Range is something I used to worry about. Back when I was looking for my first bird dog, a consistent forty to fifty yards out sounded right to me. Any dog that ran beyond sounded like a run away.
Today, Puck has taught me a lot about what to expect from an intelligent, well bred pointer. Breeder/trainer Craig Doherty sums up a lot of what I’ve learned in this recent post on his blog and I suggest reading it.
“Recently I’ve received a couple of phone calls and emails inquiring about puppies and the most important question for the people contacting me is how big will your puppies run? They seem to have a predetermined number in mind. One person said their current dog runs 50 to 80 yards and he was looking for something in the 100 to 150 range. Another seemed to want a dog that he would be able to see about half the time. Another said he didn’t want a field trial range dog. I think this is the wrong question to ask because for most dogs the answer to how big will the dog run is — as big as you let him…”