First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

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Avispex
Rank: Just A Pup
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Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by Avispex » Mon Dec 19, 2016 5:43 pm

In mid November the doorbell rang and some little kids from up the street asked if I wanted a free puppy. I looked out and saw a cold, bewildered little dog being dragged door to door on a short nylon cable. I ran out to check on the dog as the kids explained that their mom was driving back from a small town in the rural center of the state, found some puppies playing in the road, grabbed two and drove them back to town to see if she could find homes for them. She assumed they had been abandoned. If they couldn't find homes for them, they were taking them to the pound that evening. I didn't want that to happen. so I took the little guy in. I knew he was a German Shorthaired Pointer, although I wasn't sure if it was purebred. I definitely didn't think I could keep him, so I didn't even ask. The dog passed out and woke up several hours later. As soon as my wife saw him scampering about the house, she asked if there was any way we could try to make it work to keep him. She absolutely loves the puppy.

This is how I got my pointer, but it was just the beginning. We then started a frantic search for the breeder, found him, bought our puppy, rescued the other puppy and got it back to him, and we have started learning everything we can about this breed and training bird dogs. It turns out the puppy was just shy of 14 weeks when we got him, so he is just past 4 months old today. He was pure bred, and the breeders use their dogs as part of a hunting guide service on a pheasant preserve. They aren't big time breeders and only seem to have a litter when they need another dog for their guide service. So, it is unlikely that anybody will know this kennel or the lines for this dog, but they told me they did breed their two best hunting dogs and this puppy was one of the better ones in terms of potential for hunting pheasants. Of the five males puppies, I think they took the best bird dog for themselves, had three others that they thought they could finish, and one apparently was a little too mellow. I also found out that these dogs are bred on the smaller end of the size range, so I think we will end up with a dog around 45 lbs, maybe a few pounds either way from that, but most likely well shy of the breed standard of 55-70 lbs for males. I think it is likely he won't be as tall as 23" either, but I have spoken to several people out here who think a 40 - 45 lb German Shorthaired Pointer is ideal for our terrain and climate, so that seems like a plus.

We have been exercising the puppy every day, we have started basic obedience, he is crate trained, and I think housebroken. He gets along well with my wife, other dog, two cats, and two kids. He is now an indoor dog, and we are building a fence around the back yard so that he can have a small play zone back there that is enclosed.

I have never hunted anything, and I really don't know anything about it, but it seems like a fantastic way to spend time with these dogs and I love being outside. I am trying to learn the basics, and I look forward to the training events for the local breed, NAVHDA, and NSTRA groups this Spring. In the mean time, I am getting that dog off road and out in the hills every chance I get, and he seems to love it.

My wife runs marathons and half marathons. I knew that these were some of the best dogs for accompanying human distance runners, so if all goes well, this guy will have a lot of running in his future. He will be family dog primarily, and to whatever extent an absolute novice can work with a German Shorthaired Pointer to find birds out in the field and point at them, we plan to be doing a bunch of that as well. If I can find somebody else to shoot some of the birds, there might even be some retrieving in his future.

I look forward to learning more fro the people on this forum.

Heer are a few pictures of our puppy. We named him Simon.

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Thank you,

Andy

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hustonmc
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Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by hustonmc » Mon Dec 19, 2016 8:37 pm

Look up Bret Wonnacott on Facebook. Nice dogs, good dude, willing to help.

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greg jacobs
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Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by greg jacobs » Mon Dec 19, 2016 9:42 pm

Did you get a pedigree. If you did take picture and put it up. We might recognize some names.
Is that a different color patch on his back?

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GrayGhost
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Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by GrayGhost » Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:36 pm

Good luck with your pup, he's a good looking guy. I'm down the road in Riverton, nothing to me is more fun than getting a dog up in the mountains either, and luckily we have a lot to choose from out here.

Avispex
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Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:18 am
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by Avispex » Tue Dec 20, 2016 5:32 pm

I don't have much pedigree information at all, just that the parents hunt well and almost daily, that the sire is kind of funny looking but the best bird dog the breeder has ever had, and that there is some line connection to Dixieland Fritz on the dam's side.

In that picture in the oak scrub of our local foothills the dog had been rolled in mud by another puppy we met on our way up the trail. He does have one brown patch connected to his face patch on his left shoulder and another small one centered right above his tail.

The name Bret Wonnacott seemed so familiar to me, but then I realized that he had been winning some kind of championships around here. I looked him up and started reading his amazing blog. Seems like a great guy that I can learn a lot from.

Andy

setterpoint
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Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by setterpoint » Sat Dec 24, 2016 12:43 pm

sometimes things are just ment to be .you say it your first dog just to let you know there will be some ups and down but you are going to have the time of your life i think this is one lucky pup but again im not sure on luck as much as i am on fate

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deseeker
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Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by deseeker » Sat Dec 24, 2016 1:33 pm

Nice looking pup :D

Avispex
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Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Re: First pointer, new member Salt Lake City

Post by Avispex » Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:56 pm

I need to make a few more posts before I will be cleared by the mods for normal posting access. Thank you everybody for the kind words and support. We have owned Simon about 7 weeks. He is about 4 1/2 months old. He is doing great with the family and the other animals and the training. Honestly, I was worried that a young puppy from a high energy breed would destroy the house and make life miserable, but he has been great. I do exercise him every day and I try to provide lots of mental stimulation. We do lots of local hikes in the foothills, and tons of socialization with other people and dogs. This morning we celebrated a big milestone as Simon went for a real run with my wife. Three miles in the snow. That is her shortest route, and he handled it without any problems.


Image

Andy

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