How To Pick a Puppy

How to Pick a new GSP Puppy

     I have decided to write this article because I often see people come by wanting for sure GSP puppy number 2 and leaving 2 hrs later completely confused and puppy num 2 is not even on the list anymore, now it's 3, 5, 7 and 9 lol.

It is always hard and a big decision to pick a puppy from a litter. I am of course used to it and see it very often :) It is an exciting event for the new GSP owners and seems as it is a very important step. But IMHO it is not, the important thing comes after. It is to raise your new puppy right and train it well so you both can coexist harmoniously together. Important is to pick the right Breed, Litter and a Breeder for you and for the betterment of the particular breed, that is what's important. That way you are guaranteed a solid, healthy and well adjusted puppy with good genetic code. In some breeds like GSP and Drahthaar we are still fortunate that many puppies are very capable of being a good sport or hunting dog, unlike for example GSD, Golden Labs, Rottweilers, Dobermans etc where you have to sift thru many many well bred dogs to find one that can do Police work for example. This is mostly due to improper breeding selection and show dog industry. 

With Pointer dog, from my experience, it is most important to find a breeder who you like and can develop a relationship with for the future. This can potentially save you lot of money on vet bills or training as some of us often have a lot of experience with common illnesses and training issues. Better yet, find a breeder that can actually train his dogs and can prove it to you. That way you know that your puppy has parents that are capable of doing the advertised work. I almost always see ads go like this: "Parents are great family dogs and they love to hunt". That's great, but so often the seller is completely clueless about hunting or training his dogs. Often they wont let them out of the yard, because they would run away for example followed by a comment "they are hunting dogs, they would just run away and chase animals". What a crock of ....! This is all very common. 

So with this out of the way lol ;) 

      Tails, always watch the tails! If you see a litter and half of the puppies hide their tail between their legs, leave, do not buy a puppy from them. They either have very bad genes or are not socialized they way they should be and you just don't want to deal with problems right from the start. Always look for happy tails ;) 

     The second most important thing is to decide if you want a Boy or a Girl! If you are planning on "fixing" your dog then it doesn't matter really. So much of their hormones will be eliminated from their body that really the only difference will be peeing on a fence or not. And no, males do not pee in the house. With this being said, if you Do Not plan on fixing your dog then IMO females are smarter, tougher and could be better working dogs BUT they are that much harder to train and get along with as well. So other words if you are looking for a serious dog and want to spend a lot of quality time training, get a female. If you want a pet and a bit of a working dog that is easy to manage, get a boy. Now, this is of course only a generalization but it has been my personal experience over the years. And NO, girls and boys are not the same!

     I breed GSP's and German Wire-haired Pointers/Drahthaars imported from Europe. (You may want to read my article on CKC Registry Issues). They are a bit different from each other and I like to cross them as well. IMO Drahthaar is the ultimate hunting dog and there is none close to it. I am talking only about Euro bred and registered dogs with unlimited lines of working titled dogs, not CKC or AKC dogs. But they are often larger, have a bit more hair then GSPs, beard and can be somewhat of protective dog and more of a handful in the wrong hands. But also the very best if you spend the time and work with them. Their coat also makes a difference in the summer and winter or fall months. If your main goal is duck hunting in the fall then you definitely want Wire-haired, if you want to run your dogs in the summer a lot, then you want GSP, if you want to do a bit of both then you want a mix of the two. 

        Size. I have some North American bred females that are around the 45lbs size and I have some Euro females who are in the 70s and 80s lbs. Here is a prime example of how important breed selection is over the generations. Imo smaller dogs (talking about pointers here) are more energetic and if raised properly can be good working dogs. If spoiled can be more destructive or trouble because of their higher prey drive often. Smaller puppies in a litter often are conditioned to fight for themselves where their big siblings often tend to be easy going adults because they never had to work for food etc. It is important you raise them properly after they go home and adjust to each dog's specific needs. What I am saying is that I would maybe raise a small female differently them a big male, talking about working dogs mostly. 

     The other thing is colour and colour pattern. This is really not important and all our puppies change their colours and their patterns in the first year of their lives a lot. Most of the time they darken up a lot and very often they will be unrecognizable from their 3 week old pictures. :) Don't pick based solely on colour. 

Cheers and have fun :)

John

czechmate