Take the Sporting Breed Quiz

The sporting breeds are the modern hunters, in that they hunt in concert with a hunter armed with a gun. Their roots often lay in hunters armed with nets, however. They work with the hunter to extend the hunter's abilities by either locating, moving or bringing back birds. The group that locates game is composed of pointing and setting breeds, which freeze in midstride and "point" to game. The group that moves game is the spaniels, which range back and forth close to the hunter, flushing game so that the hunter can shoot it. The group that brings back downed game is the retrievers, which mark where game falls and return with it over land or through water. Many breeds combine talents and are termed versatile hunters.