I'm expanding our dog herd a bit.

I know full well what I want for bird dogs, but my wife is a dog lover as well. And she likes to walk. A lot.

She has loved all of our bird dogs, but dislikes it when a dog goes crazy on leash to chase a squirrel or bird.

She always did feel more secure when walking with our old labs, or the chessie. All were protective of her, and gruff enough to deter most strangers. And all would gleefully drag her through the mud to chase a squirrel...

Is there a mid sized, active, biddable dog that has prey drive low enough to train it to walk on leash in an area full of small critters and birds?

It isn't the dog so much as the training. My 72 pound female lab is a a power house both in strength and drive. When I first started the training, I thought she the most hard headed difficult to train bird dog that I ever had. Everybody in the family dreaded dealing with her. She would run from us and go after the neighbors. Chase squirrels? Like a crazy ass.

I bought my first e collar, and it was like night and day! She now strolls through the neighborhood at our side without a leash. She never chases our chickens and lives to retrieve. Properly used, when putting on her collar it's like giving her a ticket to the amusement park. She sees it she and can't wait to get it on and go out.

I had the collar a month before I used it. Read everything I could about one. Your dog must already know all of the commands. The collar is simply an extension of the leash and reinforces what she knows. It acts like a simple tug of the leash, without using one. It is not a shock for punishment.

Fast forward: my lab is now the best dog I ever owned, both as a house pet and hunter. The e collar is something to consider.



My son with her this past season:

You're coming to a hunting site and asking for a recommendation for a dog with a low prey drive?
I think that Sakoluvr has nailed it.....training, from an early age, is the answer, not so much the breed. I have used Ecollars in the past, and must stress that the dog KNOWS the commands before you proceed with such a device. I haven't had to use a collar on my current lab, and she is quite biddable, but I started training her at 8 weeks old to walk on a leash, etc. I had a water spaniel who would perform and obey FLAWLESSLY on a leash or check cord, but the moment he was off of it, he knew I didn't have physical control. After several frustrating hunts, I broke down and bought an E collar and when he figured out I could "reach out and touch him" if he had a mind to misbehave, it quickly turned things around and he became the best hunting dog I've had to date.

English Setter-Field trial bred, not the show dogs.
We just bought our fourth English Setter. Bought first one in '95. They are wonderful bird dogs and precious companions. They will hunt their hearts out for you and transform into couch potatoes in the house. They are sensitive to your body language and voice inflection. When we've walked our dogs on leashes, they are not interested in the dogs barking at the fence. But if a bird lands within sight, they will freeze and point the bird. Our setters have shown a passing interest in squirrels, but never to chase them. They love people and want to please you. Use a gentle technique in their training because of their being sensitive. We usually have two at a time. When the oldest passes to the Rainbow Bridge, we'll get a puppy within a year or so. The older dog trains the puppy. The puppy copies the actions of the older dog and quickly picks up your verbal & hand signal commands. I use the training technique from the book GUN DOG by Richard Wolters. Hasbeen

Yep. That's right... And I'm hoping that dog guys in general can help with this. I have some ideas about suitable breeds, but am hoping to hear from those with experience.

Wife does not hunt and has no interest in hunting. She'd like to have a bigger, more active dog than her [bleep]-zu, but specifically does not want a "bird dog".

I've got a first deposit on 2 different bird dog litters right now, to ensure my pick of the litter. Hoping to bring a setter puppy home in late May or early June.

Golden Retriever.

Just might be the ticket. There's plenty of them with little or no prey drive...

Trouble is that many of the ones without prey drive are the 80-90 lb chow vacuums...
Still...

English Springer. A good one has a strong prey drive, but they train easily to walk at heel. A good one will often become aware of game before seeing while walking and will show signs of knowing something is around, but teach them to hup or stay at heel and while they will look will not pull on the leash.

Come time to hunt, turn them loose and they fire up.

No offence but you need to have someone help you learn how to train em.
I walk a GSP and Mtn Cur on the same leash with two fingers (or no leash) and trust me,,,, they have plenty of prey drive.

I'd agree it's a training issue,but at the same time I get that a lot of women aren't going to correct a dog and make them walk the line. Especially if she's serious about her running she ain't going to want to deal with a dogs issues.

Not sure what the answer is though, most any dog will chase a squirrel if given the chance.

Training! Plain and simple.
My 90 pound Lab, goes everywhere with me with no leash or collar.
He heels at my side, won't even stop to sniff or lift his leg until released to do so.

See my thread below and you'll see prey drive.

He knows what's acceptable to do and when and what's not.

He was trained properly.

OK, thanks guys...

Having trained lab's for AKC hunt test and field trials incorporating
Poison Birds the verbal command in training was "LEAVE IT". Don't retrieve that bird...run over it... run along side of it... but don't retrieve it. The verbal command was also used in other aspects of their dog life and they obeyed. Be it a rabbit, squirrel or another dog. A trained response always works better for both you and your dog.

Doc

Training and the e-collar. If the dog knows there's no immediate consequences for disobedience it's going to do what it wants.

Start the collar at the lowest level, work up and use no more juice than necessary. You'll have to zap the dog a time or two for it to know what's ok and what's not but it works. Once it's learned, the warning buzz with no juice is usually all you'll ever need.

None other than the Airedale Terrier.

Greatest dog on earth.

Any bird dog will chase if not trained.

The idea that a dog is like a computer program and if you just get the right genes, it will do everything it is programmed to do, and nothing else is insidious, and common.

If she wants a dog that behaves the way she wants, she is simply going to have to deal with the "dog issues". There are tools to help, such as training collars, prong collars, hand fulls of gravel, whatever. But SHE is going to have to learn to walk the dog, or the dog, any dog, will keep walking her.

If she's up for it, we're going to have puppies in April, and they would be pretty much what you are looking for.

http://dutchboykennels.com/litters.htm

It took a little training, but my dog will not mess with my chickens anymore. She will walk within a foot of them now and pay them no mind. This is off of a leash and no collar.

As I said above, it isn't the dog so much as the training.

I raise both Field bred Goldens and Springers, I would recommend either one you may find the Goldens slightly more mellow but my Springers are pretty laid back as well. My springers go about 35 lbs for bitches and 45 for males, Goldens are about 50-60 lbs. What ever you chose make sure it is from good health tested field stock. Good luck, enjoy