A bird dog is a gun dog used to hunt or retrieve birds. In the southern United States the term bird dog refers specifically to the English Pointer.

Other uses:

• A man who steals another man's girlfriend or date, as in The Everly Brothers's song "Bird Dog", possibly referring to slang terms for women as chicks and other bird-related terms.
• The Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, an airplane named for its use, similar to that of bird dogs, in scouting the area (reconnassiance).
• A referral fee, or "bird dog fee", is sometimes used in business. If Jake hires a company to perform some type of service and then recommends the company to Chester, who then hires the company and gives Jake as a reference, the company may give Jake a bird dog fee as a bonus for "retrieving" a new customer.
• A regional baseball scout. "Bird dogs" are generally not team employees but instead are members of a network of contacts established by a full-time area scout, and earn fees by suggesting youth players worth watching to the team.
• In athletics, especially football, a drill in which a specific movement or play is walked through on a step-by-step basis.
• Sometimes used to refer to stalking

Dog types | Hunting