# German short haired pointer



## KWaller (Oct 3, 2010)

I'm trying to get a GSP here. From my understanding they have a lot of energy and are athletic and possibly the best bird dog out there. 
Here's my advantages for getting this dog: I hunt grouse in the U.P. and Wisconsin, pheasant in the Dakota's, and duck hunt alot, and a little in-state upland hunting, I have the area and woods and water for excersise and practice, I have the time and patience, got the money for it as well.

Disadvantage: I have never trained a dog but have been reading up on it!

So, do you recommend the GSP and does anyone know any good full blooded GSP breeders within Ohio or our primary neighboring states?

Also, the dog will duck hunt probably the most but I really need a pointer for the upland hunting. My basic needs from this dog is too point, listen, and retrieve and return in brush or water.

Thanks all

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

My buddy has GSP's and I've never been so impressed with a hunting dog! We belong to a hunting club just across the line in PA that stocks pheasant during the season. This is not classic upland field cover, but some of the nastiest, most tangled thickets you can imagine! He was always a lab guy and started hunting there with them. They just couldn't handle the thickets! Then, he bought a mated pair of GSP's from an elderly lady in Iowa or Illinois and started a kennel. GSP's move through those thickets like ghosts! 

Yes, they have *TONS* of energy! His lead hunter will hunt all day and, when we go to load up for home, will look at us like, "What! That's all?" And when she hunts, she tends strictly to business, no larking about or playing. We are there to hunt birds and, for her, it is the meaning of life itself! 

Yes, they are a bit hyper, and can be willful at times. They can also become destructive if left alone and they become bored. Always need something to "entertain the brain". That being said, they love people and are house trainable. You said you have time and patience, the ideal combo for training up a fabulous GSP. And once trained, they don't seem to lose it. Abigail will go out this season and just pick up where she left off last season. By the way, Abigail will also water retrieve. Last year we were hunting with another friend when Abigail pointed a bird in a thicket near the shore of one of the lakes on our club. The bird flushed out over the water and the guy shot it. He started beating himself up over it. My buddy says, "No problem". He just took Abby to the water's edge, pointed, and then threw a rock to mark the location of the bird. "Fetch him up!" She swam out, grabbed the rooster, and brought it back just like Lab with a duck! Our friend was dumbfounded!

My buddy has a kennel but no pups at this time, only a few adult dogs that I'm sure he wouldn't mind selling, but, they're not trained. He started a new job last year that has him working a lot of freaky hours. He's making the best money ever in his life but, unfortunately, training kind of fell by the wayside. I'd get a pup. Nothing like bonding with a pup and introducing it to the wonderful world of bird hunting.


----------



## KWaller (Oct 3, 2010)

That's great buckeye!!! How old should I get the pup? I can't wait to get one of these!


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## longhaulpointer (Mar 12, 2009)

get 2, you'll think im nuts, but they'll play with each other all day and cancel a lot of the hyperness


----------



## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Breeders normally start selling pups about 8 to 10 weeks of age. By that time they are weaned and eating solid puppy food. Also, they've had tails docked and dew claws removed, and have their initial shots. And, get the papers. Some breeders will sell you a dog at a discount w/out the papers. Don't do it. If at some time in the future you want to breed your dog, whether sire or dam, w/out papers, it's worthless. My buddy's dogs have multiple champions in their bloodline, all the way back to Germany! Believe me, when you get into it, it helps. It's helped him sell many dogs. Not trying to set you up as a kennel owner, but you never know what may happen. Wish you the best.


----------



## KWaller (Oct 3, 2010)

Sire and dam, which is which gender


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## kingtrukr (Oct 15, 2007)

I'm hardly a Joe Pro dog expert but I have owned three GSP over the years. All were house dogs and around kids and other pets. All hunted, although I'm probably not as serious of a hunter as most. One was professionally trained on birds and I trained the other two, rather unprofessionally  

It's great that you've done some homework before just going out and buying a GSP. It's also great that you have some land/woods and that you plan to exercise the dog regularly. You'll need it. If you truly want a dog that will hunt like a beast all day I recommend you go with a GSP that is bred specifically for that purpose. You can easily purchase a hunter bloodline GSP from a private individual but you'll need to thoroughly research the breeder. Just because a dog has a hunter bloodline doesn't mean that bloodline has been active hunters over the last several generations. A pretty good route to try is to contact some of the pay to bird hunt farms in this region and inquire if they will have any pups for sale in the near future. That's where my current GSP came from and she's a hunting machine and the most primal dog I've ever seen.

A hunter bloodline will also likely mean a more hyper and energetic dog. You will have to commit to a serious exercise program. The puppy stage is more than many folks want to handle and I'm still trying to figure out when and if it will end. My current GSP is five years old and she still bounces off the walls if she doesn't run every day. Thank goodness for ATV's!

Another thought, bear with me here, is to buy a show bloodline and train it or have it professionally trained on birds. You run a risk by doing this but it all depends on what is really important to you. The show bloodline dog will still have a ton of energy but the best way I can explain it is they sort of have the edge taken off. My second GSP was a show bloodline and I had her professionally trained. The trainer didn't guarantee anything due to her show background but the finished product turned out to be outstanding for me. She wouldn't have won any competitions but she was great in real hunting situations. She listened to commands, didn't range too far and you'd have to smack her with the butt of your gun to get her to break point. The only thing she lacked was a decent ability to follow birds in flight. She took good direction when she was in search mode so tracking flying birds wasn't a big problem if I could see the general area where a bird went down. I'm not claiming that all show bloodline dogs will be good hunters. This is just an alternative if you want a chance at a good all purpose dog. 

This dog also had a temperament to travel over the road with me confined in the cab of a semi truck for weeks at a time. I still tried to exercise her everyday so I chose truck stops by how much vacant land was adjacent to them. When in a hurry, I could pull up to a rest stop, flip open the door, she'd take care of business and hop right back in the truck. I never had to worry about her off the leash and I never worried about my truck being broken into when left unattended. This dog hunted plenty good enough for me, was a good guard dog and a good house dog. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

My first GSP had a mixed bloodline. She was probably the smartest of the bunch but I really didn't have a clue about training her at the time. She hunted fairly decent only because she was very good at following commands. I made a horrible mistake showing her the fun a dog can have with a frisbee. This was both bad for her sense of smell and bad in the sense that catching a frisbee was soon all that she cared about. As dumb as this sounds this is something that can easily happen. You'll be wanting to find an easy way to exercise the dog. If you throw a frisbee or get a tennis ball launcher the dog can become obssessed with it and hunting becomes boring. Just long periods of mindless running is your best bet for exercise. Again, thank goodness for ATV's. 

You mentioned using a GSP as a waterfowl dog... All of mine have been awesome water retrievers and dock jumpers but you're kind of asking them to go against their nature to sit motionless in a blind or boat all day. I know that it can be done but I'm just thinking about your irritation factor until the dog is trained and the dog's irritation factor at being asked to do this. There's no way that I could picture training my current GSP to do this but I'm fairly lazy these days. I'm sure you've thought it through so whatever works best for your situation is what you should do. I think if I were going to mix waterfowl and upland I'd go the Lab route. I've owned a few of them also. My current Lab is well past her prime but was a very respectable upland hunter in her day. Grouse hunting in the woods, maybe not quite so much but when hunting thick brush and corn fields she was brutal on pheasant. 

A constant need for exercising every single day, a serious commitment to training every single day and the time to do all of that are huge considerations. I know that "high energy level" and "needs plenty of room to run" are quotes that you hear about a lot of dog breeds. When it comes to GSP's those quotes don't even begin to describe the process. You sound like you already have a good idea of what you are getting yourself into so I say go for it. Good luck and have fun... Oh yeah, learn some breathing exercises and meditation. It will help you a little during the puppy stage and it's better for you than slamming Jack and Cokes.


----------



## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

KWaller said:


> Sire and dam, which is which gender
> 
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


The sire is the male, the dam is the female. And longhaulpointer had a good point (no pun intended). If you have two dogs they can keep each other entertained when you can't be with them.

Edit; Check out the thread "GSP Pups" on this page by zimbass. He's going to have pups available around Christmas. Might be worth checking out.


----------



## claytonhaske (Apr 16, 2010)

I have a gsp......best dog ever!!!! Hyper, but a good hunter and a good companion.


----------



## zimbass (Feb 7, 2010)

The mod had to remove my post, I was not aware of the change that you could not advertise the sale of pups on this site.


----------



## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

zimbass said:


> The mod had to remove my post, I was not aware of the change that you could not advertise the sale of pups on this site.


When I didn't see it on the board I figured it was something like that. Of course, you could always PM KWaller and communicate that way.


----------



## KWaller (Oct 3, 2010)

Yep, zimbass keep in touch with me. Thanks all!


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## zimbass (Feb 7, 2010)

KWALLER, the email you sent me is not working, email me at [email protected] I tried to send you a few emails and got them all returned undeliverable.

Zimbass


----------



## Brent Nickel (Jul 30, 2007)

Try contacting your local NAVHDA chapter. Do some research on NAVHDA. The organization specializes in exactly what you are wanting to do. Many breeds of dogs could fit your description.


----------

