Bringing one of these jokers home in a few weeks. Hoping mainly for a good buddy, but also planning on him picking up a few dead birds.
If you have a Boykin or have any experience with them I would love to hear your thoughts/advice.
Good luck with your pup. I've had an awesome experience with mine. Reese topped out at 42 lbs., & for me, is perfect sized. He's been very easy to train & eager to learn & please. I'll never be without a Boykin again.
I am zero help in the Boykin department. But if you want to cross the state line and train later this summer let me know. I will have a lab pup that will be similiar in age. I train mainly in the Vernon area.
Hairy, sounds like a great dog and he looks good in your picture. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get lucky and be able to say the same things about mine some day.
fishduck, I appreciate your offer and will most likely be taking you up on it. I'm assuming you're the Mark in Vernon that Dustin trains with on Thursdays? I work with him at Marathon, and he's one of the main reasons I'm trying to get serious about learning how to train a dog.
We have four Boykins in our training group. I like all of them. They are birdy, energetic, and fun to watch. If I were you I would try to be in contact with other Boykin owners who might be able to guide you in your training.
Also, I have hunted with Rebel who is the LI Delta Waterfowl official mascot. He's quite a dog.
We have four Boykins in our training group. I like all of them. They are birdy, energetic, and fun to watch. If I were you I would try to be in contact with other Boykin owners who might be able to guide you in your training.
This is some good advice. These dogs are very eager to please and they are a BUSY breed. Very rarely is max ever still. But they can do the work of a lab.
Max is about 35 lbs. This is him with his first goose
These little dogs can help you get out of the dog house very fast! I might have exploited his cuteness a couple times
They are great little dogs. If trained properly they can do anything a lab can do. As someone has already said they are very very busy dogs. Mine loves to chew on his kong non stop in the house or play his own hide and seek game with it. They are great little retrievers and IMO probably one of if not the most versatile working dogs out there. My boy picked up a ton of ducks this season and even a few geese. He will be two years old tomorrow, we are one pass away from his Senoir title. I have always had labs before I got a Boykin and now I will never be without a Boykin they will steal your heart.
Here is a Boykin at her first hunt test. She has had some OB training and has handled very few birds. She is going through FF right now and doing great!
MidSouth Boykin Spaniel Retriever Club would put you in touch with most of the local Boykin folks. I only know of one Boykin hunt tester locally and he is outside of Jasper Alabama.
I judged several Boykins in JH/SH tests in NC and SC last fall, and each dog earned my respect and picked my interest...I am seriously thinking that my next retriever will be a Boykin. Good luck with your puppy, I hope to read lot's of positive postings about him on this forum!
If your living in Starkville, walking a Boykin pup around a certain University campus will be a VERY effective hunting technique. Just be careful, I almost got a ticket doing that years ago. The officer kept insisting I was hunting over a baited field.
Wow guys, thanks for the great responses. Y’all are getting me even more excited to bring him home in May.
For those of you who’ve trained a Boykin is there anything particularly different from training a Lab that sticks out in your mind?
And leemac if you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about, while my wife has no problem with me chasing birds, I’m willing to bet chasing tail feathers of a different kind wouldn’t go over so well.
Thanks again everybody, I’m looking forward to learning all I can from this site.
Talk to Boykin people for that one. I have noticed differences but since I don't own a Boykin and since I only know four, I hesitate to make any comments.
Bringing one of these jokers home in a few weeks. Hoping mainly for a good buddy, but also planning on him picking up a few dead birds.
If you have a Boykin or have any experience with them I would love to hear your thoughts/advice.
Now here we were having a nice, mature conversation and you just haaaad to throw in your two cents..... Jerk
logy and Blaine, thanks for the insight. This is my first dog so I don't have any experience training labs to compare against, but most of the training material I've come across is focused on more typical retrievers so I was curious if there was anything I should keep an eye out for.
Now see.... dont get all pissy. I used to have one of those and he was MHRCH........ "Master Hunter Retriever Champ".... Ok well maybe not but he was a MEANT "Master Eater and Nap Taker"....... I would have put him up against any dog in the world at taking naps...
Besides being "busy" and slower to mature than Labs, what other traits do Boykins have? How are they in the house?
I ask because our son in law fishes and would love to have a dog in the boat with him. He also hunts... ducks and pheasants. Years ago he had a Brittany Spaniel and loved it. I don't think he has ever heard of a Boykin. It sounds like a dog that would fit his needs. Our big black Labs are just too big for his small fishing boat. His ideal dog would be a house-companion dog, too. You know... sit next to you on the couch and watch TV with you type of dog.
Besides being "busy" and slower to mature than Labs, what other traits do Boykins have? How are they in the house?
I ask because our son in law fishes and would love to have a dog in the boat with him. He also hunts... ducks and pheasants. Years ago he had a Brittany Spaniel and loved it. I don't think he has ever heard of a Boykin. It sounds like a dog that would fit his needs. Our big black Labs are just too big for his small fishing boat. His ideal dog would be a house-companion dog, too. You know... sit next to you on the couch and watch TV with you type of dog.
Your son in law's situation seems very close to mine. I'm hoping for a dog to hang out in the boat while I fish, be a good house pet for my wife while I'm at work, and still go get a duck. Based on the research I've done the Boykin seems like a perfect fit. I realize a lab can easily fullfil those roles as well, but size comes into play because my wife doesn't want a huge dog in the house.
Mine stays in the house when we are home he sleeps in the bed with my wife and I every night. They are fine in the house but because they are busy they can get into some trouble. No different than any other house dog they just need something to keep them busy besides your shoes or socks or toilet paper. I use a kong to keep mine occupied he is absolutely crazy about that damn thing. He will hide it from his self under the couch or under a blanket and the have a ball hunting it up after he hides it from himself. Some days I work from home and he can be found laying at my feet under my desk. One thing that needs to be taught is the "place" command. So if the dog is being annoying or just too busy running around the house I tell him "place" and point to his bed or place mat and keep him there while I go about my business. Boykins are very energetic dogs so they need to be ran and worked as much as you can just to burn off some of that energy. As far as hunting out of a smaller boat they are the best there is, mine loves to jump up on the front deck of my 14 foot Jon boat and go as fast as we can go. He thinks he is the captain of the biggest ship in the world and he is much easier to get in and out of the boat than a 80 pound dog. As far as training them like others have said you train them just like any other dog but learn how to read your dog, they do get bored with doing the same drills over and over. All in all anyone looking for a smaller retriever or upland flusher can't go wrong with a Boykin. They can even be trained to point and flush on command if that's your cup of tea. You can PM me or give me a call if you want.
leemac you're thinking right, I just got married and am trying to finish up at school (wrap it in maroon and white, if you will). While I'm sure he'll be a lady killer, Lord knows that's the last thing I need. I've about bitten off more than I can chew with the one cute little sorority girl I was lucky enough to snag... Don't need any more.
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