Re: 2014
First, no breeds come without pro's and con's. You simply need to determine what your primary use for the dog will be, choose a breed that does those things well, and then find the right breeder because with any breed, there are good ones and bad ones.
In regards to the DD's, I will give you my opinion on what I see based on seeing about a dozen a year for training. They typically have good desire to hunt and can be started on birds fairly easy. On average they have fairly good noses and natural ability. They can be harder to break to point than your more tradional pointing breeds but that can be said for all of the continental breeds. They are typically better on trailing a cripple but this is also common with any of the german dogs. They are more ground scenters and trash chasers than other more traditional bird dogs.
In regards to destruction, I have more damage done by GSP's, DD, Wirehairs, and Griffons in my kennels each year than all the other breeds combined. If someone doubts me, I will show them the yearly repair bills as well as the reinforced grating on my doors and panels to keep them inside the chainlink as opposed to having them chewing their way out and running all over the five hundred of acres at the training farm.
In general, most have had a decent tempermant and particularly the females. I have seen several males that have not only been protective but also down right mean. Most of the issues have been with other dogs, but several were mean towards both man and beast.
The breed is held to a breed standard when breeding, but as with all breeds, there are never 100% of the dogs that are as perfect as everyone makes them out to be. All dog owners will give you the reasons that their dog is the best and there are great dogs in every breed. There are also bad dogs in every single breed. You simply need to be able to pick through the junk and as a guy who see's hundreds of dogs each year, there is way more junk out there than there is gems.
Good luck with your search.
