Smallest natural retriever?

Andy Grant

Andy Grant

Well-known member
My in-laws are looking into a new dog. My question is what is the smallest natural retriever? The boys played with a golden and lab while we were at a u-cut Christmas tree place. The boys had more fun throwing sticks for the dogs for over an hour.

Moma wants a smaller dog, but they sure had fun playing fetch. So my thoughts: retriever=fetch=fun.

Also, my family is not quite ready for a new dog, but getting closer. So this info will be useful for me as I need a real hunting dog.
 
Check the Boykin Spaniel. A friend got one and I am really impressed with the versatility of the dog. Bred in SC first they are part Chessie and part Spaniel. Will retrieve a duck from water, and a quail or pheasant from upland. Weigh about 50 pounds fully grown and great disposition, especially if brought up as a family dog and trained.
It is my next dog for sure. In fact, I was so impressed with this dog that I seriously considered one now, but it would break my Chessies heart I'm afraid.
Good luck
 
We had springer spaniels when I was a kid. Smaller than a lab, but the ones we had were similar in their love of water.

I know some folks who hunt field-bred cockers for upland, but don't know that they'd retrieve ducks.
 
There is a carver on this site from Longview Wa, His name is doug Engebo, and he had a spaniel named "Otis" that was the best little retriever I ever saw.

That dog was a dynamo and as driven as can be.

little guy too, probably no more than 45 lbs soaking wringing wet.
 
Andy
If you could get a English lab you will find that they are not as heavy as American labs, my Amber is now 20 months old and she only weighs 57 1/2 lb.
I would,nt use springers or cockers for waterfowling, their coats are not made for the water they are upland dogs. If you have ever seen a wet springer
on the marsh in the winter you will know what I mean, its a shame, they dont half shiver uncontrolerbly and when their coat gets wet it looses all its incerlation.

Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Check out an American Water Spaniel. They are around 40 lbs and re as good on the water as they are in the upland. They also handle the cold with ease. And don't worry about the size, they'll still get geese for you.
 
If you are going to plan on hunting this dog why not go with a breed that you know will be a great retriever, instead of crossing your fingers on different breeds. My suggestion would be go with a lab. And it does not have to be an "English" breeding. I see plenty of smaller parents from proven field trial stock. There is no reason why you cannot have a smaller dog, that is very trainable, great temperment and with plenty of retrieving desire. In fact my little female is about 48lbs soaking wet, but retrieves geese from the fields with no difficulty. Go with a smaller lab from proven parents and you will know what you are getting yourself into.
 
Brian
What you are saying makes sence mate, but I also prefer bitches to dogs because the biches are a lot lighter than the dog and when it comes down to training in my view, they seem to absorb it better than a dog, that is one reason, the other reason is, bitches dont tend to roam like a dog and will stay with you. Has you can see in a lot of my posts when it comes to training I dont like using a coller on a dog and like what Todd would like to do with all the winged decoys is how I feel with the E-collers when it comes down to training, My philoserfy is, if you carn,nt train a dog with love and understanding, dont bother trying to train a dog at all, thats why Building that Bond is very important.

Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
I would recommend the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever. They are around the fifty pound mark and are great retrievers.
 
Check out an American Water Spaniel. They are around 40 lbs and re as good on the water as they are in the upland. They also handle the cold with ease. And don't worry about the size, they'll still get geese for you.
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X2

Been hunting & campaigning AWS's since 1996.
 
Check out the Tollers. 50 pounds is at the top of the standard for males and I have a good female that only goes 34 lbs.
They will retrieve til your arm falls off but are more challenging if you want to play Lab games(hunt tests). I have three and
use them upland,for ducks and hunt tests. I even hunted my big male (48 lbs)in maine off the ledges for Eiders and impressed
the guide. There coat dries as fast or faster than a lab but does attract burrs and can be a challenge in that regard.
My wife does agility and obedience work with ours,
Just another opinion, John
 
50 lbs would be a HUGE Boykin. If they interest you at all reach out to Josh Ward on here, he is in the middle of training 2-3 I believe. Cool little dogs with drive that is tough to beat. I haven't decided if they are for me or not yet... I too have experience with small labs, I hunted over a female for 6 years that now weighs 53# as a fat retired 10 year old. That dog had more selfconfidence than any lab I have ever seen, she brought EVERYTHING back.

I agree with what Brian said, but I believe that if a true small dog is what you are in the market for a small lab is no guarantee. The 53# female I referenced earlier has a solid 104# brother... same exact litter not even a repeat breeding. My two pennies :)
 
I went with Tollers because I wanted a retriver that was compact size and a good family and household dog. Both my first and my current Toller were keen to fetch - your arm will wear out before they do. Tollers are playful and eager to please.
My current Toller has also been a keen upland dog, hunting for pheasant on Pelee Island as well as on preserves.
 
You might want to look at Field Bred English Cocker Spaniels. 25-30lbs is common and they retrieve beyond their size. If I ever have another dog that is what it will be.
I believe that Joe Spoo who sometimes posts on here has one.

Tim
 
If you are going to plan on hunting this dog why not go with a breed that you know will be a great retriever, instead of crossing your fingers on different breeds.
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labs have been the only dog bred for retrieving and hunting in the last 100 years? or because ALL labs that are bred are for hunting? I'll never understand why there are so many ego's when it comes to dogs. Fact is all dogs have positives and negatives, there are X amount of dog breeds in the world to fit each and every niche people want. Are some better than others for certain thiings, may be, but its always in the eyes of the beholder and it doesn't mean the other breeds are not worthy. Just because one breed is more popular, doesn't make it universally better, its only better for those people. Evertime you buy any breed of dog your crossing your fingers, some have a highly probability of working out than others, but thats a result of the breeders. Everyone, no matter the breed must research their breeder to match what they want as there are good and bad breeders of all breeds of dogs. The orginal poster has a good list of prospective breeds that have been proven in the field and that may suit his match. Now its up to him to research breeders and find the dog the he feels has the highest probablity to match his needs.
 
I have a 4 year old female Toller. She’s a great retriever with a ton of drive in the field. She weighs 42#. Her coat is longer than a lab’s, brushing once a week helps. She is well behaved around the house (although she did go through a wild puppy stage). We’ve mostly hunted ducks. This fall we did go on a few pheasant hunts and she seems to be picking that up nicely as well.
 
Check out an American Water Spaniel. They are around 40 lbs and re as good on the water as they are in the upland. They also handle the cold with ease. And don't worry about the size, they'll still get geese for you.
Click to expand...
X2

Been hunting & campaigning AWS's since 1996.
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X3- I hunted with an AWS from 1993-2003- he did everyhting, including killing the neighbor's chickens. He was way out of standard ( like Gary March's Dog) at fighting weight around age 3-4 he was 65 pounds of muscle in a very compact frame.
 
If you are going to plan on hunting this dog why not go with a breed that you know will be a great retriever, instead of crossing your fingers on different breeds.
Click to expand...

labs have been the only dog bred for retrieving and hunting in the last 100 years? or because ALL labs that are bred are for hunting? I'll never understand why there are so many ego's when it comes to dogs. Fact is all dogs have positives and negatives, there are X amount of dog breeds in the world to fit each and every niche people want. Are some better than others for certain thiings, may be, but its always in the eyes of the beholder and it doesn't mean the other breeds are not worthy. Just because one breed is more popular, doesn't make it universally better, its only better for those people. Evertime you buy any breed of dog your crossing your fingers, some have a highly probability of working out than others, but thats a result of the breeders. Everyone, no matter the breed must research their breeder to match what they want as there are good and bad breeders of all breeds of dogs. The orginal poster has a good list of prospective breeds that have been proven in the field and that may suit his match. Now its up to him to research breeders and find the dog the he feels has the highest probablity to match his needs.
Click to expand...

That is a great point that you made about doing your research no matter the breed you decide to go with. There is no ego involved with that statement I made. The point I was trying to make is that some breeds are easier to train and have better instincts given the need of the owners. Wouldn't you agree that based solely on availability (by this I mean number of litters), that it would be a bit easier to find a lab with great retrieving instinct than some of the other other "specialized" breeds? Anotherwords I am not saying you could not find a boykin with great retrieving instinct and trainability, but it may be easier to find a lab that fits these needs. Especially considering that this person lives in Idaho.

I have trained and hunted over some of the different breeds and find that based on trainability, willingness to please, retrieving instincts, etc that labs tend to be easier for the first time dog owner/trainer than some of the other breeds suggested.

Good luck with your search Andy.

Brian
 
Understand, but to answer your question, no. I put the highest probablity of natural ablities in the contitental breeds under the euro system, not under AKC. These dogs are only sold to hunters, MUST be tested in hunting abilities(retreiveing among them) and conformation before ever being bred. But these dog aren't for everyone and diverge from the single purpose breeds(Retrieveing). Now there is a faction of lab people and some of these lessor known breeds, like the boykin that have grasped this notion and are heading in that direction. So in researching one most identify these types breeders. I am not at all saying you can't get a good hunting dog out of a backyard breeding, just the probablity is higher through a quality breeding system/breeder. Labs are great dogs and there trainabilty and willingness to please is very high which make a great fit for many people. But these other breeds can fit a person niche a bit better without losing much or approaching their work differently than a lab would.
 
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