I read somewhere the Dachshund's nose is second only to the Bloodhound.

Man that sucks, I hate to heat that

I BET you could teach one to do it...If mine knew they were good to eat...I wouldnt have to even shoot it...

An my WIFE would kill someone over Otis...graveyard dead...

me too, although I had a long haired dachsund that would get the job done. The mountain Feist have the natural immunity system that make them a very good choice. You'll have a partner that will circle and check back in frequently.

My mom had a Schnauzer that found deer every year. Was pretty good at it too but id still say the others are better.

Dang women are impossible. My wife keeps adding to the list LOL. Anyway, here is the entire list we are considering from. She is going to remove one, then I will, back and forth until we have just one left and that will be our next dog ...

English Springer Spaniel Field Bred
German Shepherd
Boykin Spaniel
German Wirehaired Pointer (aka Viszla or Draathar, not the dachshund)
German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP)
Mountain Cur
Mountain Fiest
German Short Haired Pointer
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Australian Cattle Dog ( aka Blue heeler )
German Wirehaired Dachshund

I'm on my 3rd Dachshund and they are all I'll evear have. Major kills whatever comes in the yard if he can catch it. Birds, squirrel and a possum so far. Can hear a flea fart over in Madison County and goes nuts about it

Your list is very diverse! A lot of those breeds are going to require a ton of exercise and training. Think hard about how much time you will have to devote to the dog. If an hour walk in the morning & an hour training in the afternoon isn't feasible then expect a bored dog. Bored dogs get into mischief!!

The King Charles Cavalier Spaniel is an excellent lap dog but meets none of your hunting requirements.

Yeah, its a long list but truth be told its going to boil down to the Boykin Spaniel and the English Springer Spaniel Field Bred ... I can tell her favorite is the Boykin and I'm just not sure which of the two I favor. I'd have gone for a Cur, Fiest, or GW Dachshund but she's already eliminated them

Texas Blue Lacy.

We've whittled it down to this and it's my turn to drop one :

• English Springer Spaniel Field Bred
• Boykin Spaniel

Wow, that's a hard decision for me. Both are more than adequate for tracking and hunting. Both are loaded with personality. Both are great with (grand)kids. Both are highly intelligent and trainable ...

Decisions ...

Bear in mind that Spaniels and cockleburs don't mix well in case you hunt or have outings where cockleburs are present. More than once I had to dang near shave the Cocker Spaniels we had.

I don't think these two dogs will do what you want. Both breeds are high drive hunting dogs. I thought you wanted a pet? Get a dog you can train, a dog that will do what you tell it to do. Who wants a dog that will run off and not mind. Just about any dog can be trained to track a blood trail. Get a dog that will protect your family. Get a dog that will become part of your family.

Get a German Shepherd and have a pal for the next 15 or so years.
However, they do shed and I mean really bad, but that is a small price to pay for a lifelong companion.

The Boykin will be a pet or a hunter. Great, smart little dogs.

Well we came to an agreement and it's gonna be a Field Bred English Springer Spaniel

Now to find a decent breeder ...

Thanks for all the info !

I have had over 200 dogs. Bird dogs, revtrivers, hounds, curs. There are dumb dogs in all breeds. The smartest I have owned were a Chesapeake lab cross, mountain cur fiest cross, and a redbone. The smartest I have ever seen was a austrailin shepard. The common denominator was that they were very social, and had to have frequent interaction with there Masters

Thats good to know

Not a field springer, but we are on our second springer spaniel. Absolutely great. If I had gotten to her before her former owners, she would be as good or better than any Brit I had when I bird hunted.
Fun pet, too.