Spokane/Idaho Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Breeder

[ldrathman]

Hey all,

Looking to add a dog to the family and WPG's have really peaked my interest. Looking for any recommendations/first hand experiences with breeders local to Spokane, WA or neighboring ID. Thanks in advance!

 

[ldrathman]

Bumping to see if anyone has any experience with Snake River Griffons out of Buhl, ID? Been in contact and they seem like good people with lots of breed knowledge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Broomd]

Pm sent...

 

[Kleos]

Bumping to see if anyone has any experience with Snake River Griffons out of Buhl, ID? Been in contact and they seem like good people with lots of breed knowledge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got my Wire Haired Pointing Griffon from Snake River Kennels. They were great, and continue to be great whenever I have questions. My boy has been nothing but amazing and I have 0 regrets.

@Broomd said he sent you a PM. I would listen to everything he has to say as he is incredibly knowledgeable/helpful when it comes to this breed. He sent me a breeder he recommended but ultimately I wasn't patient enough to wait for the next litter.

Run your questions through him if he is willing and make your decision. This is the best breed of dog I have ever owned.

 

[ldrathman]

I got my Wire Haired Pointing Griffon from Snake River Kennels. They were great, and continue to be great whenever I have questions. My boy has been nothing but amazing and I have 0 regrets.

@Broomd said he sent you a PM. I would listen to everything he has to say as he is incredibly knowledgeable/helpful when it comes to this breed. He sent me a breeder he recommended but ultimately I wasn't patient enough to wait for the next litter.

Run your questions through him if he is willing and make your decision. This is the best breed of dog I have ever owned.

That's great to hear! Spoke with them on the phone this weekend and they seem like solid folks. We are a bit eager ourselves and they have a couple of pups on the ground as we speak, so we'll see if we decide to make a trip down there this weekend. I've heard nothing but great things about the breed.

 

[Kleos]

That's great to hear! Spoke with them on the phone this weekend and they seem like solid folks. We are a bit eager ourselves and they have a couple of pups on the ground as we speak, so we'll see if we decide to make a trip down there this weekend. I've heard nothing but great things about the breed.

Have you worked with bird dogs before?

 

[ldrathman]

Have you worked with bird dogs before?

Have causally spent time around a couple of different bird dog breeds, but never had one of my own

 

[Kleos]

Have causally spent time around a couple of different bird dog breeds, but never had one of my own

I've trained different breeds of dogs but this was my first bird dog breed. If I were you, I would digest as much bird dog training as I could before I got the pup. Explore different methods of teaching, what to do, what not to do. An example would be gun introduction. Had I not done my research I would not have known that it is possible to ruin a bird dog for life. I've even read 4th of July has ruined many prospective bird dogs. Another one is I wish I would have waited to do heel work, Griffon's always want to be by your side already and now with heel work, he doesn't work as far away from me looking for birds as I wish he would. I attribute a lot of this to having him work so closely with me at the beginning.

Set yourself up as much as you can for success. You might find one method works for your dog while another does not. This will allow you to be adaptable in your training. I have made simple mistakes and caused myself headaches by having added more steps to our training in the long run because I trained a skill the wrong way.

Try to learn as much about Wirehaired Pointing Griffons as you can. To me, they are a much different breed than most others. But maybe mine is just a character. They are extremely sensitive to even just you raising your voice. Griffons are easily over-pressured in training in my opinion and more than most breeds you have to make everything so much fun.

I love my little guy so much and he is the best dog I could ever ask for. I am glad he has been patient with me as I learned how to properly teach him. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Granted I am not a trainer but learned a lot online. For most things, you would be better off speaking to a professional.

In the end if you get your Griffon from a good breeder, you won't have to worry about training them to hunt birds. That is the easy part. The challenge is teaching them to listen to you when that bird prey drive kicks in and building the bond strong so that they WANT to listen.

 

[Okhotnik]

Have causally spent time around a couple of different bird dog breeds, but never had one of my own

Griffs are very high energy, high prey drive intelligent and take a lot of commitment meaning a lot of exercise and training especially the first few years. Be prepared for a minimum of at least 30 min of good exercise and training a day. An hour is better. Ask yourself if you're ready for such a commitment. They like to be around people and other animals so you can't just put them in the back yard or kennel for long periods day after day.

Its important to get your dog on a lot of wild bird contacts the early years of his/her life. Kennel train your dog and as mentioned they are very sensitive and never use a heavy hand during training.

Most of the good griff breeders will sell to hunting families only.

 

[WRO]

I'd look at a gwp too, much more forgiving dogs for an amateur trainer.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[orspeedgoat]

Pm sent...

Hey Broomd...I don't have PM access yet I believe, but I am looking at a dog from SRG, curious about your thoughts.

 

[Broomd]

Hey Broomd...I don't have PM access yet I believe, but I am looking at a dog from SRG, curious about your thoughts.

OR, not familiar with them, sorry. I do have the contact where I got my pup here in Idaho last March, he's a helluva dog at this point. Could point you to that breeder...

 

[ewade07]

Not quite the same, but I have a 10 month old GWP. I knew going into it he would be high energy and he is very much so. He’s also stubborn as an ox so that’s fun too. My advice to you is know that a Grif is going to be high energy and you will absolutely have to spend an hour or more everyday exercising him. If you can’t make that commitment don’t bother with the breed. Otherwise you’ll just have a menace in your hands.

 

[Broomd]

Not quite the same, but I have a 10 month old GWP. I knew going into it he would be high energy and he is very much so. He’s also stubborn as an ox so that’s fun too. My advice to you is know that a Grif is going to be high energy and you will absolutely have to spend an hour or more everyday exercising him. If you can’t make that commitment don’t bother with the breed. Otherwise you’ll just have a menace in your hands.

Yep, and it should be mentioned that it helps to have another young, energetic dog as a playmate.
We have three total, and our little aussiedoodle and griff play for hours every day. She was 2x's his size when he came here, now he towers over her, but they still play like day one.

Our boy runs 20+ miles a week with wife and I, so he's getting much-needed exercise. But that extra-dog play certainly helps! Having only a griff as a pet makes dedicating time to him extra important.

 

[ldrathman]

Hey Broomd...I don't have PM access yet I believe, but I am looking at a dog from SRG, curious about your thoughts.

Speedgoat, I ended up picking up a male from SRG about a month ago. Below are some pics of Boone shortly after we picked him up. Happy to share my experience if you want to chat.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Marble]

Making me consider a griffon or a GWP. I just had to put down my 13 year old female GSP last week. I have two other GSPs currently but should be giving one back to its owner (he's deployed right now) this next year.

The wife really likes the GWPs as do I. I've had one for the last 30 years.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk