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horse will be there at the end of the day. Fine double guns
are lighter than many automatics, in addition, they are not only
more beautiful but there are some very well thought out design
characteristics that have to do with eye/hand coordination that
makes them easier to naturally shoot well.
In summary, the old line that says, "It's not the size of
the dog in the hunt, but it's the size of the hunt in the dog,"
seems to contain more than a grain of truth. As Mr. Alexander
correctly points out, size is only one factor in the quality
of a hunting dog. Unfortunately, as average hunters, most of
us do not get the opportunity to own a great number of bird dogs
over our hunting career. Even the most active hunters and dog
owners among us will see only a small fraction of the dogs that
a major trainer and kennel operator will encounter. As a result,
we tend to get stuck in ruts. If our best dogs have been males,
our limited experience can easily allow us to become convinced
that male dogs are the best. Similarly, if our best dogs have
always been German Shorthairs, for example, then we can easily
convince ourselves that GSP's are the best dogs for everybody.
The same thing then happens to us with dog sizes. If we have
had good luck with smaller dogs, then we conclude that small
dogs are the way to go. If our large dogs have been great then
we become convinced that large are always great.
What we really should do is learn more about the qualities and
characteristics of the various breeds of hunting dogs. We may
be doing our hunting with the canine equivalent of a bus when
what we really could use, but don't know it, is a canine sports
car. Working with a pro trainer and kennel that has a lot of
dogs of various breeds can help. Unfortunately, this process
is not without some risks. Not every dog will suit us and we
may end up with some false starts and wrong turns along the way.
However, in the end we'll learn a lot more about our four legged
hunting companions and may find a new one that really fits ours
hunting style regardless of the size of the dog.
Note: For information on DeCoverly Kennels contact Mr. Ken Alexander
at RR 1, Box1316, Factoryville, PA 1841, (570)-378-3357.
Robert I. Egbert hails from Wichita, KS
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