Gun Dogs

Remember the dog from the Nintendo video game Duck Hunt? The one that used to scare the ducks out of the bushes for you to shoot, then retrieve the birds you shot down to cheer you on, and also laugh at you when you missed one. That’s basically what gun dogs are, except for the whole laughing-at-you part — they are too loyal for that.

Gun dogs or gundogs, also called bird dogs, are breeds of hunting dogs used to assist humans in game hunting. There are three primary types or groups of gun dogs based on what they do:

• Pointing dogs or pointers: These are mainly used for finding game.
• Flushing dogs: These breeds are best at scaring the birds to get them out of their hiding places so you can shoot them
• Retrievers: These are the ones that would retrieve the game once you shoot it down.

Setters, spaniels, and water dogs are the three other groups of gun dogs.

All these breeds make excellent pets and are some of the most popular dog breeds just because of their delightful disposition and excellent companionship qualities. They do well as family dogs and are good with other pets as well.

List of Gun Dog Breeds

• Barbet
• Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla
• Drentsche Patrijshond
• Cesky Fousek
• Corded Poodle
• Bracco Italiano
• Pointer
• Burgos Pointer
• German Shorthaired Pointer
• German Longhaired Pointer
• German Wirehaired Pointer
• German Spaniel
• Large Münsterländer
• Brittany
• Vizsla
• Wirehaired Vizsla
• Kooikerhondje
• Lagotto Romagnolo
• Braque du Bourbonnais
• Spinone Italiano
• Pudelpointer
• Portuguese Pointer
• Chesapeake Bay Retriever
• Curly Coated Retriever
• Labrador Retriever
• Golden Retriever
• Flat-Coated Retriever
• Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
• Portuguese Water Dog
• English Setter
• Gordon Setter
• Irish Setter
• Irish Red and White Setter
• Small Münsterländer
• American Water Spaniel
• American Cocker Spaniel
• English Springer Spaniel
• English Cocker Spaniel
• Clumber Spaniel
• Irish Water Spaniel
• Boykin Spaniel
• Field Spaniel
• Welsh Springer Spaniel
• Sussex Spaniel
• Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
• Spanish Water Dog
• Standard Poodle
• Stichelhaar
• Weimaraner