BritAnnie
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Colours in working dogsJust a thought progressing from Mojo's video in another topic.
I have had a few different colours of Brittany over the years, and they show up better in different light and at varying times of the day and year. At times in Mojo's video the dog almost disappeared from view. I should think a grey dog would be difficult to work if there was early morning mist?
My black tri and b/w show up well in most situations, except when almost dark, my o/w shows prfetty well in the early evening, and my orange tri and my l/w show up beautifully in snow or twilight
Cover creates it's own nuances too, as do weather changes.
Annie
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Helen
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As the majority of my work is on the moors, I like a light coloured dog. I do struggle to see my gwp's sometimes but never lose the pointers against the background (not saying I don't lose them lol).
Having said that, weims show up quite well on the heather as well.
Helen
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josie
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Come on, do we really need to debate this, we all know the best colour for dogs is GREY!! 
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BritAnnie
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Are we just a teeny weeny bit breed blind 
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karenb
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Surely a great working dog can't be a bad colour .. would work a pink one if it was the bee's knee's
Karen
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josie
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I have always wanted to train a poodle up to be a working dog (which they used to be, did ya know!) and then have it cut into a show cut and take it on a shoot  In fact, it is such a hilarious idea, I can't believe no one has tried it!!!
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Mike
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| Quote: | | Surely a great working dog can't be a bad colour |
But if you can't see it beyond a certain distance or if it is on point it isn't much use is it? I was amazed at how far Helens pointer was ranging and I struggled to keep track of her and she was white! Any other colour and there would have been no hope, I also suspect it is the reason our cousins over the water prefer the tail straight up in the air, must make it a lot easier to see at a distance?
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windem bang
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coat colourHaving a hunting dog withalot of white in it can be very useful at range or if the dogs' in cover. I certainly prefer Brittanies with a lot of white in their coats 'cos the the little sods can hide behind two dandelions and a self respecting thistle ! The exception to this rule is when you are at a "posh" driven shoot. When your dog goes out of control it is far better if it looks as much as possible like every other dog there. Then your dog cannot with certainty be pinpointed and neither can you. It is no accident that so many pickers-up have black labradors !
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karenb
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Ok - if pushed I would probably opt for a bright LW for visibility if I lived in a perfect world. However I would never select for colour over sound construction, robust health, good temperament and quality pedigree.
Working poodles in show trim and tinted a subtle shade of pink -- oh yes that might just be worth the effort for the beating line banter .. . but I will let you try them out first Josie
Karen
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josie
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Yes, I wonder if poodles have hard mouth? Also, like WB says, if the poodle goes awol, everyone will know whose it is!
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Helen S
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Here in NZ the GSP and GWP handlers use broad fluorescent collars. Obvious, but probably not "the thing to do" in the UK.
But I bet it has saved a few dogs' lives over the years.
Helen S
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BritAnnie
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We're not allowed to put any collars on when in a GWT or FT in the UK, only a slip lead which is taken off when the dog does it's 'run'. Don't know about any other countries - so is there anyone else out there other than in UK and NZ
Annie
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Helen S
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I must say I'm not sure that they are allowed in trials Annie, I was thinking of just working occasions. But don't the judges have the same problem of seeing where the dogs are?
Are they not allowed in case an electronic device gets secreted in the collar? Or is it just the possible danger of the dog getting caught up?
Helen S
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BritAnnie
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No, I think it's in case they get caught. WB would be the best one to explain, perhaps he'll pick this up tomorrow - it's past midnight here and I should be in bed. Just going to have my hot choccy now.
Night night.
Just had a thought - do you know Chris and Barry Hill in NZ - they have the Holmbrook Brittanys and used to have GSPs, might still have one. Jan(Ghilliegumdrop) was out visiting them last month.
Annie
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windem bang
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collars in trialsIn common with everyone else (nearly) I do not work my dogs with a collar on . I was warned that the dog catching up in cover was possible and that was enough for me.
Where trials or tests are concerned if dogs are allowed to work with a collar on I (being only too well aware of what the urge to win can do to some people) would be very suspiscious of any dog wearing a collar. While it would be very difficult or impossible to hide the electronic receiver box or any dummy of it . It would be vey easy to make a collar with the WEIGHT of an e-collar. The electrical contacts or prongs would be very easy to simulate and hide , the combination of the correct weight and the slightly protruding prongs on the dogs side of the collar would be all too easily hidden unless examined closely. I would definetely regard this as cheating.
W.B.
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johnhod
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I haven't worked my brittany yet but if he's three fields away from me it won't really matter what colour he is. With my ESS he starts out liver and white but, even on the driest day, manages to end up whatever colour the local mud happens to be
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Helen
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I have tried working my GWP with a flourescent collar which is ok but you can't always see it. Particularly if he was running away or even coming back. He does have a white tip to his tail which is quite visible.
Mike, I can hardly see Lucky but that's just cos she is usually counting the next block to me lol.
I do think a predominantly white gwp would be better but to be honest, and hope I don't offend anyone, I prefer the darkers ones.
Helen
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tashap
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doesn't really matter those florescent collars are easily picked up no matter what colour the dog and a bell works pretty well...
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BenB
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I think i must be too fickle - like with foxhounds i love the porcelains and the tricolours but a solid tan can be just fantastic.
i have flashing collars for the dogs that they wear in the winter when it is dark out walking - they are great if the dog is side onto you or returning but if they are heading into the next county they effectively disappear.
My mother had a shi-tzu at one stage and we dyed it bright pink just before she had to take it to the vet for a jab. Cue the most embarrased looking woman ever. (probably her fault for choosing one in the first place).
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countrygirl
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oh Ben I hope you arnt talking about wirehairs being tri coloured or tan lol and no Helen me and my white dog arnt upset  but on a shoot day he wollows in muddy puddles so dosent stay white long
Caz
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munstyman
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Tut Tut,
I can not vote as I have not got the right option available, re. Black and white, or as our breed standard puts it `white and black' 
Now before you all say I'm breed blind, I find that when a dog wears sharply contrasting colours it tends to stand out more from the surrounding flora, and you cannot get more contrasting than black and white It is not by accident that many of the working gundogs that hunt in cover are prefered to have white `flags'.
BenB, I also use flashing collars during the winter months ( home made, using bicycle lights) Each dog has a different colour, so I know who's doing what  My bitch managed to lose one very quickly, and you would think that it would be easy to find.....but it wasn't, a case of `butter side down'  Before I made some alterations to the design, she nearly lost another one the following night, however thinking on my feet, ( and counting the cost ) I remained in the area where I last saw it flashing, and gave her a `hi loss', a few seconds past in complete darkness , then flashing red teeth came running towards me, definately one for haloween 
Getting back to the topic of colour, is it a bit irrelevent what colour the dog is, as I'm sure our political masters will soon have us putting our dogs in dayglow orange jackets, with their pet passport, DNA, retinal scan I.D card welded into the fabric, and charging us a few hundred pounds for the privilege 
Peter
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Helen S
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Annie, I haven't met the Hills but have heard very good things about them. Not sure whereabouts they are in NZ, probably not around Auckland/Hamilton which is our neck of the woods.
Peter, they made it compulsory to have all dogs registered after June '06 microchipped here and our local district council is trying to bring in restrictions on how many dogs you can keep etc etc. So it's not just the UK/EEC getting beauracratic. Microchips could be useful though - perhaps you could add GPS and track your dogs by satellite!!!
Helen S
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Mike
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Peter,
Black / White now added  Hope you don't mind Annie!
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BritAnnie
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No problem, Mike. The reason I split the black and white was that sometimes you can get a very black dog with only a little white, and sometimes very white dogs too. So I thought it better to put both in as separate colours. Quite an interesting discussion so far, I think.
Of course, no-one would choose a puppy on colour, what this was intended for was observations, not to set down criteria.
Annie
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countrygirl
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I chose Maverick on colour he is a very white GWP born in quartine from AM CH parents his father also had his master hunter, having seen the very white ones on American sites I asked his breeder if I could have a white puppy if there was one he considered good enough to show he picked him for me, he is a wild hunting dog and managed to win a CC in the show ring, but can see where you are coming from generaly people go for the whole package and not just colour(although alot of people buy those nice gray dogs with blue eyes not having a clue what they are geting into) but thats a different subject
Caz
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BenB
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When i said i like foxhounds of all different colours and patterns - I wasn't suggesting that i would want a GWP in those colours but that some dogs can look great in a number of different colours.
I know that my next lurcher will be light in colour because the one I have at the moment is a dark "blue" and impossible to spot when at speed - especially at night.
In an ideal world Teasel would be able to change in the opposite way to a chamealeon to always stand out - trying to see her in dead bracken is close to impossible.
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MC
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Hills live in Christchurch area.
I hunt mine in collars, there have been times when I have had to grab the collar and haul the dog up a bank, couldn't do it without one.
Flourescent collar is good, I must get another.
Can't see any colour in thick scrub, can see the scrub move.
In the open dog that far away it needs to be white to see it, no use.
Even in Aust. when I went hunting stubble quail chap said dogs that run a long way away no use.
Only use send up that really steep hill and flush the birds so we know if there are even birds there and then can plan to hunt them. No way climbing hills like that for nothing. Even then I hate walking on those narrow sheep tracks. And here I am planning to do just that in May.
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BritAnnie
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Most Brittanys in France are orange and white. Many folk use cow bells on them, presumably so that if they can't see them they can guess the general direction from the sound of the bell and when it stops the dog is on point.
Any more colour observations?
Annie
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DesO'Neile
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To the best of my knowledge the only gundog group to use collars while competing under Irish Kennel Club or Kennel Club Rules are pointers & setters. In a situation where two similarly marked dogs are drawn together the lower numbered dog can be required to wear a collar to tell them apart. It is something you have to work at. Dogs that don’t run occasionally with a collar on sometimes don’t want to run while wearing one and the opposite can be the case. Stories abound of people using various coloured elastic bands to create the impression of a collar and thus curtail the dog, and long before Electric Collars were available.
GPS type systems are already available from Garmin to track a dog, and the technology exists enabling you to log on to a webb site and track your dog on line. To date both are collar attachments.
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DesO'Neile
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Josie,
Your comment about the poodle and it's "Show" coat. The show coat is in fact a working coat. The dense hair around the chest was left intact to aid with bouyancy and the hair on the legs and rear end was trimmed to reduce drag while swimming.
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Ghilliegumdrop
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The Lion trim was evolved to enable the dogs owners to smuggle stuff over the borders ie lace and other expensive items. The rosettes were left over the kidneys and joints to protect them from the cold/wet. My Standard was in Lion trim and he went on a shoot, albeit a little local one, AND he had a soft mouth when he retrieved game and he did very well in the show ring gaining his stud book number.
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