Hello everyone, long time no see? hope we all had a good Christmas?

Right down to business.

I have a friend who currently owns a rescue border collie, a rescue jack russell and a rescue husky. She now wants to buy a well bred puppy who she can train to partake in Gundog training and showing - the dream is to eventually own a dual champion but that's just a fantasy at the minute. She'd also like to partake on shoots in the Winter and showing in the Summer so looking for a real 'do it all dog.'

So her criteria is;

Must be dual purpose. This is an absolute necessity, so no breeds with a working/show split.
Relatively easy to groom.
Must do well with other pets and other dogs - especially cause her little gang are all male, she's interested in a male pup as well (that's a little mark I've personally put against her Weimaraner idea but I've had no personal experience with the breed).
No real issues with size.

Her personal list so far includes; Brittany, Bracco Italiano, Large Munsterlander, German Shorthaired Pointer, Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla and Weimaraner.

Any other breeds to add to the list/any experiences with the above?

As you can see from her current dogs she's quite an energetic person, she does work a 6-2 shift at a warehouse but during that time period her aunt/uncle are chief dog sitters so no dogs are left alone etc.

Thanks for the help! :)

ETA - a close family friend has worked gundog breeds so she's got plenty of opportunities to meet trainers who specialise in these breeds etc cause from reading gundog magazines they are few and far between?

There are a fair few working Welsh Springers and some excellent kennels who focus on working their dogs but also show them very successfully. They are lovely intelligent dogs who will reward you a hundred times over for the time you put into their training.

what about pointer or spionope .or cocker

Another vote for the welsh springer! There are a couple we meet whilst out and about and they seem lovely, calm dogs.

I have to vote GSP :) This breed has had by far the most Dual titled dogs in any breed over the years. The breed club actively support bench and field witn regional groups that meet for gundog training monthly. Many of the dogs win that top honours in the show ring are also hard working dogs in the filed through the season, the GSPA has a Ch Show  Easter Sunday at Stoneleigh where she could meet lots of breeders. sadly Crufts isn't ideal any more as the dual purpose breeders are excluded due to docking

Flat coat retriever great family dogs and dual purpose gundog. I know many who do both activities with great success.should add I also own one

German wire haired pointer.

the most dual purpose breeds are some of the HPR's (German Pointers) and the Welsh springer I'd say

I forwarded your recommendation but she was recently told by an owner of two male rescue GSP that she would have trouble integrating a male pup into her entirely male dog household and that many of the breed are dog on dog aggressive. So is intrigued by your personal views on the breed?

In a similar vein; would the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer be worth investigating more?

I have owned multiple GSP males ( and doing stud work ) and know many many people who have multiple males with no issues at all. As working dogs the breed need to be able to mix well as often all share shoot transport etc. Obviously there may be dogs that are sharp but this is certainly not a breed issue IF you buy from reputable breeders with reliable temperaments in their dogs.

Not got much experience with Slovak but limited gene pool and more than a handful of health issues in breed in UK so lots of research re bloodlines would be needed. Showing opportunities limited as still an uncommon breed in UK