GSP - Information wanted on this breed General Chat

I think i am falling in love with this breed! Would love to see pics and hear what they are like to live with

oh dear oh dear oh dear.
I have a GSP and a GSD. Getting a shorthair when you`re used to shepherds is a total culture shock. Your shorthair will range and scent and be obsessive about trails. He will do edges of fields and work at a distance - unlike your GSD who will be close enough to tread on.
In the house he will be clingy, loving, greedy, demanding, tactile and in need of the closest spot to the fire. Outside he will cheerfully break ice on ponds so he can get closer to and interesting scent. GSPs never grow up.
You will need to learn about the mysterious world of gundogs because a GSP who doesn`t work is a neurotic GSP. Working Trials is a good discipline for the more squeamish as although there is the same need to stand in muddy fields in the depths of winter, you don`t have to pick up dead animals. And you will need to whistle train him.
Having said all that - they`re wonderful.

^ What she said ^ lol

HPRS turn you slightly loopy and are hard work and can be very stubborn.
And as with many breeds watch out for poor temperament and make sure hips, elbows and eyes have been tested for and the results are good.

I will put up a couple of pics.

Sophie

I agree with all of the above. I used toys to train my GSP and he is totally hooked, so he has a guaranteed recall and pesters me constantly for his ball. Without that he would be ranging into the next county. I see lots of GSPs in rescue with dubious recall often having killed sheep. If you put in the work when they are young they are such rewarding dogs. They have a mischievous sense of humour because they are very intelligent and can be a bit manipulative. They are very good at comunicating with their people. They can be a bit whingey and vocal but that's part of the charm.

A pic of my Bertie

Bertie is splendid.
Here`s Shamus and my previous one Laddie.

My ex's GSP was a nightmare simply because he didnt put in the required work. He took her to work with him from day 1 and as a result (these are a clingy breed anyway) she would tear the house to pieces if left alone. No matter where we went we had to take her with us and leave her in the car/van which was inconvenient to say the least.

He didnt put in the time or effort when it came to training her, just left her to her own devices so what will a hunting dog do if left to make their own entertainment? Hunt of course and she did so to the point of obsession and danger. In fact, she has been very grey since the age of 2 and it's purely because she literally runs herself into the ground. How this dog hasnt burst her heart through her obsession with flushing every living animal from the undergrowth is a miracle.

She was also a major whinger and this was never discouraged, just punished when it got on his nerves too much. She was also a notorious counter surfer and nothing was safe, no matter how high or out of the way it was seemingly placed.

This has been my only real experience with a GSP and I have to say it wasnt a good one, due to the owner. On the plus side, she would never dream of hurting anybody, even when faced with a beating and she had the potential to be a fantastic dog if only the time was put in.

Just let the above be a warning what you can end up with if you dont give them the direction, exercise and stimulation they need!

Millie is obviously the dog on the right!

Here are some pics of my beloved GSP Ollie who is such a clown and makes me laugh so often.

He just loves the water.





And finding treasure I have hidden in the woods.



Or stalking his ball.



Or sitting on the table as a protest for being shut in the kitchen.

Beautiful dogs. And Maxine is so right - they are such clowns sometimes.

Beautiful dogs....I have a soft spot for them too

There is a feature on them in the December issue of "Dogs Today" as I bought one yesterday.

oooh i want hadnt really looked at them before, as i prefer the english, well i thought i did. but i have to say GSPs are stunning!!

more info and pics please!

If you can put up with, a very strong dog that is hard to train to walk to heel, slobbers, is very boisterous can be clumsey, is plenty big enough to steal food from most places, can open doors and re-arage your bedroom, will run off on walks can be hard to train recall, loves to go off hunting, will possibly kill strange cats, needs a fair ammount of exercise, will bring you the most manky dead things.........and at times be very stubborn.

This could be the dog for you

Good points - beautiful IMO, intelligent, lovely charater and friendly (depending on which line), good working gundog, if you don't like grooming.

I might put more pics up but you can see my boy on the previous page.

Sophie

well my OH likes the english pointer, and thats on his list of dogs for when we get our own place, but i must admit lookswise i prefer the GSP, are there any major differences between the two?

Have a look at http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=139462

HTH

Sophie