Anyone have any experience hunting with a Labradoodle?

[pamulli]

My wife and I would like to get a second dog and the idea of getting one with little shedding is very appealing however I'm also interested in a dog that I could train for occasional bird hunting. I know a lab is great for this and I know the poodle has this in it's history, but I don't think they have been bread for that for a very long time and I haven't heard of any breeders that take this into consideration when selecting the lab. Does anyone have any actual experience hunting with a labradoodle?

I'm also wondering how much the generational thing would factor in? Since an F1 would be half and half I would expect them to be better because of the amount of lab, but I'm not sure if there is any truth to that. F1B seems to be more common, but since it has more poodle I wasn't sure how well that would work with hunting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[mtd885]

Actually Poodles were the ORIGINAL water dog of German Ancestry ( original spelling, Pudel). They have exceptional noses for birding and are great hunting dogs. Our F1B Abby loves to retrieve and hunt for toys in the house. I'm hiding a Pheasant wing for her to find around the house with the hope of hunting Pheasant someday with her--she's taking to it quite well.

[Lucky Me]

I would say to go with a F1...the hair would be better with the sticker factor as burs in poodle type hair would be a nightmare!
Also look for field Lab lines, a bit hyper (the poodle in there should tone it down some) but tend to be more intelligent.
My Tuesday has field champion lines in her, we do not hunt but I feel guilty sometimes as I know she would be dynamite to hunt with. She has to settle with hikes in the woods and terrorizing the local wildlife.
There were 2 puppies in her litter that I know would be excellent hunters, The one family said that they do not hunt but their family does. I suspect that if he ever goes out with them he would impress them.
Just let the breeder know your intentions, if they are good breeders and watch their puppies, they will be able to pick a hunting puppy out for you.

[MaxandMe]

I'd have to agree with Luckyme

go with the F1....I have an F1 scruffy looking LD and must say weeds don't stick to him and the few burrs that do are easily hand picked or combed out due to his hair coat.
he also dries in under 30min, is a"pointer" and has a fairly soft mouth
he also trains quickly and easily.

the other type of hunting dog you may want to consider is the
Goldendoodle F1 also a 50/50mix ......i have 2 of them , they naturally retrieve, have very soft mouths, love to go off on a scent trail, also did not need to be taught to "drop it" they just drop it at your feet
but once again i'd go with a doodle with more of a hair coat.

Peanut...cream one in my picture...her fleece coat catches all sticks, weeds, then will matt a bit so she either has to be clipped down to 1in or her coat becomes a catch all and also takes HOURS to dry.
also peanut's coat for a F1 is unique and more like a f1b

i live on 6 acres with woods, weeds, grasses, creek size of stream etc
also we have friends that hunt...i and/or dave doesn't
and i must say the way peanut my GD is ..it almost makes me feel guilty at times she isn't a hunting dog

lastly, max sheds minimally i mean hardly at all
people who have dogs that shed laugh at us doodle parents when we say ours shed a little!


i say f1 LD or GD either way you can't go wrong
both retrievers and poodles are great hunting dogs and intelligent
they love having a task to do! but yes you must find out what kind of parents are being bred first

[Linz81]

Our F1 Lea is an amazing hunter! She absolutely LIVES for it! There is a rice field behind my mother's house and if we let her she would stay out there 24-7! They all like to go out there and chase and eat field rats YUCK! My husband also uses her as a duck retreiver. She has had no "formal training" my hubby just worked with her this past fall and was able to use her in the field and on guided hunts. He said if he had a quarter for everytime one of the hunters asked "Whats a Labradoodle?" he would be a rich man. She really impressed them! I will try and get some video of them hunting up their field mice and post it! It is quite entertaining!
Some dogs are born hunters/ retreivers.

[Jac]

My F1 Labradoodles have great instincts and find things well, they also have soft mouths, I am rather certain they would train well for hunting.
My F1 Goldendoodle comes from champion hunting stock and she is very focused and determined to hunt and "collect" things...there was a dog owner a while back that got Sammy specifically for hunting and she (Sammy) trained very well. Here is a link to one of her posts, maybe you can search for all of the posts or contact the owner for more info:
http://labradoodle-dogs.net/forums/view ... t=sam+hunt

[cocoandjane]

OK, I have zero experience with hunting....
but Coco's breeder hunts with his labs....
and while out helping another train a lab for hunting,
he took along one of his labradoodles.
She just sat there and watched the training session
with the labrador, who wasn't getting it too well.
At a lull in the action....the labradoodle went over
and retrieved, circled around into the heel position
and dropped the bird....after only WATCHING!!
The owner of the lab being trained decided to buy
the labradoodle and is now hunting with it.

True story. Smart dog.
Don't know if it was an F1, or an F1B though.

[pickles]

I have a 14 month old Labradoodle named Pickles, who is a weapon in the field. She has been trained to hunt since she was only 4 months old, and is one of the best field dogs I have ever seen. She has done over 80 retrieves this season, all of them to hand, and some of them were sensational (400 yard blind retrieves, etc). She has an amazing nose as well.

In my book, and in the eyes of the men I hunt with, the Labradoodle is a far superior hunting dog than a lab. Calmer, smarter, more easily trained and doesn't shed so she transitions to the home much more easily. She's a great swimmer to boot.

[happydoodles]

it is in the genes, our Doozle looooves to chase the chickens, so bird hunting will be no problem

[Nikkiey]

I believe the parents play a huge part in the hunting/retrieving aspect.
My dog Juneau is an F1 and neither of his parents worked a day in their life. They both were incredibly laid back and true couch potatoes. Now that being said, Juneau is anything BUT lazy, in fact he's so high energy we are trying to help him redirect that energy through agility. He also does NOT have a soft mouth. We've been playing the game "It's Your Choice" with him and yet after 5 months you still have to watch your fingers.

Juneau also has more of a lab coat than poodle. On most days he just looks like a lab with a bad fur day because he has the occasional chunk of fur that sticks in the opposite direction. However, when he's wet, he gets quite wavy with a mix of some wringlets in there too. We have never had an issue with things sticking in his fur, even when we bring him out to the cabin and he runs around in the woods

As for retrieving, yeah right. If it moves, he's going to get it and "kill it" and he's certainly NOT going to be bringing it back to you until he's done with it. (Again we're working on this by attaching a long lead to both the toy and to Juneau, but 5 months later we're still trying to coax him and having to reel him in.)

We got Juneau from an "oops" litter so it's not like we were getting him for the qualities that his parents displayed. So if hunting and retrieving are important to you, just make sure the parents show a natural desire to do both!