Pointing dog breeds typically cover much more ground then flushing dog breeds. Pointers rely on airborne scents to locate birds and will often run with their heads up. Once a pointer zeros in on a bird they freeze in a pointing position (Hence the name pointer). By freezing the dog pins the bird down and allows the hunter to get in close for an easy shot. Most of the popular pointing breeds also have the ability to retrieve but as a general rule pointers are not as good of retrievers as flushing dogs. It's not uncommon for some hunters to run both pointing and flushing dogs together when hunting large fields or heavy cover. Pointers usually cover much more ground the flushing dogs and can sometimes miss birds in heavy cover but they make up for it by the amount of ground they cover during a hunt.
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A flushing dog or "Flusher" was bread to work smaller parcels of land in thicker cover. Flushers are typically better at finding and retrieving downed birds and usually follow birds with their nose to the ground. When a flushing dog gets close to a bird it will attempt to catch the bird forcing the bird to fly out of the heavy cover giving the hunter a good shot.
Click On The Links Below To Browse Our Directory Of Flushing Dog Breeders: