Golden / Flat coated retriever?

[VA Native]

Anyone hunt with a golden or flat coated retriever? I am thinking about getting one or the other for my next dog. I don't need the best hunting dog out there, but I would like to train it for upland and waterfowl hunting. I usually hunt ducks, geese, quail, phesants and doves. Anyone have any experience with either of these breeds? Thanks for the input,
Peter

[Dakota]

I would do my homework on both breeds. The have become popular family pets and that has lead to the genetics being a bit diluted in some kennels. My wife has a golden that will retrieve a live pigeon endlessly without harming a feather but has zero interest in hunting.

[Bill W]

Don't know a thing about flat coated retrievers, but I did hunt pheasants over a couple of Goldens for three days while I was in South Dakota last month. The dogs did an excellent job.

The above advice about being careful you are not buying from a "show" or "pet" line of Goldens is right on. Some lines of Goldens have about as much hunting instinct as a shetland pony. You MUST buy from a hunting line if you want a dog that will hunt. I learned the hard way:

About two years ago my 23 year old daughter wanted a Golden for a pet for a birthday present. She had no intention of hunting it, but since I know that situations with young adults can sometimes change, I strongly suggested buying from a hunting line. My stated rationale was that it would probably be more trainable than a show line, but I was also thinking that if my wife and I somehow ended up with the dog I could hunt it. Everyone agreed with me on choosing a pup from a hunting line.

Well just about the time I settled on a breeder to buy a good solid hunting golden pup from, my daughter announces that she has found (and fallen in love with) a pup that was advertised in the newspaper from some backyard breeding of two papered goldens. On top of that, it is the runt of the litter. "But it is soooo cute!"

I jump up and down in protest but my wife and daughter both repeatedly remind me that the pup is to be a birthday present for the daughter and not a third hunting dog for me (I have two well-trained labs which do well on upland and waterfowl). So I reluctantly relent to my wife and daughter's arguments and we buy this damn six hundred and fifty dollar dog.

Well, sure enough the dog is cute and cuddly, but as she grows up it becomes clear she has absolutely zero hunting instinct. I make some attempts at seeing what is there as far as bird instinct. It won't hardly look at a clipped wing pigeon flopping enticingly around the back yard. (Meanwhile, my two labradors, locked in the house, are practically hurling themselves through the sliding glass door to get at the pigeon). On top of that the dog is essentially untrainable. Can take no pressure whatsoever. It knows how to "sit". Nothing else. That's it. I've trained two labs to hand signals and whistle commands and the best I can do with that Golden is "sit". Suffice it to say the dog is completely and utterly useless as a hunting or working dog.

The kicker is that my daughter then gets engaged to her fiancé and moves in with him. No dogs allowed in the condo. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-mad-fume-red.gif
So next thing you know, wife and daughter are hinting that the dog should move in with us. That&#39;s where I drew the line. I said the dog can go find a nice home somewhere else. So my wifes parents are now the proud owners of a totally worthless Golden retriever. Actually, the dog is sweet and an o.k. companion I suppose, but as anything else, it&#39;s useless.

Be very careful. Or better yet, buy a lab.

Bill

[VA Native]

Thanks for your input guys, I really want a hunting golden but I am very scared about getting a show golden instead of a hunting golden. I had a golden (bought from a farm, no papers) when I was a kid and it would not hunt, gun shy too, but I love the breed.

My next question is, if I buy from a hunting breeder of goldens, do these goldens usually (I know nothing is gauranteed) have good hunting instincts? Anyone recommend a good hunting breeder I could look into? I might just break down and get a Flat coat or lab (I have never hunted with a flat coat but have heard great things about them and a lab,,,,,well thats a no brainer,,,they are great hunters.)

[Bill W]

I&#39;m sure that if you research it and make a point of finding a breeder that produces hunting goldens you&#39;ll be fine. As I said, I hunted over two in south dakota and they did great. If you are serious about it drop me an e-mail and I&#39;ll put you in touch with my buddy from Iowa who owns teh two goldens I hunted over last month. He runs his goldens in hunt tests and such and I&#39;m sure he can put you in touch with a breeder who is putting out a quality hunting dog.

Bill