Evening all. Being partly owned by a very nice looking GSP who has a lot of Midlander and Inchmalo in his pedigree. We are now in the process of looking for another one with a touch more 'working aptitude'.
Could anyone reccomend some good blood lines and does anyone have photos of their dogs?

Cheers

Z

You need to be very careful with the GSP at the moment the market is absolutely flooded with litters in the Uk, theres about 25-27 this year that i know of myself, unfortunately it is well known that test/trial judges in this country could be "more objective" shall we say, so many dogs are given awards that they really did nt deserve, thus these dogs are then bred as the best stock available when their awards arent worth the paper they're written on, and it is only when the puppies develop that this lack of ability becomes evident, equally many judges will "swap" awards with their showing counterparts to make up the dual champions of old before the tail docking debarcle, stopped this happenning.

Having said this there are some lines worth considering in this country, but I do trully believe the best way to ensure the working ability/aptitude is to look to foreign/imported lines, especially the German lines which have much stricter and "straighter" judging for their field trialling. I'll add the caveat though these dogs can be fairly hard headed, and need fairly experienced handling.

Good Luck.

There used to be some really good hard hunting GSP's bred in N Ireland, based on the bloodline of one particular dog, "Derry Air", and then "Hazlean Daredevil" who was a son or grandson of Derry Air. My own old GSP dog (now 10 years old) is from these lines. He is/was a very honest rough shooting dog with a fantastic nose a temperament. He would have made a great deer dog if he had been suitably trained.

Unfortunately, most of what floyd says about the English GSP's applies here also. Standards have gone to hell.

The only solution (other than importing) is to look at other breeds. I have a 4 year old German Longhaired pointer from one of the early litters bred here in Ireland. He is an excellent dog, great temperament. Any shortcomings he has are my fault, not his.

Said Mutts:

Sorry Zaitsev, you also asked for a pic, well heres my little one - shes just 10 months old now, her training is coming on really well (at the moment).

First of I'll say that I am not involved in the GSP trialing world.
I do own 2 GSPs, one a rescue dog and one bought as a pup.
The rescue dog is a great pet, the other is a good working dog, not great...good.

However we were very niaeve when we bought her as a pup. It turns out that we got her from a very notorius breeder who camoflaged her activities very well. A lot of her breedings have a bad record of health and behavioral problems. Boy-oh-boy have we been lucky! She is a great family dog, a good worker, totally healthy. we count our blessings.....and then we had her spayed. We know we are lucky and have no desire to push that luck and breed from potentially bad genetics.

I am a member of the GPS Association and from attending one grouse trial as an observer, and from reading their 1/4ly magazine I would disagree with the comment that trial awards are given out too easily. I frequently read that their judges did not think the standard high enough to award a First (sometimes a Second) so their best result on a day may be a Second, sometimes lower.

Join the GSP Association, it only costs a few pounds. Their is a large working dog contingent there. It is certainly the route I will use next time we are looking for a pup.

UkHunter, I'm sorry to hear of your experiences with your bitch. It is an unfortunate example of what I was trying to explain in previous postings.

In the Uk there only 3 living (if Im correct) Ft champions of the HPR Breeds, whereas with the labs and springers there are many more, so there is much more choice with proven ability. Unfortunately even a dog who wins a field trial be it a novice, all aged or open, even if it only gets a Third on the day, is still technically a field trial winner. Many dogs are awarded the lower awards because there hasn't been enough game on the ground or hasn't had two full HPR's on its beat before going to water, it is these, and equally in working tests, awards given that cloud the waters, and make it so much harder to know exactly what you are buying.

Also you need to consider that there a large number (34) of HPR breeds that can enter a trial/test, many judges have their personal preferences, and loyalty to their clubs/breeds that mean that the best dog on the day isn't always the winner.

My original post was not made to cause controversy or cast doubts, merely to advice a fellow AR poster of some of the pitfalls in buying a GSP in this country at the moment.

Why not go across the channel and get the real thing in Germany?

www.coveyrun.net/pages/about_NADKC_and_DKs.html

Hi guys, thanks for all the interesting info.
Floyd: that looks like a really kind bitch, I take it that she is from german stock?
Ok so we are looking at german lines, any ideas on specific kennels or breeders? Language barrier will not be a problem. We would not class ourselves as highly experienced GSP owners/trainers but around the intermediate mark.
Our current mutt has Birkenwald lines, anyone cast any light on this kennel?

Thanks again

z