Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Smallest Pointing Breed

I've been without a dog for too long. Am looking for a small point breed that hunts relatively close and makes for a good house dog.

What is the smallest breed of pointing dog?

I very much liked my GWP runt that only weighed 35 pounds. Second one was 50+ and bigger than I desire.

Suggestions?

Brittany Spaniels are a smaller pointing breed - had one when I was a kid that was a heck of a good dog. One of the most loyal dogs I've ever seen - I believe the French Brittanys are smaller than their American cousins. Might check into it - I'm more of a flusher/retriever guy so take my info for what it's worth.

+1 on the Brittany...females are of course smaller...mine was about average at 35 pounds...
They make wonderful pet dogs for the other 98% of the year when you arent hunting....

Ingwe

No question. Brits ARE the smallest pointing breed. Why do you want a pointer that hunts close? The entire point of a pointing dog is to cover as much ground as possible and find birds, then hold them until you catch up. Brits are also great house dogs. Ours sleeps in bed with us, but she doesn't really hunt "close" Shes perfectly happy 50-200 yards out when Im on foot. 300-400 yards off horse. She knows the difference.

my BIL has a welsh spaniel,he is about 25 lbs,nice dog,hard worker.

On Brits, check the breeding. Some are bred along field trials lines and they run far and wide. They can tend to be a little hyper. I have a cousin who breeds and loves these and cautioned me to look elsewhere for a companion/foot hunter.

Others are bred to be companions and are wonderful in that role but may not be very effective hunters. (Had one like that, he was such a great buddy I didn't care that he was no hunting star, after all that's just a few weeks of the year.) Others are bred for companionship AND foot hunting, planning on one next.

If you're interested in adopting a Brit, check here. American Brittany Rescue

I don't know but was told by one who does that French Brits can be a hand full. Just a caution, do your research.

BTW, my little rat terrier points, does that count for small? Usually at the scent a small bird leaves. She enjoys running the fields with other dogs if the cover isn't too heavy, but you can see that she's not sure why.

Thanks for all the inputs. I'll look more closely at Brits since they appear to be the odds on favority here. I have never been impressed by the Brits I've hunted over but have to say neither were well trained. Also am considering a small munsterlander.

Jetjockey - I consider 50-200 yards a close working dog. My english pointer seemed to always be 400-1000 yards away and it got to be a bit much covering that much distance in Idaho rough country to reach the point. The Pointer was a magnificent runner and the most stylish pointer but she tolerated me and I want a dog that is part of the family.

Since you�ve had and liked GWPs� some of your local Drahthaar breeders are producing smaller dogs like you describe for day after day hunting on rough ground (chukar dogs). Call around and talk with them about what you are looking for and see if they can help. You�ll be looking at a female for a small one. My Draht is not small at ~70lbs but he is a mo-chine in the field and a lap dog in the home albeit a big lap dog.
http://www.vdd-gna.org/breeders_gna.php

Jake is a GSP, his parents were betwen 40 and 55 pounds and he seems to be settling in the 55 pound range....cuddly bastard and is my shadow 24/7 if i let him be, sits at the bathroom door and whines while i take a shower which my wife thinks is hilarious.....

I am on my second Brit and really like the breed. My first one, Cody, was the dog I will compare all other dogs I ever come across to....and I doubt any will measure up. The one I have now is just a good dog. Doesnt have quite the drive the first one had and doesnt retrieve as well, but still a pleasure to own and hunt over.

Why would you want to have a pointer keep close?? Well, you havent hunted many wild pheasants in the upper midwest obviously. If you are into all the "steady to wing and shot" crap and dont shoot any bird that isnt properly pointed and backed up and asks persmission before it flushes, then I guess you could get a wild ranging dog. But from a pure hunting standpoint, you have to have a dog that stays close or you are going to bust a LOT of birds unneccesarily. Wild birds, particularly late season wild birds, just wont hold for a point and will not tolerate anybody or any dog getting close to them before they head for the hills. Opening day birds and game farm birds will however.

I have an 18 month old Brittany that weighs about 44lbs. He was the largest out of his litter. To say he is a great dog would be an understatement. He is just as at home sitting in my daughter's lap as he is out in the field.

He is also something to watch out in the field. He has been trained to be the best of both worlds. If we are on foot he hunts at about 60 yards, which for me is perfect. Once we pull out horses at a field trial and give him the command to hunt out there, he is out 600-700 yards before I know it.

He is my first pointing dog and I could not be more happy with him. As I type this he is at my feet chewing on a bone.

I will say though for the first year he was pretty anxious in the house. Than one day out of nowhere he just decided to lay down with my daughter and he has been content inside since.

French britt is the smallest and they are calmer and hunt closer than the american variety.

There are a LOT of absolutes in that statement, and I disagree absolutely with most of them.

Bottom line, I want my dogs to range out. I want them to work a bird. When we hunted North Dakota every year, the guys with flushers and close pointers hunted all day, while we were done at noon, inevitably.

Sure, any dog will end up busting birds. The farther he ranges, the more he will bust. BUT he will FIND far more birds, too, and the odds of bringing a bird down cleanly over a point is far larger than the odds of bringing one down over a flush. I'll take the pointed bird, if at all possible.

As far as a dog not being able to pin a late season bird? Nah, it just takes a dog with both the ability and the experience. JMO, Dutch.

Maybe on late season pressured birds, but other then that, a well trained dog can pin wild birds down all day long. I grew up hunting wild pheasants in WA state in the wheat fields, so I know a little bit about wild pheasants. My pup also spent all summer in S. Dakota chasing wild pheasants and sharpies. But since you call "steady to wing and shot" crap, then Im guessing youve never hunted over a well trained pointing dog. Good dogs learn not to "bust" birds. They will stop the point far enough back and allow you to catch up. If the birds have walked, then you simply release the dog and allow them to relocate. It may take once or twice, but you will be in gun range and have no problem killing wild birds. In your scenerio, your better off with a flushing dog. Why use a pointer if you dont let them point? Here's a link to a really bad video I took with my camera in S. Dakota this year. She had been on the birds for a hundred yards and pointed them. That gave us time to move up and let her relocate. You can see my pup trailing the birds and trusting her nose. Then you can see her run up and pin the birds. Only 1 bird flushes on her before we move up and they start jumping everywhere. My pup was only 14 months old when she was doing this, but she had been on wild bird all summer long. This is also why training, and having a dog broke to wing, shot, and flush is so important. If a dog starts chasing flushed birds, then your screwed. Good dogs won't do that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eNwQaT7xnU




Boise. You will love a Brit. If your hunting Idaho Id look into a big running brit from field trial lines. A dog that runs 400-1000 yards is what most guys call an All Age dog in the FT world. Its not easy to find a dog that runs that big. A Brit that runs 50-200 off foot is pretty easy to find. Thats about the range of my pup off foot, she will go ALOT bigger off horseback. Shes only 17 months old and she know the difference. I wouldn't worry about people telling you that field trial bred dogs are wild and high strung. My pups Sire was the American Brittany Club Amateur All Age National runner up a couple years ago and he won the ABC pheasant classic this year. He has tons of wins on the FT circuit and hes a multiple Field Champion/Amateur Field Champion. According to the trainer my pup is the female version of her daddy. She already has her derby points and is running Adult Gun Dog stakes next weekend. All before she turns 1 1/2. She is a complete sweetheart in the house. Ya, shes got a ton of energy, but Ive never seen a brit that didn't. If you leave them penned up all day and don't excercise them they will be a handfull, but I think thats the same with all hunting dogs. She sleeps in the bed with us and has her spot on the couch. My wife was worried about Brits because a bunch of her patients told her how high strung and crazy they were. My wife now calls MY brit HER brit... Looks like I lost my hunting dog...

Our 3 year old French Britt ranges anywheres from just beyond gun range in the ruffed grouse woods and heavy cattail marshes for pheasants, to a couple hundred yards in the short grass sharptails hang out in. I'd say in average pheasant type covers its around 100 yards. Closer than alot of pointing dogs but not near as close as a flusher. A dog with experience on wild birds will have no problem pointing and relocating until a rooster is pinned down even if it takes you 5 or more minutes to get there. A dog that wasn't good enough to know when to point and hold a rooster pheasant would be useless for pressured ruffed grouse. They are way more jumpy than pheasants.

My free Brittany sure can hunt, and without much training on my part. She loves to retrieve ducks, and with what little training I knew how to give her, she is a great pheasant dog as well.

Just let a pointer hunt for you--they'll bump a few but find a bunch more.

My wife insists that I mention a long-haired Brittany is a "burr nightmare" after the hunt. Sometimes it takes an hour to clean her up with a mat breaker, brush, and scissors.

Yep...mine used to get what we called the "Sport Cut" just before season...all fringe/ "feathers" cut off.... it helped a LOT...
Ingwe

The cockle burr problem is big in the areas I hunt and one of the reasons I selected GWPs after running a springer for the first years. I have been very happy with my GWP and will most likey buy a fourth one but am open to a smaller breed. My last female GWP was sired by the National Chukar champion (Ray Caulkin's Cascade Kennels) and would stay within view 90% of the time so the distance she ranged varied greatly. As we both got older and my desired to kill birds reduced, we both enjoyed hunting closer but I'm guessing that was mainly due from mbe shifting from exclusively hunting chukars to quail and pheasants.

I can't criticize Britts, as I have no experience with them, but I want to put in my .02, in my typical knee-jerk fashion, for my personal favorite gundog, the W P Griffon. A female would be the size you're looking for, are great hunting/pointing dogs, and family dogs extraordinaire. You'll likely pay a bit more for a Griff than for a Britt, but you almost CAN'T go wrong.

JMPO

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