Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Field Lab vs Griff

We have been searching for months for our next dog and keep coming back to a Griff or another Lab. I have a lot of experience hunting over both American and English labs and know "ballpark" what I may be getting into with either of these.

A Griffon, not so much, very rare in my area and hard to come by first hand experience. I have been to tons of websites and breeder sites but still would like to hear how they differ from a Lab around the house, and In the field, from those who have had both.

I am looking for info on Field Bred "American Lab" vs Wirehaired Griffon in terms of trainability, daily exercise requirements, etc. My wife is very nervous that a Griff would be even more high strung than a field bred lab.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide

i would rather have a medium size lab , good house dog , protective and most are a dang good companion and hunter. the only problem with a good dog they grow old to fast

I have a hard time believing that a Griffon would be more high strung than a field bred American Labrador. Ours is one jacked up and enthusiastic dude.

I have to say pick a Griff. Very protective and a hell of a hunter. I've had mine over 6 years- they have a different personality than my lab. Kona tends to be headstrong but really sticks on a scent trail. Smartest dog and the quickest. My Lab is a great dog, but the Griff is much more versitile. And after being raised with a cat, will still chase it(headstrong-did I mention that!!)

I’ve hunted over both quite a bit.

As far as high strung, most labs are way more wound up than the average griff.
I love labs, but they are like retards on meth. Lol.

Only gripe I have with a wpg is the coat takes some maintenance. You can spend some time getting them cleaned up after a day busting brush.

In the field my griff is tractable and thorough. My buddy’s lab is a rocket.
When it comes to retrieving, it’s not a contest. My griff loves water retrieves but can’t keep up with the lab. The lab will retrieve wads if your shooting clays for fugks sake. 😂

At home my griff is mostly chill.

Interested in this thread as I have been in touch with a couple Griffon breeders and there is a litter due in Jan. Also was talking with a Pudelpointer breeder but think the wife likes the griffs better. Have a 6 mo old golden that I will not hunt so the griff will be my hunter almost all game farm birds since wild birds (grouse and the occasional woodcock) and small game here in general on public land is slim pickin's. Grouse populations are so low the later winter season has been closed past couple years with no signs of changing for the near future.

Never been around Griffs much but the one I hunted with once was very good.

I've had six Labs over the years. Four American and two that appeared to be a mix of British and American blood. All were and are good hunters and had/have good dispositions. Our current Lab "Crackhead Earl" is an American Lab directly from competing Field Trial parents and has become a good pet and hunter but what wilkeshunter said about his, "one jacked up and enthusiastic dude" fits ours too. We love him but wouldn't get another. Our non field trial bred Labs were easier to train and did fine as all purpose hunters.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I really appreciate it!

I have a 9 year old Griff. Good hunter and an even better house dog.
I don’t hunt much waterfowl, so no real water work to speak of. Does a great job finding and holding birds. His coat is really the only thing I complain about. More maintenance than I’d like.
I started out my hunting career on waterfowl with a Chessie then moved to mostly upland and a Shorthair. My Shorthair was a machine. My Griff is a great all around dog but my next will probably be another Shorthair.

Good luck!

Prefer my Griff for around the house. Great temperament. Strong drive in the field. Not a great water dog compared to labs I've owned in the past.

I have had both (plus numerous other Continental breeds) and it really boils down to if you do more upland than waterfowl over water and you want a dog that points, then a Griff would be a better choice. If you mostly hunt waterfowl over water with occasional forays into the uplands and don't mind a flushing dog then a lab would be better. They are both Jack of all trades with a slant to one side or the other from the middle.

As for disposition, the Griff would probably be a little calmer but that is a very general statement subject to the individual dog and how it is handled/trained. A buddy has field trial bred labs and they are very well behaved, better than the vast majority of dogs out there. But, he instill obedience in them from an early age and enforces it. My Griff (and other dogs) were generally not as well behaved but I wasn't nearly as strict either.

My preference would be for a Griff for all around hunting and house dog but I do more upland hunting and do not hunt big water for divers so my retrieving needs are more modest. Other than that, it would be a toss up for me.

Mornin, me personally , GRIF or Wirehair. Differen, don't know but I'm sure I'll get corrected!! My one & only wire hair?, dove under water, yes under water to get his first wounded duck at 4 months. Was just fnn awesome at such a variety of game it was hard to believe. At home, he was a frknn clown. Crazy on upland. Your choice, all dogs are great!!! I even had a black & tan hound that would retrieve ducks for me, run deer, & coyotes. Take them with ya hunting & they'll find something to please ya! My 2 cents. GWP. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦

Be sure to check Griff breeders who select for shorter, harsher coats if you are a serious about upland hunting and don't want to spend hours combing our cockleburs.

Do you want a pointer or a flusher? Figure that out first, your answer will make the choice pretty obvious.

As far as energy, both breeds you listed can be all over the board. From docile plodder to full bore zoomies.

Find some dog training clubs and go to the retriever and pointer days, check out some dogs and talk to owners.

Look at some litters, meet the sire and dam. Lots of puppy mills out there trying to look like hunting dog kennels.

Personally, I will never own a dog without a docked tail. Much more pleasant in the home.

YMMV

What do you hunt?

This thread is like one of the "what is my gun worth?" threads with no pictures. If you tell us what you hunt that would make an impression on what the answer is.

I am primarily an upland hunter. Grouse, woodcock, and pheasants. Thick cover, swamps, open fields etc.
I do some waterfowl also, Geese, wood ducks etc.
Most of my waterfowl hunting is from blinds as I am not a fan of boats.

I have done this successfully for about 30 years or so with Labs and some other breeds.

The Griffon would be a new breed for me.

Have the guys who have owned Griffs run into issues crating your dogs while away at work or running errands? I have heard mixed opinions, some say they are horrible if left alone, some say they have not had issues. I plan to spend a lot of time with the dog but obviously there would be times when the dog would be left at home. I am interested to hear how your Griffs handled this.

Thanks for all of the help guys!

I haven't had a problem crating any of my dogs, even those I picked up as adults. I crate my dogs whenever they are in the vehicle so they need to be comfortable being crated. Make it pleasant for the pup to be in the crate and you will have no problems.

Love me a lab any day but since having this one haven’t felt handicapped.

One more

Stonyridge lines?

Good photos, great looking dogs.

Good looking dog Mbogo. I have a bias for them lol.

Greenomics,
He’s a Drahthaar from Mark Heuer’s kennel (Vom Heuerhaus). 30338 has a litter mate to him.

Just got this little girl back in August. She just turned six months old. Big things for her if she does well with testing next year

Sweet looking pair of dogs there. Looks like the pup is a fast learner.

Kurt,
She’s been a blast. Only drawback is now I have to keep an eye on two dogs instead of just Hank😁


Btw, how’s Harvey working out?

great looking dogs guys!

Harv is a great dog and simply due to my schedule hasn't had the bird work he deserves. His first year, KS bird numbers were off but he got into quite a few pheasant and bobwhites. A few ducks in Nebraska. Last year we came down with covid in mid Nov and I only birdhunted 1 day. That stuff was rough on me.

This year I drew a sheep tag and some good deer tags. So the poor guy has only hunted 3.5 days so far this year. Hope to get some more trips in.


Enjoyed your pics, you guys are lighting them up!

Sorry to hear about your bout with the “vid”. Glad to hear you survived at least. I saw your ram and deer in the other forums. That’s awesome. Good to hear about your dog too. I talked to Mark at the Armbruster a couple of months ago and looks like he had another litter this year as well. He said he was going to try and get updated on the J litter and see how they were faring. I’m going to try and run this pup at Nunn again this spring for her VJP.

That pup should do really fine with her VJP. Nice to run them in that after a hunting season. Makes it really easy I think. Good luck with the rest of your season.

Grifs need to have a job....their mind is most always going and are not just a couch dog. I believe their nose is second to none. They are opinionated and ours will squint at you to let you know she doesn't agree with you. They have an excellent build and stature as well as strength. Really investigate your breeder....we did and were still really screwed by him. He's in Choteau, MT by the way. As far as a Lab, I have owned and trained four. The Labs I buy are not your typical Modern "American" Labs.....which means that they are not "Collar" dogs. I don't use the collar as I have not been trained in it's use and am not a professional trainer. My dog now is 5 years old and very athletic build at about 65#. Very "Kind" and "Cognitive" eyes, is soft but eager, is a listener. I was told by a man, that made his living with Labradors since the late 1940's, the best training opportunities come about while hunting and you need to seize the moment. He believed that this was where most people goof up. I agree-you absolutely need to take the time to train to the situation while hunting. This really helps strengthen you relationship and finishes your dog. THe photo is my dog, Buddy, a couple weeks ago. .....he's watching birds working as I screw around for a photo. We also do a lot of Grouse and Pheasant hunting .

Thanks for the information Mauserfan. It sounds like our labs have a similar build and drive

you should name the guy....no sense anybody else getting screwed over.....also it will not cast doubt on anybody that isnt him....bob

great looking griff
You have to get your dog on as many wild birds, ducks as possible the first few years of its life. Thats a good point regarding hunting and training

The first few years up to 3 or 4 griffs are very energetic. and can be a handful. Need a round an hour of good exercise a day. If you're not an experienced do owner Id go with a lab

I went through the same decision making about 10 years ago. I had always had pointers and GSP's. I ended up buying a Chessie.
BAD decision! Lol. Actually, once I figured her out, I loved that dog and hunted her often. I really missed having a pointer. She died, way too young do to a really bad accident on the farm. My Father has 2 - 1 year old GSP's that I do most of the work with. Great dogs! But they are full bore GSP. I really think that when I personally am ready to pull the trigger on a new dog, It will be a WPG. I think they seem to be what I've been after for a long time, I just didn't know it.

Sorry to hear about your dogs accident. it's never easy losing a dog.

My buddy had two Chessies when we were younger. Interesting and determined breed, I never got to hunt over them but I'm pretty sure they would have been fearless and dedicated in the field.

Talked with a WPG breeder that I have been on the waiting list with. Female due begining of Jan. so depends on how many pups and what gender (luckily dogs only have 2). Should hear sometime soon if I make the cut. If this one doesn't work out have a pudelpointer breeder I also talked with the past year but no buns in the oven yet that I know of.

mauser...would you name the guy to stay away from....bob

I wish I could remember Bob. I did not register our dog so I don't have a file on her. He ran his registration through someone in California, is about all I can remember. We bought our pup in 2011. Hope this helps. Darrel

Buy Both


My Brittany's previous owner had him for a year before he passed. He also had a beautiful lab. His Widow brought them both to a pound . I had to decide between one of them and chose the Brittany. I wish back then I had the finances to get both of them.