Dogs are pretty dam smart animals. You can teach them to do about anything within reason. But they are not going to outshine dogs bred for the task at hand. I don't want to offend anyone but a GSP is a jack of all trades master of none. GSP's are great hunting dogs for a guy that wants a hearty dog that can do a lot of things good. No GSP, Lab, Chessie, Spaniel, or Brittany is going to out point and run a EP or ES. They are a machine bred for one task and they are the masters of that task. End of Story. Chessie's and Lab's are on the other end of the spectrum, no other hunting breed is going to out retrieve them. Specially Chessie's when it comes to cold and violent water. Spaniels are flushing kings, if you ever have the privilege to hunt over an amazing Spaniel you will see that no other breed works in the manner they do. Every other sporting breed to me is a multitasker and not great at anything but does a lot of stuff well. I believe that the average bird hunter is probably best suited with the breeds in the middle that can do a lot of things good. Where as your dedicated Upland hunter is much better off with a EP, ES, Brittany, or spaniel. Depending on their style of hunting. A dedicated Duck hunter is much better suited to a Chessie or Lab. In every breed there are dogs that just outshine their peers. I am not talking about one off amazing dogs. I am talking about the breed as a whole. When you get your puppy you never know what you are getting. There are so many variables. Imagine if I had bought Elhew Snakefoot from Bob as a puppy. We would have never seen or known his greatness.
Last edited by MontanaCreekHunter; 02/13/19.
