HEy Guys,

MErry Christmas to all. This year has been an interesting one for myself and I kickmyself for not checking up with everyone and for letting my check ups on the site go by the wayside. Anyways I have finally been blessed with a Job that allows me to be at home more often and less travel on the road. After much deliberation I have decided to get a dog. I have always wanted one and to add a companion on my hunts is something that I know will take time and effort but will be very rewarding. I had thought about a lab, however they can be big and sometimes tough to travel with. I love them and my brother just got one but It may not be for me. I have zeroed in on the Boykin Spaniel. I have been reading a lot about them and was wondering if any one can offer advice or point me in the direction of breeders who may have a litter coming up soon. I have been on the BSS web site and all It just seems hard to find breeders around here. I look forward to hearing all the great wisdom i know is out there and can't wait till the annual shindig this year. Thank you all and have a wonderful Christmas

Joshua

Buy a lab puppy that is not from a hot" line of field trial dogs. Buy one from a litter of hunting labs where you can actaully see the dam and sire work in hte field if possible. labs bred fro field trials are generally pretty high strung dogs, and it is harder for a amateur trainer or handler to get them settled dwon enough to be good companions for the typical duck hunting situation. Take the dog everywhere you can with you as a puppy and socialization makes for great dogs in the field IMO. I have had dogs that won amateur trials that were great field dogs too, but they were high maintenance. mkae sure the lab has good hip genetics and good eye genetics. Black ones are hard to beat ,although my best dog was a yellow lab; I trained that dog when I had no children and had a lot of time to spend with the trainin of the dog. If time is an issue, go with a black one. . soemtimes the yellow dogs and brown dogs are harder to get trained well..those the the recessive gene colors in hte tradional black lab lines.. and you do not se a lot of them winning many trials. Get it interested in chasing things and bringing them to you at 3months to six months ..then Ten mimutes a d ay fro six months old to nine months old on basic obedience and you can have a dog that wil suit you I suspect...tach it simple commands and enforce them (not with an ecolar, but with a simple NO and correction and repetition till the dog does it rught every time. I am talking simple come, sit , stay --rest of it take care of itself. These are my opinions...good luck

Rusty1030,
Take a look at my response to "Call1in's" post below from Monday - WTB AKC Lab Pup. The website http://www.gundogbreeders.com/ is a good place to search for breeders of both Boykins and Labs. Also the guys on here http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/index.php can offer good advice and direction on what kind of dog is right for you. Hope this helps.

you can't go wrong with a boykin from a good blood line! just make sure both parents have had their eye's and hips checked! I have 2 and they are the most loving dogs i've ever owned. I have hunted mine for everything from waterfowl & dove in sc to pheasnt in south dakota. I also run mine in HRC hunt tests. I know that there are some guys up in your area that have and breed boykins, i just can't remember the name of their kennels right now.