German long haired pointer

[Trm82]

Just contemplating on getting a German long-haired pointer and was wondering if anyone here had one and thoughts about the breed.

Thanks.

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Great hunting dogs.

They need attention and space.

Very high energy and need lots of exercise.... if you know the parents even better and you'll get a feel for what you may get.

I wanted one but we were starting our family and they can be a little temperamental and didn't want any incidents with little ones. For that reason we got a golden retriever which was the right choice for us.

As with every dog..... Good training trumps everything.

 

[Trm82]

Great hunting dogs.

They need attention and space.

Very high energy and need lots of exercise.... if you know the parents even better and you'll get a feel for what you may get.

I wanted one but we were starting our family and they can be a little temperamental and didn't want any incidents with little ones. For that reason we got a golden retriever which was the right choice for us.

As with every dog..... Good training trumps everything.

My old boy is still kicking (English springer) who will be 13 this spring but most people think he's eight or nine years old he gets around pretty good but my fear is getting a pup

might be a little too rowdy and too hard on him he's my boy and he takes priority so not sure if we are going to just hold out till the old boys passes on.
From what I understand and have researched because I didn't really hear about the German Long haired pointer until just tonight it's a cross between a GSP and a large münster lander they look like a great breed and rare is what I read.

Either one of those would be the one we would get.

Why do hunting dogs have to be so freaking awesome
I said not long ago we aren't going to get another dog and here I am sipping on a whiskey contemplating another dog.
Probably because they're way better than any human on the planet.
Except my wife , She's just amazing

 

[epoletna]

We have "owned" two German short-haired pointers. I put 'owned' in quotation marks because they really owned us.

It is a fabulous breed with the two cautions mentnioned by TRM82 -- they need space and exercise. One of the two we had lived with us on our family farm. we'd let him out in the morning and he'd run flat out for about 45 minutes, then come back to be with us. the truth is, we did not spend enough time training him because we didn't think we had to -- he hunted the very first time we took him out. and he went everywhere we went and spent every waking moment with us.

We're both in our early 80's now and I won't get another because I know he would outlive us and don't want that.

So if you would consider a shorthair breed, have plenty of space, and have the time to train him properly, you won't find a better breed.

 

[Greta06]

Interesting, i never heard of the long haired version either. I have 2 gsp's with a third one "on order" my 13.5 year old is getting close to her end. Another good option for you might be a wire haired pointer, i have a buddy who has been trying to talk me into one of those. But I have had such great luck with gsp's not planning to switch anytime soon.

 

[bird dogs]

I am a professional gundog trainer and have trained a couple of long haired pointers. Compared to most shorthaired pointers, they are a little bit softer in mental sensitivity. Meaning you've got to take your time training. I handled both a male and female, each had a very pleasant personality. Their hair is over an inch long and they do shed heavily twice a year. Enjoy..

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

I have a German Wirehair Pointer. We run her on quail, chukar and pheasant--that dog is a Jedi Knight in the field. At home she's just a busy, gangly galoot...who can get out of anything--had to put bird net over her kennel to keep her in. She can jump a 55" field fence like a gazelle. She weights 70 lbs. at 3 years old and can range for hours in the tall grass but would really love to just sit in your lap. She is great with my 3-year-old granddaughter, but happiest in the field. The guides at Joshua Creek Ranch (Orvis 5-star Hunting ranch) routinely ask me if I can come out to corporate/special event hunts and bring my dog. She's a celebrity out there. They are originally from Germany (called Drathaars there) and mostly live far north Midwest US, but we got her at Idawire Kennels right near my house just south San Antonio. The breeder got tired of Idaho winters and relocated down here--about 4 miles from my house as the crow flies. After an extensive search, we nearly bought one we found in Minnesota when the "internet AI bot" showed us the Idawire Kennel...Who knew? I highly recommend based on temperament with family members and natural hunting ability. At about the 6-month-old timeframe, I did a little home training with her then just took her out to hunt with other trained dogs and in about 2-3 weeks she had it. Never looked back.

 

[Pdvdh]

My limited experience with German Wirehair Pointers included getting bit by a 9-month old female this past September while walking a trail in the forest near my house. A local homeowner has two of them. One male and one female. They're both completely untrained, high energy, rambunctious, and overly aggressive. The owner was with her dogs, walking them on the same trail I was walking through the woods.

I'd say a big factor contributing to the aggression with her dogs, are both of the dogs are probably smarter than their owner. The dogs are completely uncontrolled. During the aggression, which resulted in getting bit on the back of my thigh, the owner never did anything, said anything, to reign in her dogs. She looked like a deer frozen in the headlights.

I've owned and trained my own springer spaniel and german shorthair pointer / black lab mix hunting dogs in the past. These German wirehair pointers have more pent up energy than most hunting breeds I've been around. Because of that, I think they need some basic obedience school training, more-so than the average hunting dog.

I'll say this. They love to jump, and can jump like gazelles.

 

[TxHeartShot]

I hunted pheasants in Kansas a few weeks ago with a couple of GWPs, in a crowd of 7 GSPs and a Boykin. They were both excellent dogs, very well trained. The big one, Kaiser, at about 85 lbs had to kick an overly aggressive GSP's butt in a little scuffle over a downed bird...after that everyone got along like best buddies.

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

One thing I like about GWP is that you can teach them to hunt anything. My dog "Sasha" forte is of course upland game, but she is also an amazing tracker...she can find anything and smell a down deer in the next zip code. She gets bored to death dove hunting tho--not enough running...She is a busy dawg and a bit willful. You do need to be smarter than your dog and they need a lot of engagement and discipline as puppies. Once they know who's boss they're pretty amazing.

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

VDD German Drahthaar by far. Check them out or your doing yourself a disservice. Not the American version the pure German one. I had an amazing girl from Vom Altmoor kennels on NJ. What a hunting beast. Woods water fields she could do anything. And I mean anything.
At 9 month's old I had her breaking through skim ice on a lake for duck work. There are not enough adjectives to describe how wonderful she was.

1 thing as they or she was is STRONG ON FUR. don't take that lightly. Raccoons possums yotes are in trouble.
I miss my girl

How she cuddled with my daughter and the other at the vet for check up

RIP
Sasha

 

[Trm82]

We have "owned" two German short-haired pointers. I put 'owned' in quotation marks because they really owned us.

It is a fabulous breed with the two cautions mentnioned by TRM82 -- they need space and exercise. One of the two we had lived with us on our family farm. we'd let him out in the morning and he'd run flat out for about 45 minutes, then come back to be with us. the truth is, we did not spend enough time training him because we didn't think we had to -- he hunted the very first time we took him out. and he went everywhere we went and spent every waking moment with us.

We're both in our early 80's now and I won't get another because I know he would outlive us and don't want that.

So if you would consider a shorthair breed, have plenty of space, and have the time to train him properly, you won't find a better breed.

A few years ago we lost a member of the family (Gibson ) Who was in fact a GSP and the best friend I've ever had I miss him every day. And I will say this , he was the easy button !!! He was an amazing dog and my only gripe with the GSP is their friggin hair that stuff gets into places you'll never get it out again

 

[Trm82]

Interesting, i never heard of the long haired version either. I have 2 gsp's with a third one "on order" my 13.5 year old is getting close to her end. Another good option for you might be a wire haired pointer, i have a buddy who has been trying to talk me into one of those. But I have had such great luck with gsp's not planning to switch anytime soon.

I love the GSPs but when we had ours I felt so bad for them living in northern Canada in the winter the poor things have no protection.

 

[bengineer]

Many of the versatile breeds are awesome dogs. We have a first gen american gwp from imported german parents. I cant call her a vdd, but her parents are. She is amazing. 50#, looks like the Sasha dog pictured above, but bushier in the face. A real hot mess after drinking water. And if she gets into burrs. Personality for days. Willful. Im sure if she were male I would have had to run him nearly to death before any training. Quick learner. Use the navda or similar books for training basis; they are good and necessary. She will swim in a river amongst the ice flow when its 10F. She will hunt early season upland all day if you keep her in the water. She drinks copious quantities of water. Like watch out amounts. An angel in the house with our littles. She plays super hard with other dogs; some dogs are put off by it or will think its a fight.

I cant say enough good about the draht breed. Had a gsp as a kid. She was a great house dog and hell on cats, untrained and a meh hunter because of it. Ive been around pudelpointers and they were great too. Never hunted with a griff nor a stichelhaar so i have nothing there.