What to look for when buying a pointer puppy.

[Damartin95]

So I'm looking to get a Pointer puppy and I'm looking for some advice when selecting a breader. I'm not new to bird dogs and guide preserve birds full Time in season. But I've never gotten a puppy before only started dogs. I found a semi local breeder (about 6 hour drive). That has one pup left from a litter. Both parents are akc registered both have their senior titles. Sire is one pass away from Master title. Price is reasonable but what other questions or things could I look for to ensure good pup/ breeder?

 

[mlob1one]

Disposition/personality of sire and dame can be a good indication of where your dogs personality might be headed.
For me, the on/off switch of my bird dogs is super important.
Otherwise, if you've got a motivated dog that wants to please, you'll have a great commission in the field and at home.
I'm sure you're way more in the know than me, good luck.
Out of curiosity, what breed are you looking to own?

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[IdahoElk]

I always like to see the parents size, temperament and test scores before I commit to purchasing a puppy. I would be cautious about getting the last pup from the litter, may be a great dog or may have issues that caused others to pass on it.

 

[Damartin95]

I always like to see the parents size, temperament and test scores before I commit to purchasing a puppy. I would be cautious about getting the last pup from the litter, may be a great dog or may have issues that caused others to pass on it.

Agree on the last pup of the litter thing. That's the only "red flag" if you want to call it that that I see.

 

[Damartin95]

Disposition/personality of sire and dame can be a good indication of where your dogs personality might be headed.
For me, the on/off switch of my bird dogs is super important.
Otherwise, if you've got a motivated dog that wants to please, you'll have a great commission in the field and at home.
I'm sure you're way more in the know than me, good luck.
Out of curiosity, what breed are you looking to own?

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This one is a gwp but I've had gsp, English pointer, and a lab pointer. I less care about breed, more care about how they hunt
I figure you can't have a favorite till you try them all lol

 

[chizelhead]

I would go with care. You're ostensibly going to have the dog for a long time and spend a lot of time with it. Do you like the breeder? Do they have a good reputation? I would get the test scores for the parents and as many dogs coming from the breeder. If they don't have scores or they do, but there aren't many from the breeder, I would go with caution.

 

[MJB]

Hunt drive

 

[JjamesIII]

So I'm looking to get a Pointer puppy and I'm looking for some advice when selecting a breader. I'm not new to bird dogs and guide preserve birds full Time in season. But I've never gotten a puppy before only started dogs. I found a semi local breeder (about 6 hour drive). That has one pup left from a litter. Both parents are akc registered both have their senior titles. Sire is one pass away from Master title. Price is reasonable but what other questions or things could I look for to ensure good pup/ breeder?

I look at navhda hunt scores from both parents and the grandparents. Natural ability scores when they were pups as well. I don’t know if you’re looking at ep or some of the German dogs. Trial dogs and plastic trophy dogs don’t interest me. I like mid range pointers that can pull it in close for grouse work out east in the aspens, that’s why I gravitate towards the versatile German type of dogs.
Any reputable breeder will not breed dogs with bad hips or other genetic conditions, but that’s also a question to ask. Look at the size of the parents, ask how they hunt and be realistic in your own experience in working dogs. If the parents are independent hard running rock stars it might take a special trainer. On the other end, timid dogs that are soft or ones that don’t have drive can be frustrating. So if you can set up an in field meeting to see how the parents run, that would be really good.
It’s worth the effort and extra money/research because you’ve got to live with the dog you get. Ultimately, no guarantees, but hedge your bets where you can and hope for the best. Then do your part and train smart.

 

[loganwayne]

I'll be honest. Even if you like the breeder I wouldn't get the last puppy, UNLESS it was the dog the breeder selected for me. My last dog we put a deposit down before the dog was breed. After meeting the parents. Spent the day with the breeder and he got to know us our house hold and what I was expecting from a dog, and our dogs at home. When the puppies were born we were told that a puppy was ours and in a few weeks he would start evaluating the dog. At 7 weeks he sent us a picture and said this is the puppy that I think fits your family, house and lifestyle the best. I said okay and she's been a great dog. 100% recommend finding a good breeder and picking the parents and letting them pick the pup.

 

[jmez]

Your guiding hunters. Participation ribbons and points mean nothing. Are the parents bird dogs? Get some references from the breeder. Call people and ask them about their dogs. See if the breeder will take you out with the sire or similar bred dogs. Nothing wrong with the last puppy, if it's friendly, socialized and shows a little independence.

Haven't seen many bearded dogs where drive was an issue. Usually the opposite with them. If it's a reputable breeder in the area, get a puppy, train it and enjoy.

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[KurtR]

So is it different in the pointer world than retrievers? There isnt a retriever with a grand or fc that would not do everything hunter would want. Problem is most of them wouldnt be able to handle a dog with out being trained them selves to handle it.

If i was to get any thing other than a lab after guiding pheasant hunters for 15 years on wild birds in South Dakota it would be a gwp or a draht . They seem to be good at both retrieving and pointing. The best combo i ever hunted with was a gsp and a lab. Those two worked together like a well oiled machine.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

Questions to ask. Drive? Cooperation? How much do they actually hunt their dogs? Where do they hunt their dogs? What birds? What range/pace are they moving? Do they check in often or do they go long periods without? Natural Retrieve Ability? Water? How steady are they? Did they do formal training? Force Fetch? Steady to Release? Are they house dogs? What are they like inside?

These questions also mean you need to have an idea on how you like your dog to hunt. If a breeder only takes their dogs on stocked pheasants every couple weekends on manicured fields, then I don't believe they can actually tell you the quality of their dogs. If they are unable to answer these questions quickly and confidently, then they don't hunt their dogs enough to know what type of dog they have.

 

[hobbes]

My nonexpert opinion......You can walk around an 8 or 10 week old puppy all you want for a full week and still don't know how he or she will compare to the rest of the litter down the road. I'm sure that's contrary to some folks opinion but I'm not buying it at that age. The parents records, some of the questions above, and in person visits are the best you can do. The pick from the litter is a gamble but it makes us feel like we've got a better chance at a good hunter.

I know everyone has heard these similar stories and "experts" probably roll their eyes, but.........I've had a last puppy runt of the litter setter given to me in the past because no one wanted it. It turned out to be a better dog than the owners selected even with my inadequacy as a trainer. The sires owner hunted over him with me a couple times and just shook his head at the number of birds the little guy would find and hold. I've currently got a 6 year old griff, my pick of a litter, that's a solid pheasant dog minus my failures. I got folks together to buy our pastor the last dog in that same litter. I'd venture that his pup is at least as good if not a touch better than my pick. The amount he hunts more than I weighs in a lot but he swears his "last pup" is the best dog he's owned.

I should probably include that I've had another last pup, pointing lab, from a litter for various reasons that I wasn't so lucky with. He was a fantastic family dog and the family loved him but he was timid as could be. Luckily his primary purpose was the family. I'd had a pick from a previous litter of the same parents that I believe was on his way to being a great bird dog but lost him to an accident.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[ceejay]

I just got a new ES pup a few weeks ago that was the last pup available. The breeding genetics were phenomenal, and I did not hesitate at all to get it on it and commit to that last pup. Picking through multiple puppies is more fun for sure, but in the end, there are more paramount things to consider. You are really evaluating the parents of the pup more than anything else.

 

[Aggie007]

Need to be comfortable with the breeder, ask for references and talk to folks. Need to be comfortable with the pedigrees of the sire and dam, and their intended purpose versus yours. Need to be comfortable with the color if getting a field dog (I lean towards more white on a dog as they are easy to spot in thick brush) as I don't use GPSs or beeper collars that often. Need to be comfortable with the personality of the dog. I also got the last pup in the litter, as the pup was returned as it was too hyper, and has been the best dog I have ever had. I also have got to watch the dogs interact and pick a pup from a full litter which was awesome too.

 

[Macintosh]

“Pointer”= English Pointer?
The one thing I care about is the thing that has not been mentioned yet, which is I want to see that the parents hunt in a way that matches my expectation. There’s enough variation within each breed (let alone within dogs lumped into “pointer” if that includes gsp’s, continental dogs, etc) that you cannot take that for granted. I assume you’re hunting pheasants if you’re in a preserve, I don’t know how planted or wild they are there or how much elbow room you have, but, if the parents are from horseback trial stock, they will probably be a lot rangier than you want, conversely, if you are on a preserve somewhere in open country and you want them to take 500-yard casts, you probably don’t want a dog that stays closer and doesn’t have the flat-out run. The titles are good, and are some confirmation of the train-ability of a dog, or at least the training skill of whoever trained them, but I’d want to watch both parents hunt and talk to a few owners from similar litters (is this a repeat breeding?) to get a sense of how those dogs run, how easy they are to train, their off switch if they are house dogs, attitude, etc. That’s the subjective part that I think is most important. A good dog with some smarts will figure out the rest.