Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    Short answer is no, but it helps.  I had a Lab/Golden cross that was
    the best hunting dog I've ever seen.  He had a great nose, good
    retriever and was a breeze to train.  However, thats the exception
    rather then the rule.
    
     Jeff

         Don't let purchase price be a major factor in picking a
         hunting dog. $400 spread over the lifetime of the dog comes
         down to pennies a day. 
                                
         The odds of getting a decent performer out of a 
         pointer/retriever mix where only one parent is a hunter are 
         slim. Make a decision that you won't regret and buy a purebred 
         from proven hunting stock.

         Doug

    
    I agree with reply .1, as a boy there were many a mixed breed being
    used for rabbit and water fowl.  Point being that if one can identify
    the different breeds in a dog by reconizing traits etc., a hunting dog
    can be picked up at the Humane Society or the City Pound, and the cost
    is a lot cheaper.  I'm not attempting to take away from dogs that are
    specifically breed for hunting, but mixed breed dogs.  Well one doesn't
    know what they are really getting till the dog reaches 6 mos to one
    year old.  
    
    Leonard

Its like the old Mercedes dealer line: "If you have to ask the price, you
can't afford it."  When you compare the $300 to $500 price of a dog to 
the expected lifetime costs of maintaining the (any) dog, you will see
that the initial cost is nothing.  Some things you need to consider budgeting
for are:

  Crate - Worth its weight in gold      $50 to $100

  Food  - Depends on size of dog        $100 to $200 per year

  Training (or books, videos, supplies
  to do it yourself)                    $300 to $600

  Beeper collar                         $100 to $150

  Vet Bills and medicine                $200 or more per year

  Flea sprays, bombs, etc.              $50 per year

  6 pr shoes (probably the kids pumps)  $600                        

  Sofa or carpet replacement            $1,200

Assuming an 8 year life, the lifetime maintenance cost comes to
somewhere around $6,000.  Please don't tell my wife - she hasn't
added it up yet.

Seriously, I haven't experienced all of these costs, but many of them are
possible.

  

    I agree with repl .1
    
    The best hunting dog I have ever had is the one I have now. He is from
    a black Lab father and St. Bernard mother. He continuously outperforms
    all the different dogs my brothers have and they paid big bucks for
    theirs. mine was FREE, it seems mixed breeds don't sell as well as
    purebreds.
    As a kid I had an old stray (hound and ?????) that I taught to hunt.
    He turned out great!! He would hunt whatever and however I started on
    that particular day.
    
    IMHO  Too much emphasis is put on bloodline. True it takes some
    inherited ability in the dog, but I don't believe that just because a
    dog comes from hunting stock and costs $500 that he will be a good
    hunter.
    
    case in point.... My brother's dog cost $400 and required a trip from
    south Texas to Ill. to get. She does not hunt as well or as long as my
    crossbred lab does. Maybe I have just been lucky but I don't think I
    will ever find a better dog at any price and "I" certainly will never
    pay $400 for a hunting dog. My dogs have to be my friend, hunting
    companion, pet and homestead guard. I think a purebred is excellent at
    maybe ONE thing while a crossbreed may "GOOD ENOUGH" and a whole lot of
    things.
    
    just my $.02 worth,
    Harvey
    

    There are no guarantees here.  Paying big bucks for a dog won't
    guarantee that it will be a good hunter, and getting a mutt out of
    a shelter doesn't guarantee that it won't hunt.  It's all a matter of
    probability and odds.  If I were picking a hunting companion for the
    next decade or so, I would be doing everything possible to tilt the
    odds in my favor.  Breeding will do that to some degree.  My guess is
    that the background of both parents would have more of an effect than
    being a 'cross-breed', but I'm no expert in that department.
    
    I agree that the initial purchase price is a drop in the bucket
    compared to everything else.  
    
    Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
    
    Mark,
    

      Mark hit the nail on the head.  As the author of .1 I don't want to
    give people the wrong impression.  The cross that I had was by far the
    exception to the rule.  Most crosses make lousy hunting dogs. The whole
    idea of getting a dog from good lines is to improve on the odds that 
    that particular dog will turn out like you want.  By going with a cross
    from unknown bloodlines you are eliminating any influence you might
    have had in the dogs genetic make up.  If your looking for a good
    hunting dog, pick a purebred from good _hunting_ lines.  You'll
    increase your odds imeasurably.
    
      Jeff

    Coincidentally I was reading a book on Gun Dogs last night after
    reading your base note.  The book is "Training your own GUN DOG" by
    Chuck Goodall, in the book he suggests that you go back 5 generations
    and check the hunting and field records of the ancestors of a potential
    dog/pup.  He also mentioned that for some breeds they are becoming two
    sub-breeds one bred for "SHOW" and one bred for "FIELD" or hunting.  It
    is not that a dog bred for show would not make a good gun dog just
    that, its ancestors have not been tried so its potential is unknown. 
    He states that the reason for going back 5 generations is that some
    times good gun skills skip a generation.
    
    I wish I had read this book before I bought my Beagle in July, he is a
    great dog, best friend I ever had, great personality, friendly and gets
    along beautifully with other dogs, when I go hunting you would think he
    was running for mayor, everybody that sees him loves him. (What do you
    expect, I am a proud parent).  He comes from a very reputable breeder,
    and has impressive blood lines; the only problem is they are show lines
    not gun lines.  He is not a bad hunter and is still young, but I have
    had dogs that have taught me to hunt.  He cost me as much as a good
    gunner would have, just my lack of knowledge of the "breed split" got
    me.  He exibits some good hunting skills but it will take a lot of time
    for me to cultivate them.
    
    Go with a known quantity, or as well known as possible, play the odds
    don't go for the long shot.  When I was young we had a massive 150
    pound German Shepherd that could put up quail and drive rabbits with
    the best of them but he learned from our Springer and our old Beagle.
    In those days Iguess most dogs were bred for the gun.
    
    Good luck in your choice,
    
    Paul