Wirehair

Jim C. · Post by **Jim C.** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:02 pm

EIGHTBORE. I noticed you have a wirehair. I've had one for about a month. Any tips or advice you might offer will be greatly appreciated. He's a 3 1/2 year old that the owner could no longer excercise due to losing 1/2 his foot to diabetes. Are they all crazy??? What a neat loveable animal. I can't wait to get him out for quail/pheasant. I've got an older shorthair who can no longer hunt, and had one a number of years ago, who was a real winner. A short story. In 1970, "COL Ed", my boss walked into my office and dropped a New York Times newspaper clipping, about the Drathaar, on my desk, and said "Cantwell, that's the kind of dog you should get." I had a shorthair at the time. Five years later, my lady friend ordered one for me from Kansas. When it arrived in NJ, it had kennel cough and the vet suggested we return it, which we did. Now finally almost 40 years later , I took my boss' advice and got a wirehair. A wirehair and a side X side, can one man ask for more??? Oh yes. a wife that approves of both, which I also have. LOL. Jim..

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:34 pm

I don't have any advice except to suggest that you show your Ugly Dog what water is all about. They are not just dry land dogs, many take to water like a Labrador. They are some bird dog.

Jim C. · Post by **Jim C.** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:23 pm

Eightbore. The gent I got him from had only used him for Duck hunting, and said he retrieved very well in water. Not much on Ducks, more a fair weather hunter, quail, pheasant, grouse and turkey. Emphasis on turkey. Regards, Jim...

wburns · Post by **wburns** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:56 pm

Congrats. I have a wirehair as well. Mine will be 4 years old this summer. She is a great dog. They like to work and run a lot as you will probably find out

. They are very intelligent and a lot of fun.
Here is Daisy. Post a pic if you get a chance.

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:06 am

If you successfully down a turkey over the new pup, I would like to see a picture or video of the retrieve. The Wirehair is the only pointing breed that I can think of that could handle a stylish turkey retrieve.

Jim C. · Post by **Jim C.** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:08 pm

Eightbore, you are too funny. ""a stylish turkey retrieve." LMAO. Hell, I've known GUYS who couldn't make a "stylish turkey retrieve." A short true story. In the 60's my buddy and I needed some pheasant shooting to tide us through the winter. Had a private preserve in Lambertville, NJ we would go to, when the regular season was over. One of the owners told us this story. Seemed another customer wanted to shoot his own Thanksgiving day turkey. Could they get him one. Well, they knew a guy in PA who could trap one and supply it to the preserve. The deal was to rock the turkey to sleep, plant him in a field and let the guy and his pointer go find, flush and shoot the bird. The owners evidently told everyone they knew of this plan. On the day of reckoning the assigned field was lined with spectators. The tom was rocked, etc, the guy and his pointer were shown to the field and went about the normal hunting. Seems the dog got pretty close and the tom woke up and took off about 5 feet in front of the dog. The turkey must have looked like a B29 to the dog. The dog yelped and did a 180 and hightailed it between his masters legs. The guy shot and suceeded in breaking a wing. The dog by now was 200 yards away, under the car in the barnyard. The guy chased the tom, through one hedgerow after another, and back again with the fan club yelling instructions as to where the turkey had run. Eventially he killed the bird, by which time the entire fan club was rolling on the ground holding their respective sides in laughter. That is a true story. So...... I guess I wouldn't be the first to try a "stylish turkey retrieve." LOL Jim C..

Jim C. · Post by **Jim C.** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:42 pm

WBURNS. What a good looking animal. And your photography is spectacular. I enclose a poor photo of Fritz. He is similar in color to Daisy, with the exception of no brown patch on rump and his tail is all brown. Makes an interesting picture. Brown hair, head and tail and the white whispies in between. I'll get a better photo, if we ever have the sun out again, and post it. They sure are fun animals to have. Sorry I waited so long... Jim
http://www.photobucket.com/Jimcntwll/fritz.gif
Don't know what I'm doing wrong, but this will take you to Fritz. When it opens click on thumbnail and will show full size.

wburns · Post by **wburns** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:51 pm

Jim, that Fritz of yours is a sharp looking dog. Thanks for the complement on the photo. Look forward to more photos and stories of Fritz.

birdawg · Post by **birdawg** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:10 am

Here is one of the hunting dogs I have been working with this past month.
She hunts hard but is known to be a little hard mouthed.

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:55 am

Birdawg, you think your pup is hardmouthed, take a look at what Jim C.'s Fritz did to that quail in the photobucket picture.

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:59 am

My Wirehair, Eva, went in on command to retrieve her first quail when she was a pup. She came back on command but we never saw a feather from the quail. She had ingested it in one chewless gulp. That's the last time she ever did it.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:07 am

i am looking at these wirehair breed for my next bird dog ,how do u guys find them to be with there hair for shedding?

birdawg · Post by **birdawg** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:10 am

Bill,
How did you stop it?

This one tried to take the elk whole but the rest of the pack had other ideas even if she was the alpha female.

wburns · Post by **wburns** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:47 pm

Dragon, mine sheds very little and the hair is coarse so it does not stick to everything like my labs hair does. What little hair she does shed cleans up easily. For an indoor dog they are great. I highly recommend one. Mine is good for waterfowl as well as upland hunting.

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:58 pm

Eva is in non typical coat, short black and white hair about the length of the hair on an English Pointer but coarser. She sheds but it is not bad. No burrs in the field.