« | »

Let’s Get to the Point… of Pointing Labs

I feel like the walls are squeezing in on me, the ceiling is getting shorter and sweat is beginning to form at the top of my brow. If I don’t come clean about what’s going on I may not make it to October 16th… Ok, here we go: I’m the proud owner of a…P-…P-…Pointing Labrador Retriever. Whew! Now I feel like I can actually breathe again.

If you’ve read my blog before, you’ve stumbled across thoughts pertaining to my new puppy, Beau. However, up until this point I haven’t truly revealed the fact that she’s a “pointing Lab.” Seeing as how I’m conditioned to put “pointing Lab” in quotes, it should be no surprise that it took me this long to let the proverbial rooster out of the bag.

Not to get too analytical, or “Freudish,” on the subject of owning a pointing lab (I’m much more of a Pavlov person anyway), I can’t figure out why I felt the need to keep this a secret in some circles. Undoubtedly, there are purists that will shun me and claim I’m taking a dog that has had certain genes ignored just to bring out other traits, just as there are people who claim all retrievers are flushers – end of story. Well, why is it that way? Every breed of canine we’re familiar with is the direct result of breeding for certain genetic traits – why does this suddenly need to end now that we’re in the 21st century?

I hunt for ducks, geese and of course, pheasant, A LOT. I wanted a dog that could transition seamlessly from the duck marsh in the morning to the fields in the afternoon. Sure, there are plenty of versatile dogs out there, but growing up in a Lab family meant my heart was already loyal to one breed. Enter stage left: the pointing Lab. Able to point pheasants (or as some claim “stutter step”), retrieve ducks and not wimp out on cold mornings, this is the perfect dog for me and I don’t care what some Lab purists say about it.

Moral of the story? Who cares what’s out in the field with you.  If you’re lucky enough to have a four legged friend by your side, then you understand that it doesn’t matter the breed, age or color. What matters is that you’re blessed enough to be out in the field with your best friend every chance you get (although, it doesn’t hurt to have a pointing Lab make a few GSP owners’ mouths drop too – ok, I had to throw one jab in there).

Beau pointing a pheasant at 6.5 Months old

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 and is filed under Pheasants Forever. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “Let’s Get to the Point… of Pointing Labs”

|
  1. Neil says:
    September 6, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    Great story! I had no qualms ‘bragging’ that my yellow lab Ellie could point. It was the greatest feeling watching her lock up and a rooster burst into the air after allowing me to get into a position to make a shot. She got a treat after the retrieve.

  2. Joe Fowler says:
    September 7, 2010 at 1:48 pm

    I’ve been trying to do things in reverse for last two years, trying to get my GSP to retrieve ducks and geese, he just started doing it last year. But this sounds great, love labs also so where do you get these or do you have to train them to do this?

  3. Andrew says:
    September 7, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Joe,

    There are a good number of reputable pointing Lab kennels located all throughout the country. Personally, I picked Beau up from Hunters Point Kennel out of Marshalltown, IA (www.pointing-lab.com) and she is being trained by Jim Umphrey of Spring Creek Kennels (http://www.springcreekkennels.com/Spring_Creek_Kennels/Pointing_Labradors.html ).

  4. Gene says:
    September 7, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    Check out http://www.americanpointinglabs.com. I have (2) pointinglabs and they are great!

  5. Dennis lynch says:
    September 7, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    I have a pointing lab
    I’m a believer

    Anyone have a pheasant forecast fornsouth west Iowa shennendoah in particlula
    Heading there last of November
    Any help ouy there?
    Dennis lyn h

  6. Scott says:
    September 7, 2010 at 9:42 pm

    We operate a pheasant hunting guide service in SD and have ran strictly pointing labs for 17 years. For what we do they are perfect.

  7. Andrew says:
    September 8, 2010 at 8:33 am

    Dennis,

    Our annual state specific pheasant hunting forecast comes out on the 9th (tomorrow). Make sure you sign up to receive it here:

    http://pheasantsforever.org/page/1/forecastdrawing.jsp

  8. Bill Giles says:
    September 10, 2010 at 10:35 am

    I own a pointing yellow. There is no better gun dog in my opinion.

  9. J Murray says:
    September 20, 2010 at 8:46 pm

    I’ve had two. The better one came from Almabottom Kennels in Wisconsin. We hunted brds from Alaska to SD, OR, NV, AZ and NM and worked birds in many other states and Canadian provinces. He was SWSF, worked at ranges from in close to 350 – 400 yards and held birds as long as necessary.

  10. Kevin says:
    June 27, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    I have to agree with Bill. Double barrel gun dogs in Utah turns out some great pointing labs. http://doublebarrelgundogs.com/

|

Leave a Reply