"Point!" my hunting partner hollered as he took off running up a fenceline in the direction of his gun dog.

"Point?" I thought to myself, feeling a little confused, because the only "official pointing dog" we had with us was my German shorthaired pointer who was in the back of my pickup recovering from a fresh barbwire cut that required 10 stitches.

Nonetheless, I followed my friend up the weed-choked fenceline and arrived in time to see Sugar, his three-year-old yellow Labrador, standing and staring into the dense vegetation. Though her tail was wildly wagging and all four feet were planted on the ground, "She could be pointing," I remember thinking.

A half-second later, Sugar charged into a clump of thick foxtail. A rooster pheasant rocketed up against the blue sky, cackled once, took a flight path, then crumpled and fell at the boom of my buddy's 12-gauge. The yellow Lab leaped across the fence into the adjacent corn stubble and quickly retrieved and delivered to hand the stone-dead ringneck.

"Every once in a while, Sugar will point gamebirds," her owner later said. "And though her 'points' don't last very long and her 'pointing' isn't a consistent habit, it is handy for me because I can sometimes get closer to many birds before she flushes them."

Though this experience with a Labrador-retriever-that-also-points may not be all that unusual today, 30 years ago when this episode took place, seeing a Labrador that pointed gamebirds was fairly unique. Since that time, however, pointing Labrador retrievers have become more common, bloodlines of pointing Labradors have been clearly developed, pointing Lab organizations have been created, and thousands of pointing Labrador breeders, owners, trainers, handlers, and hunters have fallen in love with these "specialized" gun dogs.

Breed it into them or train it out of them? This is the big question about the pointing instinct in Labradors, a question that certainly touches on several issues having to do with the original purposes and modern day direction taken in the development of this breed of gun dog.

None of these developments in the history of the pointing Labrador, however, has taken place without some confusion, some controversy, and some opposition. There are some, in fact, who say that making the Labrador "retriever" into a "pointer" is guaranteed to take the breed in the wrong direction. In the meantime, though, the pointing Labrador's popularity is steadily growing, more breeders are producing pointing pups, more trainers are working with these dogs, and more hunters are using pointing Labradors for waterfowl and for upland gamebirds.

The controversy regarding pointing Labrador retrievers centers around a number of questions. What is a "point" in a "pointing" Lab? Is a Lab's point an instinctive or a trained behavior? Will developing the pointing behavior in a Labrador compromise this breed's bird-flushing and retrieving efficiency? Is breeding any type of gun dog for just one trait a good idea?

POINTING LAB OR PAUSING LAB?
"The kind of point and the quality of the point made by a pointing Lab are really two issues to be considered in judging this retrieving breed for its pointing potential," says Tom Dokken of Oakridge Kennels in Northfield, Minnesota. As a full-time trainer of all breeds of gun dogs, Dokken has worked with pointing Labradors for many years.

"One question to ask about pointing Labs is: Should this breed of dog be pointing in the first place? After all, Labradors are usually classified as 'flushing' dogs, bred and trained to find then quickly push up any upland gamebirds with hard-charging and unhesitating enthusiasm. As with all flushing dogs, many owners, handlers and trainers would fault any flushing breed for 'pausing' before pouncing on a bird to put it into flight," Dokken says.

"For a Labrador owner who decides that it's okay and actually desirable for a Lab to pause and point, the next question is, what quality of point can you expect to get from these dogs?" Dokken adds. "With recognized pointing breeds, the duration and hardness of a point are really important. For example, when English setters go on point, most can be picked up by hand and re-positioned without coming off point--that's how intense the pointing instinct is that has been bred into these breeds.

"With Labradors, however, this duration and intensity can be a problem that is often dealt with by teaching 'whoa' as a way to extend the length of time the dog will remain in a pointing posture," Dokken says. "Now, though, a new issue arises: Does this dog have a natural instinctive point or is this point being taught and learned? "The reason any dog 'points' game is that all canines--wolves, coyotes, and foxes--when sneaking up on any potentially edible animals, will 'pause' just before they leap in for the kill. This is the theory, anyhow. When human hunters noticed this trait in some of their hunting dogs, they started to breed for it. Eventually, the pointing breeds evolved," Dokken explains.

"This same 'pausing-pointing' behavior sometimes appears in the retrieving and flushing breeds, Labradors in particular. And, once it's identified as 'strong' in some lines of Labs, it can be bred for. For anyone judging the quality of the pointing instinct in a pointing Lab, making the distinction between a 'natural' and a 'taught' point is obviously important, especially when making decisions about buying pointing Lab puppies or training adult dogs," Dokken concludes.

THE FLUSHING DOG/POINTING DOG CONFLICT
Will the willingness of a Lab to point diminish the dog's ability to make a strong flush on upland gamebirds? Can the pointing behavior be reconciled with a hard flushing requirement? Aren't the two traits contradictory?

Gerald and Dawn Walker of Peyton, Colorado have raised pointing Labrador retrievers for several years and, along with their three kids, have entered their pointing Labs in AKC obedience and hunt tests. All of the Walker dogs are certified in the various levels of the American Pointing Labrador Association's testing program, as well. Plus, their dogs are used to hunt the full spectrum of upland gamebirds and waterfowl. From left to right are Micah, 12; Nathan, 14; and Hannah, 10; each with their own personal gun dog. Gerald Walker is the President of the American Pointing Labrador Association.

"When hunting pen-raised pheasants on preserves or wild pheasants anywhere, I sometimes use my German shorthaired pointers to both 'point' and 'flush' pheasants," says one of my hunting partners. Though he asked to remain anonymous to prevent any criticism or ridicule that might be heaped upon him by his fellow NAVHDA trainers and judges, I can say I've seen his NAVHDA Invitational Champion (perfect score) male "flush" pointed pheasants that we couldn't have otherwise easily kicked out of dense cover ourselves.

"Generally, almost all of my German shorthairs come to learn the difference between a rooster that just won't leave the thick cover and one that will fly up, if pressured, when I'm still 50 yards behind," my friend says. "When I give one of my German shorthairs on point the 'fetch' command, he will dive into the cover and 'flush' whatever is there with as much enthusiasm as any springer spaniel or Labrador retriever," he adds.

"If German shorthairs can learn and practice a different set of techniques to sometimes point and sometimes flush their birds, couldn't other breeds of gun dogs do the same?" is a rhetorical question most pointing Labrador fans are quick to present.

CAN BREEDING ANY KIND OF GUN DOG FOR JUST ONE TRAIT BE A BAD IDEA?
"Breeding any kind of dog for just one trait often can be a mistake because other important breed characteristics might be diminished or possibly lost in order to develop that one feature," warns John Luttrell, a Labrador breeder, trainer and AKC Hunt Test Judge from Clark, South Dakota. "This is one reason I won't breed Labradors for specific color. Instead, I will bring two lines together in order to get a broad spectrum of qualities such as desire to retrieve, great cooperation, good temperament, and strong stamina. If a chocolate or yellow puppy comes out of the litter, so be it, if someone wants one," Luttrell says.

"This same 'broad spectrum' breeding principle should apply to the 'pointing trait' in Labradors. Breed for a wide range of generally desired and accepted Labrador characteristics and, if a few pups from the litter want to point, that's okay. But breeding only for pointing potential is possibly going to produce otherwise inferior offspring. This would certainly go against general dog breeding theory and good practice," Luttrell adds.

Should all gun dog breeds be restricted to a specific and narrow range of standards? For instance, should an English pointer only be expected to find quail or grouse or pheasants and point themÂ…but not retrieve them also? On a Minnesota northwoods ruffed grouse hunt a few years ago, I followed a pointer and her owner through some of the best grouse cover I've ever seen and saw some of the best pointing I've ever witnessed. We shot a limit of ruffs and several woodcock.