From: bigdog@bones.et.byu.edu (Dan Canfield)
Subject: Re: German Short-haired Pointers
Organization: Brigham Young University, Provo UT USA
Date: 25 Jan 93 07:39:54 CST
Originator: hunting@osnome.che.wisc.edu

In article <1993Jan21.105211.20615@doug.cae.wisc.edu> robert_walton@NeXT.COM (Robert Walton) writes:
>
>I went to the Cow Palace Sport and Boat Show yesterday and saw some German  
>Short-haired Pointers from Nelson's Kennels.  My wife and I are looking  
>for a dog (not now but soon) that is smart, good natured, good with kids,  
>clean, doesn't shed, good in the house, and (for me) will also be a good  
>upland hunting dog.  Of course my wife could care less about this last  
>item, and she is pushing for a yellow lab.  Good retreiver, but that's not  
>the type of hunting I do.  I went pheasant hunting with a friend and his  
>black lab once, and it worked out O.K., but the dog is hardly an ideal  
>upland dog.
>
>Thoughts on (or better yet experience with) the German Pointers?  How do  
>they do on the above criteria?  Yellow labs?  Other breeds?  Advice  
>appreciated.
>

A German Short-haired Pointer was the first dog I ever owned.  A
friend of the family gave him to me when he moved.  He was well
trained and I loved to hunt with him.

Things I experienced where that he was VERY mild mannered.  I don't
remember him ever even growling at another person.  He loved to play
by rolling around in the grass with me and was great company when I
went hunting(sounds funny doesn't it?).  I can't tell you how he was
around kids, because he was never around them.  I was the youngest and
the only one left at home when I got him.  He was a fairly smart dog
and seemed to learn quick even though I got him when he was 3 years
old.  He learned quickly where to sleep, that he couldn't go to the
road, and not to bark at night.  He was fairly hyper when we would go
hunting for the first few times, but I think it was because he hadn't
been very much.  I got hime when I was 12 and we hunted every other
day until I was 18 and he died.  After a few times out and a couple of
stern talking too's, he calmed down and turned into a great hunting
dog.

The only concerns I would have would be the size of the bread for
being in the house.  My dog was fairly tall and my mom often said he
was too big to be in the house although he often ended up laying at
her feet in front of the fire.  Also, make sure that a pointer is what
you want.  When mine would go on point, there wasn't anything except
for the bird to flush that would bring him off point.  This was a
hassle sometimes becuase I would hunt thick briars and he would go in
and go on point and I would have to climb in and flush the bird.  It
was actually kind of funny sometimes.

My dog was an upland game hunter.  He could out perform any of my
friends dogs when hunting pheasant/pine hens/ or the likes.  I did
teach him how to water fowl hunt, and he learned how to sit still in a
duck blind and how to swim out and retreive a duck for me.

I don't have a hunting dog now, but if I were to buy another one, it
would be a German Short-hair.


Dan Canfield
bigdog@bones.et.byu.edu

DoD #0071,RP90
'89 FJ1200
'89 Indy707
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