Which breed of dog for which type of hunting?
Bastien advises you to ask two questions before choosing a hunting dog: what types of hunting will you do, and on which types of terrain?
Which breed of dog for which type of hunting?
Will you hunt for small game with a setter, or wander with a flushing dog?
There are about 40 breeds of setters (group 7 dogs), the most popular being the Brittany Spaniel, the German Hunting Terrier, the Setter, the Pointer, etc.
Breeds of flushing dogs and retrievers (group 8 dogs) include the Labrador, the Springer and many more.
Bastien talks about his own experiences and his selection criteria:
“I started off by thinking about what types of shooting I enjoy most, which are hunting for small game and for woodcocks in particular. Most importantly, I was looking for firm stance and set. So I looked into group 7, which includes setters.
Then, I considered the terrains where I go shooting, which tend to be flat, with hundreds of hectares of crop lands. So I needed a long-range dog. But which breed? a Setter, a Brittany Spaniel, a Pointer?
And it turned out that it was the Pointer that met my criteria perfectly”.
