German Shorthaired Pointer Advice

[Agdog]

Sending this out to the masses for as much input as I can get. I'm moving into a house this week and ready to get a gun dog. We've had numerous great dogs of different breeds but as far as I can remember we've only owned 1 pointer when I was younger. My last dog was a Golden and I had been set on buying another one until several people recommended I go with a GSP for an all around companion/hunting dog. So now I'm looking around at GSP's trying to figure out what I should decide. Please give me some input on experiences with the breed and what requirements they have ( yard size, exercise, attention, etc. ) Thanks!

[Dale Moser]

This is probably more training garbage than you want to know Randall, but you might find some use in it. Cut from an email I sent to a friend of a friend of mine wanting to get a shorthair.


1st, get a male for your 1st, and get him from a kennel/breeder, or at least someone who knows how to breed shorthairs, and get him home by 8 weeks or so. I look for a wide, deep chest with lots of room for lungs and heart.....and good straight front legs. People go into some pretty intese pup pickin programs but I've just always used those criteria....and personality. These two books both have good info on picking and training. I'm pretty sure 95% of what I do came from these two books....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CZRCV6/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0525245499&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=141KJF003FBXFHDDQ1J3

http://www.gundogsupply.com/-602-.html

2nd, people will tell you that they need a huge yard, which is definitely nice....but not neccesary provided you have the right kind of kennel (concrete 10X10 with a top on it)(I can take pics of ours if you like) and somewhere to take the dog to let it run every day or every other day. If they get bored they WILL dig, and they WILL climb. It's not so bad if they know they are gonna get to run when you get home.

3rd, Pup only needs 3 basics until he's a year old in my opinion...."HERE!", "WHOA", and eventully hand signals to make him turn. Start the basics when the dog is young, and don't worry about birds yet. you just need to control him while he's young so he can take in the world. ....TAKE IT EVERYWHERE YOU CAN! The best thing you can do is get the dog used to different people, places, riding in the truck, behaving itself in strange places, and most importantly you're teaching it not to freak out the 1st time it leaves the yard.

4th, keep the pup off the leash as much as possible when it's safe. When you get him out to wide open spaces, just let him run, sniff, fall down, whatever.....all the while keeping him in FRONT OF YOU. Pup takes off to the left turn left, he goes right...turn right...this way everytime he turns back to look at you (and he will when he's young), he is always in front of you. Always try to give him a command when he turns to look at you, I just use "Hey!" This way in the future when you are ready to give hand signals, you turn your body right in a dramatic fashion and point your hand right, say "Hey!" and he will naturaly go that way because he wants to be in front of you......before long he's casting and quartering with no commands or signals beyond "Hey!".

5th, when pup starts to get comfortable in his field where you take him to run every so often......eventually he will run off too far. When he does this you need to find a hiding spot! Tall grass is best so that you can see him but he can't see you. You will know when he figures out he's lost, throw his head up, ears back, start bouncing around like a kangaroo, looking in every direction.......stay hidden for a minute or two until he really starts freakin out! Then all of a sudden when he's not looking you stand up and get out in the open and holler out "HERE insert dog name". He'll come runnin to you like a house afire...make sure you continually say "Here" all the way, when he gets there it's time for ear scratchin, belly rubbin, chin rubbin and all the "good boys" you can stand (all this towards him, not you). Just like that he learned NOT to run off, and is well on his way to knowing "HERE"...you'll finish that later with a check cord but it won't take much.

There's a hundred different ways to teach "Whoa" and none are easy....different dogs take better to different techniques. Read lots of books for that.

If you can teach a dog HERE, and WHOA....and do so thouroughly, you can teach him to point, hold, and retreive birds provided he's got the nose. If he's well bred, he'll pick up most of that on his own after you teach him "WHOA, and "HERE".

[tripleM]

any suggested breeders for GSP's near dallas or austin?

[Dale Moser]

My last one came from Oak Ridge Kennels in Rendon, I havn't talked to him in 8 years though.

[orion]

I got a GSP and she is a great dog- dove, quail and will do a little finding work when needed- She found that turkey in my avatar. I shot it with a bow and put her down wind 75 or so yards of where i thought it was and she eventually found it in a patch of trees, i would have never found it. She does not track, but can find a downed deer if she is down wind and catches the scent-

They have some energy- she can run sun up, to sun down- I got her from Pokey here on TBH.

Spanish Oak kennels, keith bar, breeds great dogs

[orion]

If you can teach a dog HERE, and WHOA....and do so thouroughly, you can teach him to point, hold, and retreive birds provided he's got the nose. If he's well bred, he'll pick up most of that on his own after you teach him "WHOA, and "HERE".

That whole post was great advice, but this most true-

[Shane]

Amen to everything Dale said. Basic obedience training plus good hunting instinct (that can't be taught) is all you need.

I've had a couple of GSPs through the years, an English pointer (only took one of those to break me), a Vizsla, and 4 Weimaraners. For a house dog companion that also hunts, my pick would be the Weimaraner. They're a little more laid back - when they're grown. When they're puppies, they're puppies just like everything else. They make about as good of a family pet as any dog you could ever own.

They are versatile hunting dogs that can point, retrieve, track, etc... They don't run as far and long as an English pointer, so if you're a hard-driving quail hunter you may prefer a more hyper dog. If you are a foot hunter for quail, pheasant, doves and even waterfowl, a Weim will be a good hunting dog for you.

They have short hair too, so shedding isn't as big of a problem as it can be with Goldens and other long-haired breeds.

GSPs and Vizslas are similar in all respects, but they tend to be a little more active and need more running time. Vizslas really need a TON of human contact. They are very people-oriented to the point that they are more needy sometimes. If they don't get enough attention, they can get destructive.

You definitely can't go wrong with a GSP. I'd put them somewhere between English Pointers and Weimaraners on the personality scale.

[JRL]

I got my first GSP in July of 08, and I can't wait to get another. My boy has surpassed all of my expectations. I only trained him on basic comands when he was a pup. He was doing water retrieves and blood tracking deer at 4-5 months old all on natural instinct.

He is a great family dog as he likes to cuddle and is great with children of all ages. He does have a tremendous amount of energy though. My back yard is small so I take him to the in-laws down the street every morning where he has a few acres to run and swim as well as some buddies to play with. I would personally feel guilty leaving him at home all day by himself. I know some gsp owners who crate their dogs all day with no problems so it is probably just a personal thing of mine.

I've really fallen for the breed and don't see myself ever getting another breed.

Some pixel indulgence if you will........

[Dale Moser]

That's a fine lookin hound Micks, I like that deep chest and high head!

[KRB]

pretty dog!!

[gspbrad]

1st, get a male for your 1st,

Pick the gender that YOU'RE most comfortable with. Pros and cons either way. I have all females and wouldn't have it any other way. Some guys prefer males. Pick what YOU want.

I've owned shorthairs for 25+ years. I'd be happy to talk with you about what you may want to look for in a shorthair. PM me your phone number and a good time to call.

Good Luck!

[Dale Moser]

Pick the gender that YOU'RE most comfortable with. Pros and cons either way. I have all females and wouldn't have it any other way. Some guys prefer males. Pick what YOU want.

I've owned shorthairs for 25+ years. I'd be happy to talk with you about what you may want to look for in a shorthair. PM me your phone number and a good time to call.

Good Luck!

Yeah, that part was specificaly for the guy I sent THAT email to.

Brad, how do you handle hunting the females with males when they are in heat?

I had my female fixed (by neccesity) and she just never quite had that drive that she had before. She put on about 8lbs too that I never did get off of her in 8 years of hunting, training, roading harness, all of it.......never could get that weight off.

What kennel do you use, if you don't mind my asking?

[TxTechBowhunter]

I have a female and my dad has a male. They are both great dogs and both love to retrieve.

Most suprising is how great they are with kids. My GSP is better with my 1 year old daughter than my lab is.

[Shane]

I had a mail GSP that I had fixed so he wouldn't get my female Weim pregnant (he still gave it his best effort). He gained weight and got more mellow too. Pros and cons.

[Texbow94]

I wish I would have known all that stuff Dale said before I got mine - of course that was before the green screen and maybe even before the internet.....

Great information guys!