German Shorthaired Pointer

[2ski]

The versatiledogs forum is a pretty good resourse if you're looking to do as much research as you can before hand. Lots of people would know some good breeders where ever in the country you want to look. A few might try to convince you to get a griff, but it'll be all in good fun.

 

[bbrown]

Just to keep echoing what has been said before and a story of what not to do...
A buddy decided he wanted a hunting dog so he choose the GSP. First mistake was living in a house full of dudes one of which did not work resulting a dog that was never left alone and quickly became overly attached. Not a problem when there was someone home but after my buddy moved into a place of his own she would go nuts as soon as he left. That dog was a damn Houdini - not a kennel, crate or yard she could not escape. She easily cleared 6'+ privacy fences and after going thru 3-4 of those wire kennels he finally had to weld one using 3/8" re bar spindles with 1/8" plate steel top and bottom. When he was around she was awesome but she had such an issue with attachment it would make her go crazy. She even conspired with his moms 110lb lab and after escaped her kennel she opened the fridge and allowed the lab to clean up. He eventually got a job in a different town and ended up in an apartment - which was a fiasco. She ended up going to a GSP rescue and now resides with 2 other GSPs with a couple who has no kids and a 2 acre lot. It was really tough for him to give her up but he knew it was best for her.

Here she is with my boxer pup after playing frisbee for 2 days during a camping trip.

Not trying to scare you away just make sure you are ready for the commitment - they really can be great dogs.

 

[SMITTY1HUNTER]

I had a male I got when he was 16 mo. I was worried he'd be too old to train but couldn't have been more wrong. I had a large park where I lived and would run him pretty much daily. They need a ton of exercise. He was a very smart dog and really great with kids. He was in fact an escape artist as mentioned. When he was in the yard he would whine in a "whistle" tone that would aggrevate the beejeezus out of me. They really need another dog around them if left alone if not by your side. If you want a leash dog that walks around the neighborhood don't even consider one. The energy level is in a different category from most other "normal" dog breeds. I now have a Lab and can honestly say the GSP would have ran my current dog in the ground. He wound up getting canine epilepsy which is not uncommon for the breed and it was hard to deal with to say the least. As much as I loved him I don't think I would get another although he will always have a special place in my heart and mind.

 

[yfarm]

If you are in San Antonio currently visit Uodibar Kennels in Hondo. Look up John Rabidou via google. He has a trainer named Renae Thomas that works for him that previously ran Dem Feuerhaus in Kenedy. He and she both raise gsps for hunting/ field trials. I have owned labs my entire life and had been bird dogless for a year. Took a good friend from SA to Iowa pheasant hunting with his Vizsla and 2 goldens owned by my son. Vizsla had never hunted pheasants, had never pointed quail until the year before, was a south Texas dove and duck dog. Completely changed my perspective on pheasant hunting after 60 years. Had hunted over shorthairs and labs in SW Kansas and had started to drift toward a pointing dog, the Vizsla finished it. Started looking for a hunting Vizsla in Tx, preferably a started dog, identified 6 breeders in the state, all were pet oriented except for one which had a litter due 4 months. Backed into a 5 m/o GSP female that was killing the owners ducks and chickens, completely untrained,literally, not even leashed, living loose with 15 other dogs on a property south of SA. Took her home, rough first 4 weeks, smartest dog I have ever had. Energy levels off the charts compared with all my labs which were not couch dogs. Run her 4 miles a day and she could go 15 easy. Strong prey drive but more sight than scent oriented, still a work in progress. Wife who has been with me for 47 yrs with dogs the whole time says if she had known what we were in for would had said no way. No regrets on my part.

 

[fwafwow]

Is the OP’s dog now in retirement?

 

[Mojave Kid]

My GSP is from Carl Porter. Larry Lowell also breeds great GSP. I have had dogs trained by both. They are located in the Victorville/Lucerne Valley area of SoCal.

 

[yfarm]

Came up in my feed as recent, didn't check the date, happens to me once every couple of months. How about an update on the OPs life with a gsp?

 

[fwafwow]

Came up in my feed as recent, didn't check the date, happens to me once every couple of months. How about an update on the OPs life with a gsp?

I didn’t notice at first either. Now the OP should tell us how it went!

 

[realunlucky]

OP hadn't logged in for 2 years so might be a bit of a wait

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[fwafwow]

OP hadn't logged in for 2 years so might be a bit of a wait

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

It's been 10 years. I'm patient. And that's way longer than we've been waiting on @Dos Perros to complete The Sequel, and for OH1$ to complete the story.

 

[bdg848]

Really think about how you hunt and pick a breed, or breeder if you are certain of a GSP, that will fit your style of hunting. You see supercharged GSPs and English pointers tearing it up in field trials but recognize that is a SPORT and those dogs are bred for that SPORT. I you are a weekend hunter, hunt small parcels or cattail sloughs then you probably don't want the type of dog that will be winning trials. I have a GSP that works at moderate range, which is fine in the midwest, but she tends to be so driven that she will sometimes be working faster than I can keep up and wild pheasants are pretty sneaky. Often, they won't give you a picture perfect point/flush/shoot. Most of the time, the dog is tracking a running bird and trying to cut it off at the pass and the birds will sometimes just flush wild. I honestly can't imagine a big running bird dog doing very well where I hunt in Iowa.

Some people breed crazy high drive GSPs for trials and I would wager that isn't what you will want or need even if you do hunt some more open areas than I do. Find a breeder that is a hunter who hunts the same kinds of places you will. Craig Koshyk has written some good articles on picking a breed that is right for your life. I would highly recommend you check out his articles and listen to 'the Hunting dog confidential'.

The last thing I will say, and I did not realize this until we got our GSP, is that they shed LIKE CRAZY!! You'd think that with short hair it wouldn't be bad but the short hair makes it worse. They shake their body and you will see a cloud of tiny hair float off them like you just shook out a dusty rug. Hair will be EVERYWHERE...the hair is so tiny and stiff that it will literally poke into and through all the fabric in your house and will not simply brush off like long hair does. It pokes into and weaves through the fibers and never comes out. My suggestion is to buy furniture and all your clothes to be the same color as the dog........honestly, after have two GSPs, our next dog will be a long or wired haired dog just for that reason. I'm looking into German Longhaired Pointer's, Large munsterlanders, Picardy Spaniels, and Griffons.

 

[bdg848]

Hahaha. Next time I will read more before I spend 15 minutes posting lol. Well, maybe it will help someone else haha.