Man walking spaniel gun dog in tweed waistcoat after shooting

Gun dogs (gundogs) or bird dogs are

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

s of

hunting dog A hunting dog is a Dog, canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different Dog type, types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, cur type dogs, and ...

s developed to assist

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

s in finding and retrieving

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

, typically various

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl ( Galliformes) and the waterfowl ( Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; toget ...

s that are shot down on the wing (in flight). The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and skills of hunting canines, but "gun dogs" refers to canines that are trained to work alongside a loud firearm while hunting or retrieving game. Gun dogs are divided into three main categories: pointers and retrievers, setters and spaniels, and water dogs.

Types

There are several breeds used as gundogs with varying instinctive skill sets for each one. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types:

retriever A retriever is a Dog type, type of gun dog that retrieves Game (hunting), game for a hunter. Generally gun dogs are divided into three major classifications: retrievers, flushing spaniels, and pointing breeds. Retrievers were bred primarily to ...

pointing breed Pointing dogs, sometimes called bird dogs, are a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name ''pointer'' comes from the dog's i ...

s, and

water dog A water dog is a type of gundog bred to flush and retrieve game from water. Water dogs are considered the progenitors of most modern retriever dog breeds. Description Water dogs are usually medium-sized, active dogs; their most distinctive f ...

List of gundog breeds

* Barbet *

Bracco Italiano The Bracco Italiano is an Italian dog breed, breed of pointing dog. History The first dog registered by the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana, Kennel Club Italiano, founded in 1882, was a Bracco Italiano. Early in 1949 a breed standar ...

Braque du Bourbonnais The Braque du Bourbonnais is a breed of gundog sometimes born with a short tail, with a coat ticked with liver, fawn, black, or white. Disappearance After World War II, the number of births decreased and the club became less active until it ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

Burgos Pointer The Burgos Pointer (), also called the Burgalese Pointer, is a breed of dog native to Spain. Originating from Castile, especially in the province of Burgos, this hardy breed is used for hunting and has some outstanding features for small game. ...

* Drentsche Patrijshond * Cesky Fousek * Corded Poodle *

German Longhaired Pointer The German Longhaired Pointer is a German list of dog breeds, breed of gundog. It is closely related to the other German pointer breeds, the German Shorthaired Pointer, the German Wirehaired Pointer and the Large Münsterländer. Description ...

German Shorthaired Pointer The German Shorthaired Pointer or is a German breed of continental pointing dog of Braque type. It originated in the nineteenth century in what is now Germany. It is of medium size, and is an all-purpose gun dog suitable for hunting and retrie ...

* German Spaniel *

German Wirehaired Pointer The German Wirehaired Pointer is a medium to large-sized Griffon (dog type), griffon type dog breed, breed of dog developed in the 19th century in Germany for versatile hunting. It became a leading gun dog in Germany in the later part of the 20th ...

* Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla *

Kooikerhondje The Kooikerhondje is a small spaniel-type dog breed of Dutch ancestry that was originally used as a working dog, particularly in a decoy to lure ducks. The breed dates back to the 16th century and makes frequent appearances in paintings from the D ...

Lagotto Romagnolo The Lagotto Romagnolo is an Italian breed of dog. It is a traditional breed of the formerly extensive marshlands of the Delta del Po, in the eastern part of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, where it was used as a gun dog, specifically as a wa ...

* Large Münsterländer * Pointer *

Portuguese Water Dog The Portuguese Water Dog originated from the Algarve, Algarve region of Portugal. From there the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, an ...

Portuguese Pointer The Portuguese Pointing Dog or is a Portuguese list of dog breeds, breed of pointer dog. It is one of several pointer (dog), pointing breeds and is mainly used in red-legged partridge hunting. History The first breed standard for the Perdig ...

Pudelpointer The Pudelpointer is a versatile hunting dog breed from Germany. It is a pointing breed that came from a cross between the standard poodle (pudel) and the Pointer (dog breed), English Pointer. Appearance The breed weighs between , stands at th ...

Chesapeake Bay Retriever The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a large dog breed, breed of dog belonging to the retriever, Gun dog, gundog, and sporting Breed Groups (dog), breed groups. The breed was developed in the United States Chesapeake Bay area during the 19th century. H ...

Curly Coated Retriever The Curly-coated Retriever (not always hyphenated, and often called the Curly for short) is a breed of dog originally bred in England for upland bird and waterfowl hunting. It is the tallest of the retrievers and is easily distinguishable by ...

Flat-Coated Retriever The Flat-coated Retriever is a gun dog breed originating from England. It was developed as a retriever both on land and in the water. Description Appearance The Flat-Coated Retriever breed standard calls for males to be tall at the withers, ...

* Golden Retriever *

Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a medium-sized gundog bred primarily for hunting. It is often referred to as a "toller". It is the smallest of the retrievers, and is often mistaken for a small Golden Retriever. Tollers are intelligent ...

* English Setter *

Gordon Setter The Gordon Setter is a Scottish large dog breed, breed of dog, a member of the setter family that also includes both the better-known Irish Setter and the English Setter. Setter breeds are classified as members of either the Sporting or Gundo ...

Irish Setter The Irish Setter (, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog originating in Ireland. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well a ...

* Irish Red and White Setter * Small Münsterländer *

American Cocker Spaniel The American Cocker Spaniel is a breed of sporting dog. It is a spaniel type dog that is closely related to the English Cocker Spaniel; the two breeds diverged during the 20th century due to differing breed standards in the US and the UK. In the ...

American Water Spaniel The American Water Spaniel (often abbreviated to AWS) is a breed of spaniel which originated in the United States. It was developed in the state of Wisconsin during the 19th century from a number of other breeds, including the Irish and Engli ...

Boykin Spaniel The Boykin Spaniel is a medium-sized breed of dog, a Spaniel bred for hunting wild turkeys and ducks in the Wateree River Swamp of South Carolina, in the United States. It is the state dog of South Carolina, where it was discovered and further d ...

Clumber Spaniel The Clumber Spaniel is a breed of dog of the spaniel type, developed in the United Kingdom. It is the largest of the spaniels, and comes in predominantly white with either lemon or orange markings. The name of the breed is taken from Clumber Par ...

English Cocker Spaniel The English Cocker Spaniel is a breed of gun dog. It is noteworthy for producing one of the most varied numbers of pups in a litter among all dog breeds. The English Cocker Spaniel is an active, good-natured, sporting dog standing well up at ...

English Springer Spaniel The English Springer Spaniel is a breed of gun dog in the Spaniel group traditionally used for flushing and retrieving game. They are descended from the Norfolk or Shropshire Spaniels of the mid-19th century; the breed has diverged into sepa ...

* Field Spaniel *

Irish Water Spaniel The Irish Water Spaniel (Irish: ''An Spáinnéar Uisce'') is a breed of dog that is the tallest of the spaniels. Description Appearance The Irish Water Spaniel is a sturdy, cobby dog native to Ireland. The coat, consisting of dense curls, ...

Sussex Spaniel The Sussex Spaniel is a Dog breed, breed of dog native to Sussex in southern England. It is a low, compact spaniel and is as old a breed as and similar in appearance to the Clumber Spaniel. They can be slow-paced, but can have a clownish and ene ...

Welsh Springer Spaniel The Welsh Springer Spaniel (''Welsh'': ''Llamgi Cymru'' or ''Tarfgi Cymru'') is a dog breed, breed of dog and a member of the spaniel family. Thought to be comparable to the old Land Spaniel, they are similar to the English Springer Spaniel a ...

Spanish Water Dog The Spanish Water Dog () breed is used in Spain as a general purpose sheepdog and guard. It is also used sometimes as a gundog, and is skilled at retrieval from water. Description Appearance The SWD is a medium size, athletic, robust dog that ...

* Spinone Italiano *

Stichelhaar The German Roughhaired Pointer, more commonly known and internationally recognized as the Deutsch Stichelhaar is a medium-sized dog breed, breed of pointing dog developed in Germany. History In the early 19th-century there were several varieties ...

Standard Poodle The Poodle, called the in German () and the in French, is a Dog breed, breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Po ...

Vizsla The Vizsla (), also known as Hungarian Vizsla, Magyar Vizsla or Hungarian Pointer, is a dog breed from Hungary and belongs to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) group 7 ( Pointing Dogs), the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) group 1 ( ...

Weimaraner The is a German breed of hunting dog of medium to large size, with history going back at least to the nineteenth century. It originated in the area of the city of Weimar (then in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, now in the state of Thuringia), for which ...

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (also called the Korthals Griffon and the Griffon d'arrêt à poil dur Korthals in France and Quebec) is a breed of dog used in hunting as a gundog. It is sometimes considered to be Dutch in ancestry, due to ...

* Wirehaired Vizsla

Kennel club classification

When competing in

conformation show A dog show is an animal show; it is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a '' breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs ...

s most kennel clubs, including

The Kennel Club The Royal Kennel Club (KC) is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also ...

group pedigree gun dog breeds together in their own gun dog group, whilst some such as the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

group them in a sporting group.

References

{{Authority control Hunting dogs de:Schießhund

Types

List of gundog breeds

Kennel club classification

See also

References