It is not a breed and this is why it is so difficult to define and identify the gun dog. What makes the four-legged friend such is the experience, instinct, training and mutual feeling that binds him to the hunter.
When we speak, in hunting jargon, of gun dogs we are not explicitly referring to a breed. Rifle dog can be a four-legged friend belonging to the pointing, den, track, retriever or even followed breed. It is not the breed or a centuries-long selection that makes the dog an excellent shotgun auxiliary, but rather its intelligence, its abilities, its characteristics, its instinct and the possession of some characteristics that adapt it well to the type of hunting. performed by your master.
In short, a minefield, full of variables and opportunities; that's why giving a definition of the gun dog is very difficult. In general, however, it is possible to admit that the gun dog is the one that more than others manages to adapt to the hunting situations that the surrounding environment, the hunter and the wild impose, and above all the one that with its own moves manages to guarantee optimal hunter shooting conditions.
For all these conditions to be respected, the dog must know well the characteristics and habits of the game being hunted, adapting perfectly to the speed and modality in which the hunter moves on the ground.
To say a priori, when a dog is still a puppy, whether or not it will be a good gun dog is practically impossible since the quality depends above all on innate, instinctive skills, but also on the training capacity of the hunter.
It would therefore be incorrect to say that a gun dog is born, it is certainly better to admit that a gun dog becomes a dog, and not only with good training, but above all with a good load of experience behind it. It is also fundamental that the animal has established an excellent feeling with the hunter: knowing his habits, speed, the technique will be able to predict future actions, benefiting him in shooting. Never as in this case, hunting is to be understood as team work.
It is therefore easy to understand why instinct alone is not enough and must be supported by good training and a strong bond with the hunter and friend. Being gifted with an excellent sense of smell, for example, is not always a requirement that helps to be a good gun dog. The hound sniffed the track could in fact begin its approach more or less rapidly depending on the breed, causing the wild to escape in infinite unpredictable directions. Better the dog that has identified the game proceeds with a well calculated circumvention, finally forcing the prey to move in the direction of the hunter and the shooting area.
The lucky hunter in possession of a good gun dog will only have to guess its moves and prepare to capture the game.