GWP or DD??

[goosedowner]

Thinking about getting a new dog in the next year and I want to make sure I make the right decision on which breed to get..After years of raising and hunting labs I bought a Braque but now after 4 years I realized how much I missed duck hunting so my next dog needs to be A duel purpose dog. I want a close working dog that can retrieve ducks in cold weather. Right now I'm considering a GWP or a DD. We live on a 72 acre farm so I have plenty of room for exerciseing and training.
Any thoughts on these dogs or maybe another breed would be appreciated.

[Misskiwi67]

Sounds like a great choice to me, but I’m slightly biased.

You can’t really go wrong with a DD, look for dogs with strong duck search and marking abilities.

Several good GWP kennels too, but beware many are producing g soft coats and primarily upland skill sets.

[flitecontrol]

I've had GWP and DD. Not a whole lot of difference IMO, with the DD possibly having a stronger prey drive, more independence, and less cooperation. As to close working, I had one DD that really ranged out, which was fine in open country, but I hardly ever saw him in the woodcock thickets. In two years, never killed a woodcock over him, but I spent a lot of time looking for him! But that dog was a great waterfowl retriever, and would out swim my son-in-law's Lab to get to a duck. My current DD is good at hunting woodcock, and loves to retrieve ducks. His predecessor, also a DD, didn't point and had a soft coat. But he did well retrieving ducks. Guy I sold him to was looking for a tracking dog, and he did well at that.

I'd look at the parents' test scores and those from previous litters (if any) when deciding on a pup. Find out what types of hunting the sire and dam are used for. Try to get a pup from dogs that hunt the same species you do.

[Drahthaar1108]

You have great advice already.
I am also partial to DD. some are close hunters, some range, some have great coats 10 /10 11/11 some have 7 /4 , look at their parents test & blood lines. Forrest

[JONOV]

Whichever direction you go in, get a dog from a breeder that hunts ducks.

Sounds simple, but some don't, or don't do it more than once or twice a season.

Make sure that whichever direction you go, you see the parents. AKC dogs seem to have a few more soft coated "10 Foot" coats. DD lines seem to throw a disproportionate amount of slicks. That's just my impression and by no means implies a statistical significance. NAVHDA breeders are probably a good way to look do...Schwarzwald or Thunderhills come to mind.

And ask around too...Its a rare dog that is man-sharp but a lot of dogs that might not be so good around other dogs, and no one knows it because the owner/handler is smart and proactive about it, and these dogs do well and I know some of them get bred.

[3drahthaars]

X2 for JONOV post.

Note that a tight coat may not have an undercoat necessary for waterfowl hunting.

Though attractive you don't want the DK with a beard look.

Temperament, temperament, temperament!!!

Lastly, look at midwestern kennels... probably hunt more and hunt real wild birds.... lots of kennels with kennel princesses that pass tests and are lucky to escape the run for 1 or 2 hunts a season.

Caveat emptor...

My $.02...

[ForestDump]

I’d personally go with another Lab.

[LongHammer]

They are the same breed. If you like a program to follow and tests to pass get a DD. If you just want a hunting dog to train yourself kill some birds over get a GWP or another Lab. I went the GWP route and I kill my fair share.

[Drahthaar1108]

Longhammer, you are wrong , they are NOT the same breed, GWP have not been bred to the standards of a DD.
Go to the VDGNA website and read the difference between the 2.
I am not knocking the GWP, just different breed of dog.
Also the DD is not the same dog that I had 38 years ago or 15 years far as that goes, breeders have bred a lot of the aggression out . Forrest

[jlw034]

Before this turns into a pissing match...

If you took ten NAVHDA bred GWPs and ten Drahts and lined them up, I do think you would visually see a difference. Demeanor is probably a toss up.

If you took all 20, and ran them through Utility testing, I think performance would be very even in actuality.

I've got a Draht, but there are several wirehair breeders that I would take a dog from in a second. (Bone point has really caught my eye).

On the whole, there is more similarities than differences.

[jlw034]

And regarding wirehair in cold water, my dog has a really nice coat, every judge has been impressed with it.

That being said, even with a vest on, she gets colder, faster than the labs we hunt with. A lab and chessie coat is just plain better suited to cold AND wet.

[ryanr]

They are the same breed. If you like a program to follow and tests to pass get a DD. If you just want a hunting dog to train yourself kill some birds over get a GWP or another Lab. I went the GWP route and I kill my fair share.

Huh? I'm not gonna argue that they're genetically the same (I have one of each) but obviously different registries but the issue I have with your statement is that DDs have a program to follow and tests to pass and somehow GWPs don't. Have you heard of NAVHDA? Because I've trained and tested both my Drahthaar and now my GWP in NAVHDA. With either "breed" you can choose to follow a program and testing system or not.

[ryanr]

They are the same breed. If you like a program to follow and tests to pass get a DD. If you just want a hunting dog to train yourself kill some birds over get a GWP or another Lab. I went the GWP route and I kill my fair share.

Huh? I'm not gonna argue that they're genetically the same (I have one of each) but obviously different registries but the issue I have with your statement is that DDs have a program to follow and tests to pass and somehow GWPs don't. Have you heard of NAVHDA? Because I've trained and tested both my Drahthaar and now my GWP in NAVHDA. With either "breed" you can choose to follow a program and testing system or not.

[Wilkey]

DD hands down.

[JONOV]

Longhammer, you are wrong , they are NOT the same breed, GWP have not been bred to the standards of a DD.
Go to the VDGNA website and read the difference between the 2.
I am not knocking the GWP, just different breed of dog.
Also the DD is not the same dog that I had 38 years ago or 15 years far as that goes, breeders have bred a lot of the aggression out . Forrest

How does that make it a different breed?

If I have a lab that’s bred from 8 generations of field champions compared to a lab that’s got generations of nothing, is it a different breed?