German Shorthaired Pointers - what health tests are required? General Chat

Hi, a friend at work is looking for a German Shorthaired Pointer pup. It's not my kind of dog so I couldn't realy advise so thought I would ask on here. What health tests are required and can anyone recommend any good breeders? Are they suitable for a family with two young children?

I know a couple of breeders but these are pure working lines so probably not suitable for a young family. Unless of course they intend to be very active with training and exercise.

Are they suitable for a family with two young children? I would say that depends on what their plans are for the dog and how experienced they are with dogs. I can't speak for show line GSP's as I have no experience with them, but the work lines are very much working dogs by nature. They are HPR's, are very intelligent, range far and wide and need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. The continental pointing breeds are some of the most challenging in the gundog group and they require a lot of time and input.

Have they had this kind of breed before? gundog breed puppies are usually very boisterous so depending how young is "young", care would need to be taken around the puppy with children. Most puppies obviously don't intend to hurt but gundog breeds can be mouthy and those needle teeth; ouch!

I looked for health tests and the minimum required appears to be hip scored and heart scored.

They are people dogs. So provided the children are well behaved, yes.
They are not ideal for pet homes - they are very driven and need to work.
But they are wonderful dogs.

I have a working line GSP who adores children as they are easy for him to train in his favourite ball related activities. He would never harm a child.... on purpose, but he is very boisterous and even more clumsy!! Provided they are dog savvy and at least 7-8 years old and the parents have researched the breed and know what they are letting themselves in for, then they are fab. But they are NOT a tall spotty Lab who would make a good couch potato.

The best place for your friend to look is the breed club(s) whose members have to abide by codes of ethics over and above those of the KC.

They also have a health co-ordinator (for all clubs) which collate health issues and report to the KC.

They will also have info on what health tests breeding stock should undergo

http://www.gsp.org.uk/

http://www.gspa.co.uk/

The only one that the KC require for ABS is hip scoring

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/1100/abshealthreqs.pdf