Question: I need some help selecting my new pup. I have always had Brittanys in the past and am now considering one of the short-coated breeds. My wife had a problem with the dog hair from my Brits and is insisting that I get a short-coated dog. Can you give me any insight into the pros and cons of hunting dogs of little coat?

Edgar P., Saginaw.

Answer:  All right, Edgar!  Don't let your wife dictate to you what kind of hunting dog you are going to buy. You tell her that you will get what ever kind of dog you want or else. Or else? Or else you get the kind she wants. Tough call here, buddy. You have a wife who has put up with your hunting dogs, and you, for years and now her only stipulation is short coat verses long coat. How about getting your next Brit's hair cut once in awhile? Or better yet, how about brushing the dog every so often?

Are you ready for more ‘Linblade Logic'? Does coat make a difference? Try this test. Put on your hunting boots and your boxer shorts, nothing more. The boxer shorts are included only to keep you out of jail for indecent exposure. Now go a brushy wooded area with lots of nice raspberry bushes, thorn-apple and multi-floral rose bushes, and run through the brush for three to four hours. Now, if you are really lucky, there may also be stable flies, deer flies, black flies and maybe a mosquito or two. Tough but not too tough? Try it for three days in a row. Or better still, try it in the winter.

In the dog world, there are exceptions to every rule, so it is possible to find a short-coated dog  somewhere that is oblivious to all of these pitfalls. After you complete the demonstration, the answer should be evident. If you do go with a short-coated dog, do it a favor and buy two things, a belly-saver for the summer and a neoprene vest for the worst winter days.

Charlie Linblade

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