If you’re too busy to train, too busy to
buy a pup and place it with a professional trainer or simply want to bypass the
entire puppy and training stages, then buying a finished dog is for you.
That advice may sound simple but how does
one go about doing this? This is an
important question. A few years ago I
met a bird hunter who paid top-price for what was advertised as a “finished
dog”. It was a very handsome
two-year-old English setter. The dog’s
natural abilities were well developed. It had a decent search pattern, not a
bad nose and a good-looking point. The
good news ended there. It would also
occasionally break point and bust the bird and it always broke on the
flush. In addition, it had no retrieving
skills. This meant the dog was allowed
to develop its natural and instinctive abilities; however, very little
attention had been paid to its trained abilities such as steady to wing and
shot, backing and a solid retrieve. This
dog was a “started” dog; not a “finished” dog, as advertised. The buyer of this
dog had to spend several hundred dollars more with a local trainer to finish
the job.
So, you don’t have the time for training
but you still want a dog your bird hunting buddies will envy. The first consideration, of course, is
economics. If you want a finished dog, be
ready to pay from $2500 to $5000…or even more.
If you’re on-board to write a big check, then decide what type of upland
hunting you’ll be doing most of the time.
If you’re a New England grouse and woodcock hunter, don’t buy a dog that
has solely been trained in big prairie country.
You want a closer working dog; not a big runner. Having said that, if you plan some year to
jump in the truck with your dog and take the bird hunter’s dream trip, which
begins in Saskatchewan and then travels to North Dakota, South Dakota and
finishing in Kansas or Texas, your dog will adjust with a little extra
training. Don’t worry…enjoy the trip.
Next, start your “finished” dog
search. This first step is as simple as
a quick trip to Google and typing in Finished Gun Dog. You’ll have more leads then you can
investigate in a day. Call the sellers
and ask for an honest description of the dog’s natural abilities and trained
abilities. If you think you’ve found
what you want, go see the dog work. If
it’s impossible to visit the trainer, then simply ask for a video of the dog
working. If you’re paying for a truly finished
dog, then you want to see that dog in the field.
Many of the top breeders/trainers will
sell one or two finished dogs per year.
Here are a few of those trainers who you should at least speak
with. If they don’t have a dog
available, they may know of someone who does.
Also, they will ask you questions since they don’t want their bloodline
to go someone who is not going to take good care of the dog. I would contact Clyde Vetter (www.sharpshooterskennel.com), Lloyd
Murray (www.longgonesetters.com) or Bruce Minard
(www.hifivekennels.com). The Google search and the above contacts should find a
finished dog for you.
Yet there is still another method of
locating a finished dog. Attend a bird
dog event. Through the Internet, locate
an AKC or North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) hunt test
or major event. When you attend one of
these events, you’ll be amongst many excellent trainers. Let people know that you’re in the market for
a “finished” gun dog. Many of these
trainers want their dogs to get the ultimate recognition such as a Master
Hunter certificate from AKC or a Versatile Champion title from NAVHDA. Occasionally, they may have a dog that isn’t
quite going to make the grade. However,
the animal would make an outstanding gun dog: a dog you would be very proud to
own and hunt. You might leave the event
with the dog of your dreams.
The final step in this process is for you,
the owner, to understand how to handle a finished gun dog. You don’t want to ruin a well-trained
dog. If you don’t know how to handle a
gun dog, take lessons! If you buy a dog
at a bird dog event, tell the seller that handler training must be included in
the price. If you buy a dog from a
trainer a few thousand miles away and have the dog shipped, locate a local
trainer for lessons. Both you and your
dog will be much happier hunters.
Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program. Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.
