Would You Hunt With a Pink Gun?
Would you? Probably not, unless maybe it was the only one you had and the birds were daring you to get out of the truck and hunt.
How about pink brush pants? No? Well then, how about hunting with a poodle?
We know that technically poodles can hunt. But would anyone really hunt with one? And, if so, would it have Swarovski crystals on its collar?!
Okay, somewhat seriously, this topic came up as the result of a post by Bob St. Pierre of Pheasants Forever, and his column came by way a recent Gun Dog mag article on poodles. More on the standard poodle from Bob:
Still...can't...embrace it.... (PF photo)
> They are lean and muscular with boundless energy and great stamina.
> The standard poodle hunts as a flusher and retriever.
> Standard poodles can be successfully used to hunt waterfowl or upland.
> Although stereotyped as a trick dog, standard poodles are very smart and easy to train for hunting.
> A standard poodle’s coat doesn’t shed and is hypoallergenic.
> Hunters with poodles typically trim their dog’s coats down to one inch long all over for easier post-field grooming.
> In 1881, Germans bred the standard poodle with an English pointer to create the pointing breed known today as the Pudelpointer.
Bob writes that he has hunted over a poodle once and was “impressed by the dog’s natural ability, interest in birds, enthusiasm to retrieve and overall obedience. In fact, I know two Pheasants Forever colleagues with standard poodles as their hunting dogs.”
Really? Do those guys live as hermits – or do they make their dogs wear Lab costumes in the field?!
Yes, maybe a bit immature or close-minded, but the bottom line is: A poodle is a poodle. No getting around it. It’ll hunt just like a pink shotgun will shoot. But….
Category: Poodles
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I think thats cool. Went into a south Alabama beer joint one night, after a long day on the Coosa river kayaking wearing a pair of Patagonia “stand up shorts” a PINK polo shirt and “Alps” river sandals.Had a Miller High Life or two, played a game of pool, and not one sole said a darn word ! Just might look into gettin one of them there pink shotguns and poodle dogs.
We’ve had poodles in one form or another all my life. My mother’s a dog groomer in Tennessee, and we’ve always had a ‘practice dog’ for her to learn or keep her hand in, but the dog I remember the best was a black standard poodle we rescued off the side of the road. ‘Shadow’ was an 8 month old standard poodle that would point, picture perfect. I’d never thought of poodles as hunting dogs until her. She had an aneurism at 16 months, and I’ve been searching for her breeder for years now. Another thought – poodles are more like wolves than any other breed but huskies … and for something so big and fluffy, they have some seriously sharp teeth! ^_^
Standard Poodles were originally bred to hunt geese in Northern Germany and Russia. We hunted over a black standard for years and let me tell you if we missed one of ‘his’ ducks, we would get *the look*. We now have a female standard ready to train. She is not fluffy because we keep her clipped but she already has all she needs in raw hunting ability. They are breeding standard poodles for hunting now and they are winning field trials all over our region against goldens, labs and German shorthairs. Check them out especially on blind tracking.
I notice that no one above answered the question. My answer to Pink Gun and Poodle is YES….. If it was the last gun on earth and the last dog on earth:-)
I bought a black standard up in Colebrook NH back in April. I wanted a bird dog, fiance wanted low shed/low allergy dog… poodle was the result. My first choice was a large munsterlander, but…
We are both very raw. I’ve always had dogs, but never hunted over them, especially not birds. She has instincts and drive. But we go out all day and have fun. I was looking for a new, challenging experience and a deeper connection/partnership with my dog.
Flushed a few grouse, got a few geese and i killed one snowshoe hare. That was probably a mistake because she hasn’t looked at the cats the same way since being up close and personal with the rabbit…
My aunt had a standard poodle at college, untrained. When she brought it home in the summers, it would often go out into the woods, bring back a live grouse, set it on the lawn, and all gently enough for it to fly away!