DOG BREEDS
Sporting Dogs Group | Seven Types of Dogs
Do you have a Labrador or a Golden Retriever? Both breeds belong to the sporting dog group, bred to be the hunter’s best friend. Read to learn more.
Do you have a Lab, a Golden Retriever or a Cocker Spaniel? Then you have a sporting dog, the hunter’s best friend. These types of dogs were specifically bred to assist in finding & retrieve game, i.e., small wild animals or birds hunted for sport.
Also referred to as ‘Gun dogs', since they were trained to retrieve as soon as the hunter shot their gun, the sporting group was bred for functionality both on land and in water. They differ from dogs in the Hound Group, who were bred to track & hunt live games on land.
Trained for centuries to work closely with the hunter, these dogs are energetic, affable & very people-oriented, to the point that they constantly require humans around them. Their life’s sole purpose is to please their owners, making them highly trainable & perfect companions for families with kids. On the flip side, this also makes them susceptible to separation anxiety. Because of these traits, they are the most common pet dogs in the world.
Also referred to as ‘Gun dogs', since they were trained to retrieve as soon as the hunter shot their gun, the sporting group was bred for functionality both on land and in water. They differ from dogs in the Hound Group, who were bred to track & hunt live games on land.
Trained for centuries to work closely with the hunter, these dogs are energetic, affable & very people-oriented, to the point that they constantly require humans around them. Their life’s sole purpose is to please their owners, making them highly trainable & perfect companions for families with kids. On the flip side, this also makes them susceptible to separation anxiety. Because of these traits, they are the most common pet dogs in the world.
They can be further classified into four subgroups: Setters, Pointers, Retrievers & Spaniels.
Setters: Bred to work in a field, find game by scent & freeze in a down (a “set”) to indicate to the hunter where the birds are located.
English Setter, Gordon Setter, Irish Red & White Setter & the Irish Setter.
Pointers: Similar to setters, they find the game by scent but freeze in a standing position & “point” to the game.
German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointer & the Pointer
Retrievers: These specialized in bringing the game back to the hunter, which may include diving into the water.
Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, & others
Spaniels: These breeds are meant to help flush out game from the bushes.
Cocker Spaniel (English & King Charles), Springer Spaniel (English & Welsh), Water Spaniel, & others
Each of the subgroups has its own characteristic set of traits that traditionally helped in performing the functions for which they were bred. Given their high amiability towards their owners, gun dogs make for excellent companion pets. If your dog belongs to the gun dogs’ group, we hope this article has helped you get to know them a little better and helped explain some innate behaviours they might be presenting.
Happy Pet Parenting!
Setters: Bred to work in a field, find game by scent & freeze in a down (a “set”) to indicate to the hunter where the birds are located.
English Setter, Gordon Setter, Irish Red & White Setter & the Irish Setter.
Pointers: Similar to setters, they find the game by scent but freeze in a standing position & “point” to the game.
German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointer & the Pointer
Retrievers: These specialized in bringing the game back to the hunter, which may include diving into the water.
Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, & others
Spaniels: These breeds are meant to help flush out game from the bushes.
Cocker Spaniel (English & King Charles), Springer Spaniel (English & Welsh), Water Spaniel, & others
Each of the subgroups has its own characteristic set of traits that traditionally helped in performing the functions for which they were bred. Given their high amiability towards their owners, gun dogs make for excellent companion pets. If your dog belongs to the gun dogs’ group, we hope this article has helped you get to know them a little better and helped explain some innate behaviours they might be presenting.
Happy Pet Parenting!
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