nothinspecial

I've been looking into a german shorthair and just wondering what info you fine 'gents may be able to offer. There's not great bird hunting around me, but a little is available. Are they a good dog for a pet and hunting dog?

Any specific things to look at when selecting a pup?
How are they in general as pets? (i.e. temperment, good with kids yes or no?)


Thanks guys.

kdvollmer

I am in the same boat that you are in right now. I have though decided on getting a GSP based on what I have been told here from these guys. If you look back through some of the older posts you will find the discussion. I asked all the same questions that you did. From what I am told, they are excellent family dogs in general. Just lie any other breed, there can be some issues, but that can generally be worked out before you get a pup if you do your home work on the breeder and the lines that you are getting a pup from. I won't go into too much detail as I am sure that somebody else will. They can be high strung dogs in the house, and they can be excellent calm dogs in the house. it can go either way. I have been told that they are great with kids. how well might depend on how old they are, but in general, very good. I have a 5 year old and a one year old, and I am not too concerned.
Based on what you are saying, I will venture to tell you to look for a good reputable breeder that works more a "hunting line dog". From what I have seen, there are more or less 3 main lines within the breed. Show dogs, trial dogs, and just plain hunting dogs.I don't mean to upset anybody here, but this seems to be the consensus that I have gotten from many sources. ALL WILL HUNT FOR YOU.. BUT show dogs don't generally have the same drive as trial dogs. Trial dogs will tend to range a little farther out as well. something that is a just hunting dog will tend not to range as far as a trial dog, and will be a little easier to manage in the house. The huntinggenerally wont be as "perfect for the show ring" or might not point withall the "style" of the trial dog, but he will point your birds, retreive your brids, AND make a fine companion. If you are not going to hunt a whole bunch, or you are not going to do field trials, i would suggest the hunting line. I have found a breeder in Alabama that I feel fits this bill nicely for me. PM me and I will be happy to put you in contact with David. I do know that there is an excellent breedeing that was scheduled for about 2 weeks ago so there should be puppies available to take home sometime in Late December.
I would however talk to all these other guys too to get their opinion. There are people here that have much more knowledge than I do on this breed, and that might be able to help you find just the right breeder.


Good luck. I hope that this helps.

kurt

MasterE

I have been a GSP owner for 14 years. I have three 2yr olds, all brothers. The smartest dog I have owned was a knotheaded pup. He was good enough I kept his sons. In my opinion, for quail they are among the best. They range good, retreive decently, and have keen sense. They are a very wise & intelligent breed. I always tried to incorporate playing with training. My best pup lives with me. He has been housetrained since weaning. Great housedog, just don't get them started on cheese & bacon. As far as kids go. I have had excellent luck and no bad complaints. I take my pup with me to a friends house often. He owns two neurotic terriers with issues and I've had no problems. My pup rides to work with me often & stays with me at my biz. No issues there either, and the ladies love him. I would recommend that you construct a small well-built quail pen in your backyard. I have a flying pen next to my dog houses for the other two pups. They are never bored during the day and when you let them off their chain they have one thing on their mind, birds. We had a real problem here with the local quail population 6 -8 years back, kinda had to do it really. Good luck with your choice

JW

Yes - but do your research

JW

MasterE

Also, if you're a duck hunter. Shorthairs have slightly webbed feet

nothinspecial

thanks for all the info guys.
I'm still researching it, and hopefully I will have pup pics up in a few months once i make my desicion.

sproulman

you need to exercise them a lot,but what dog does not need it.
only thing that baffles me,of all programs on tv ,you very seldom see a GSP as dog they use in hunting shows..
most are
setters
labs
pointers
beagle
blue tick.....

you dont see brittanys,springer spaniels,gsp..

me, i like LAB but GSPhunts different than LAB..
if you can, go to hunting club in your area and watch a GSP hunt and how it acts and talk to owner..

Mite

As with most dogs, you get what you put into it. A dog not socialized will become an unknown around kids, adults, and other dogs. A neglected dog willdestroy stuff out of boredom. A untrained dog will become a nuisence.

Before you even get a dog, my advice is to pick up a good training book and read it through. But use any method with a grain of salt. What I mean is, you should learn to read your dog and then set the pace of your training methods. The best trainers are the ones who know how to read a dog and able to handle them with soft hands instead of trying to force a dog to obey. They know when to back off on training and when to apply more pressure. I'm learning with my current dog as I believe that I applied too much pressure too early, so now I'm only doing refreshers every month or so.

utah_1

We have 2 GSP's. One is a 6year old male and the other is a 8 month old female. We also have a 10 yr old chocolate lab. I would recommend GSP's to anyone on one condition. They are great pets and good around kids and adults, but they love to work or train. Even if you do not have alot of birds, plan on heading to a local game preserve a couple of times during hunting season. Ours are great in the house, but they need to be able to run and play. We think all hunting dogs should be part of the family and not just pulled out of the kennel a couple of times a year. Our dogs have all come from breeders that were involved with NAVHDA which is a great way to learn to train your hunting companion. We have run both of our GSP in there Natural Ability Test and we are going to train the young female for there Utility Test. You are not competing with other dogs only a standard established by NAVHDA. Tracking, Field Work and Duck Search along with retrieving. All the training is on footand very realistic to real hunting.. Even if you don't compete everyone is very helpful training your dog to be great pets. You could find a local club in your area by going to www.navhda.orgWe are inOhio and know belong to 2 chapters in Ohio. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Thanks Jeff & Kim