Upland Hunting - General

@Sparse Gray Hackle

They are (at least supposed to be) the calmest dogs of all the German breeds.
The breeding standard specifically says that the dog has to be calm and balanced.
The breeding philosophy specifically states that the dog has be calm and then anything else such as only the dogs.


They do have high prey drive but their calm nature can override it. My dog never wines and never barks for no reason. (I have seen GWP and GSP barking for no reason)
She barks at deer and squirrels when the try to come to her food bawl, but I never seen her wine in the crate while waiting for me.
Two weeks ago I was training with Drathaar guys in NJ. They were surprised to see how quite she was.

Are all of the DL calm? No, but the majority is. The breeding is geared towards that way at least and has been since the 19th century.
If you see a DL it might have three letters next to the name such as Jimmy Bob V/SG/SG.
The first letter implies the type. What type of a dog is he is the question here. Calm? Active? Scary? Shy?


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However there a few important points.
Calmness might translate into slow performance... their nickname is Slow Forester or Slow German.
If you are looking for a show in the field the GSP will give a better one. But this does not mean they lack beauty in the field, They gait and movement is way more flued and graceful than many breeds. They got it from Setters.

The second thing is that they are working type dog and they love having a job and doing it for you. You can not expect them being calm but have no desire to do things.
This means that for some, including my dog, drills and tasks are better than a 30 walking in the park. 4 times in a week I take her to places and we do drills (retrieve, heel, stay etc) for like 25-35 minutes and after that we do like 10 minutes of a walk. She is happy and sleeps by my legs next whole day.
If this is something unachievable for you you might need to rethink it.

The downside of the breed is that they will have trouble in heat... not much different from GWP in that regard. And you will have to deal with the long hair which if you come from Setters (like I do) or brittinies it is not a big deal.

I forgot to mention that the kennel tends to produce dogs for grouse and woodcock hunting though he himself spends a fare amount of time in the Dakotas for pheasants and sharpies.

Thanks, I have ”ugly dogs”, and thinking out about 4 years when it will be time to consider retiring my boy. I’m also looking at Cesky Fouseks, as I believe they’re all business when it’s time, and relaxed when it’s not. I have an acquaintance who has 2 CFs, that he trusts around chickens.

Tip… field trial dogs aren’t always the best at calmness.
 

Wyo37

Member
Anyone got their upland game plans squared away for the season?

I drew a couple of elk tags that are going to take priority early, but hopefully by November I'm in the uplands with the dogs.

It seems ptarmigan just keeps getting put off...
 
Grouse opens in a bit, as well as quail in some locations, so ing going to get out wi5h the pups. Chuckar and Huns in early October. I’m hunting local. Was considering Wyoming and Montana for sharp tails, but those people don’t need my money.
 

PirateMcGee

Expedition Leader
Hoping for Sage Grouse, Dusky Grouse, Ptarmigan, Pheasant, and Sharptail (doubtful to find any public birds). Also have a fall turkey tag and will be chasing waterfowl later. Prior to that I have archery elk, rifle elk, rifle mule deer in MT, and late season mule deer and pronghorn rifle back home. Glad gas prices are coming down lol.
 

Highlander

The Strong, Silent Type
I'll be mostly staying in the NE.
My dog has upcoming test, which takes two days, and which is on the same day as the woodcock opener in October. Kind of a bummer but will be back. I was barely able to get into a test so I could not changes the dates.
Otherwise grouse in NY, NH and hopefully in Maine.
Hopefully more waterfowl in costal NJ and CT.
 

Wyo37

Member
Hoping for Sage Grouse, Dusky Grouse, Ptarmigan, Pheasant, and Sharptail (doubtful to find any public birds). Also have a fall turkey tag and will be chasing waterfowl later. Prior to that I have archery elk, rifle elk, rifle mule deer in MT, and late season mule deer and pronghorn rifle back home. Glad gas prices are coming down lol.

Plains or mountain (columbian) sharptail?
 

ricoisme26

Active member
Not upland but been out for duck the past couple Saturdays, goose opens this Saturday here excited for that, hoping to mix in some upland hunting in November as well
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Sorry for the lack of hunting dogs in the photos, might look to add one to the family next year


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Highlander

The Strong, Silent Type
Only went out once so far as I was busy preparing my dog for a test. Killed a random rooster and found 5 woodcocks which I didn't get.

Passed a very hard, if not the hardest, hunting test out there.
We got a prize 1 with 304 points, outstanding in Use of Nose and Blood Tracking. It took 2 days of torture and fun.
I'll do it with my second dog again.
 

ricoisme26

Active member
Only went out once so far as I was busy preparing my dog for a test. Killed a random rooster and found 5 woodcocks which I didn't get.

Passed a very hard, if not the hardest, hunting test out there.
We got a prize 1 with 304 points, outstanding in Use of Nose and Blood Tracking. It took 2 days of torture and fun.
I'll do it with my second dog again.
Congrats!
 

plh

Explorer
Was great! Best hunting in South Dakota for me in a lot of years. Our party of 5 brought home 25 Roosters in 3 days hunting. Weather cooperated as well.
 

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