , males keep your tree's water'd...lol

[mlgorecki]

the prob is i want a male and my dad wants a female...
Since you're only 12 and are barely old enough to piss yourself, I guess you don't have much of a choice. :lol: Don'y worry; a female, if properly trained, will be a hunting machine.

[duckhunter101]

it should be trained very good

[Just Hunt]

Hunters Ridge is rite. Your going to get either burnt yards or trees...been there done that!!! On both accounts. As I said in MY experiance females are easier too get along with...wait a minute what did I just say as my wife looks over my sholder to see what I am doing :wink: :wink: :wink: Life AINT fair I tell ya. Anyway as far as (labs go) females seem to be easier to get along with. :lol:

[Brad From ND]

I have 2 females. I guess I just like to be surrounded by girls. Most males seem to be more block headed than females until you get them neutered. That being said, my female pup is pretty stubborn. It all depends on their personality. She was the biggest female, by far, and the most aggressive but I wanted that. I know she won't give up. It seems to me, that the biggest part of getting past the stubborn stage is just getting them to trust you. I would suggest getting "Game Dog" by Richard A. Wolters. It is a great book that takes you step by step from picking a pup to finishing training.

[BirdBuster17]

i heard from a trainer a while back that black is the dominant color making them have the most drive and ready to work then other colors. Yellows are single recessive and then chocolates are last because they are double recessive. I dont think this matters at all though if its just going to be a hunting dog but if it was a trial dog it might make a little bit of a differents. i think the pedigree is more important than anything

[John Manning]

I have one female and two males. All yellow labs. I like things about both sexes however, I don't think I would get another female. The drive and the all day long energy of a male trumps all. Hunting waterfowl in the morning and upland in the afternoon (on hunting trips) is where I have noticed the biggest difference in the sexes. Other than all day / multiple day trips, I think you can't go wrong with either sex of a lab.

If you stick with a good blood line and plan on spending time training the dog, everything will work out just fine. Have fun with it and good luck!

[duckhunter101]

thanks for all the help

[HRK]

i heard from a trainer a while back that black is the dominant color making them have the most drive and ready to work then other colors. Yellows are single recessive and then chocolates are last because they are double recessive. I dont think this matters at all though if its just going to be a hunting dog but if it was a trial dog it might make a little bit of a differents. i think the pedigree is more important than anything

I agree that the background is the most important when getting a pup, for one it shows each generation of sires and dams and there achievements. Hip and eye certs, ect. This throws the backyard breeders right out of the picture, these people say yeah there parents hunted. They may have, but when you ask about the pedigree's and bachgrounds there like huh? Most dont have a clue...

Blacks and yellows seem to be more predominant for some reason, not sure if its a prefferance thing or what. But it does go by region, one you'll see all blacks. Another all yellows, then chocolates. Ive heard the same about recessive genes and all that BS many times. Take a black sire and a yellow damn, then they have a litter of all choc's or mixed. Does this mean some of the litter will be recessive? Possibly but it depends on each pup, they still carry the DNA characteristics of there of there parents bloodlines.

Still you could get a pup thats so laid back its worth nothing more than a house dog or one thats so hyper it wont mind, tear up all your house to the point you want to shoot it. Again its all in the pups demeanor.

I run a chocolate now, he has the drive, the want and will to go wide open throttle when it comes to hunting. He can be ready in a moments notice to go, just taking a gun form the cabinet. He thinks its hunting time and he's ready! Yet he's 100% loyal and faithfull, not only is he a hunter but a great family dog at the same time.

What it boils down to is finding a pup that associates good with you, not too laid back or hyper, kind of in the middle in the road. Even if its not the pup you want, find one thats tenative to you or should I say one that bonds with you first, it'll probably be your best bet.

[corybdesign]

assuming your getting a pup from good hunting parents, i look for 4 things not necessarily in any order:

1. is the pup interested and energetic when i show up or is it lazy.

2. is the pup curious about me and other things or is it scared when i pick it up, etc.

3. i take a bird wing or two with me and i put one in the puppies area and watch which one picks it up and carries it first.

4. is the pup bothered at all by loud noises, like a loud clap.

thats how i pick a pup out of a litter....my $.02