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Top 3 Reasons Why You Need a Gun Dog

The sooner you give in to the inevitable gun dog desire, the sooner you'll be taking your hunts to new levels.

Top 3 Reasons Why You Need a Gun Dog

Sure, you can hunt birds without a dog, but once you hunt with one, you’ll never want to be without ever again. (Photo By: Chris Ingram)

It may seem obvious to many, but there are some bird hunters who do not hunt with a gun dog.. In fact, many of us start out and sometimes manage to get through several seasons without a dog at our side. There are of course, many good reasons why some individuals are not able to bring home a dog, be it financial, logistical, or time and space constraints, a dog just doesn’t fit into their equation. Against the odds, we carry on alone, doing our best to find, flush, and recover the birds we encounter, all the while knowing how much better off we’d be with a four-legged friend in tow.

Of course, this time afield without a dog is not wasted, it’s quite the opposite in reality. We’re able to spend time with dog-owning friends and family and learn about the different breeds and their hunting styles as we begin to formulate our plans to bring home our own dog. Then, the time finally comes when that threshold is reached and the momentum becomes so overwhelming there are more reasons to have a dog than not to have one. In case you need a little assistance in adding to your gun dog acquisition list, here are three of the most important reasons to finally bring home a bird dog.

Don’t Flush It Away

Bird dogs have been bred to find birds, so naturally, they’re going to make your job easier and push your needle toward success by finding birds for you. Along with this means they will find more birds than you would on your own too. Several times I’ve been blown away by how many more birds were residing in a cover that were located with a buddy and their dog after I had gone through on my own. Try this for yourself and I doubt you’d want to ever return again without a bird dog.

Chances are that no matter which particular upland game bird you are pursuing, a flushing or pointing dog is going to give you a substantial advantage in not only locating birds but allowing you to put yourself in prime position to take a well-placed shot as they flush from the ground. You’ll have plenty of time to get ready and anticipate where the birds are and where they may fly to. So, if you’re tired of running down ringnecks, catching up to coveys, and getting gassed by far off flushes, it just might be time to get a gun dog and go back with a better game plan.


grouse hunter in woods with english springer spaniel
Send your bird dog into the most likely bird-holding cover while keeping yourself in prime position to intercept a flushing bird. (Photo By: Chris Ingram)

Reconcile Your Recoveries

If you’re lucky enough to find and flush a few birds without a dog, that’s something to be proud of, and if you’ve managed to then knock them down, well that’s something worth celebrating. For the dog-less uplander, this is often a time when things can start to break down if those downed birds cannot be recovered. Of course, there are some tips and tricks to marking and recovering birds on your own; I used to drop a hat or glove where I shot from and kept my eyes focused on the drop site. If I didn’t find it right away upon getting there, I began walking outwardly in expanding circles until I located the dead bird.

Even in the best-case scenarios, recovering a shot bird without a dog can be challenging. We can under or overestimate distance, direction, location, and other factors in the heat of the moment when our emotions are wide open. Sometimes we’re standing right next to a bird who is so camouflaged and hiding in plain sight, we simply can’t pick them out. Then there are times when a bird appears to go down but is only winged or otherwise wounded. Wounded birds can run, swim, dive, or fly away before you’re able to get over to them. I once had a wing-tipped bobwhite quail get up and run ahead of me and into a 6-inch culvert pipe never to be seen again.

Bird dogs have that powerful nose to locate not just bird scent, but the blood, urine/feces, hormones, adrenaline, and other odors that you will never be able to pick up on. There are also times it pays to have a dog when that bird you thought you hit totally escaped your shot string and decides to reflush as you make you way in. If birds run or hide, dogs can sniff them out and proudly bring them back to your hand. With a quick dispatch and resource recovery being paramount to upland hunters, having a bird dog by the side is a sure way to give it your best effort each and every time.

woodcock hunter holding woodcock with english springer spaniel
A gun dog will not only recover more birds for you, but a well-trained one will even return them to hand. (Photo By: Chris Ingram)

Extra Enrichments

Aside from improving your successes in the field, bringing a bird dog into your home can really enhance your life. As much as they can excel in the field, the modern hunting dog is right at home as a family pet. Bird dogs make great additions to any family and can help to turn upland hunting into a family affair. Gun dogs make great companions for the family on-the-go and when exercised and offered plenty of outlets, many dogs possess that desirable “off-switch” and are just as happy to lay around the house on a rainy day.


With a gun dog at your side, you’ll never have to hunt alone again, even if your buddies bail on you last minute. Your dog will always be willing to go, and it won’t matter to them how many finds, flushes, hits, or misses you make. Our dogs make us want to spend more time in the field and often become the focal point of the hunt itself. Simply getting out to watch the dogs run and make bird contacts can quickly become your new upland currency. The only thing left for you to decide on now, is which breed you’re going to get into … and we’d love to help you with that too!

grouse hunter petting english springer spaniel
It's hard to measure all of the enjoyment that comes along with owning a gun dog. (Photo By: Chris Ingram)
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