Picking a puppy ? Not a typical question.
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collinedward
- Rank: Master Hunter
- Posts: 220
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 9:25 pm
- Location: Columbus, Ohio
Picking a puppy ? Not a typical question.
I am in the market for a GSP puppy. I know I was very lucky with my first GSP. I was 19 and I randomly picked out a pup and he turned out awesome. My question is how do you guys pick out a puppy without driving all over the world to check them out? I’m very confident in picking out a dog in person but what if I can’t make 2 trips out to the breeder. Most are 5+hours away.
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birddogger2
- Rank: 3X Champion
- Posts: 544
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 6:15 am
- Location: Lower slower Delaware
Re: Picking a puppy ? Not a typical question.
I would ask each breeder...flat out...first thing...what kind of dog they are breeding for. What is their breeding goal and their ideal dog. How many litters they have bred...how long they have been breeding GSP's...stuff like that. If you are satisfied with the answers...
Then...I think the next thing you need to do is to communicate your need, wants and desires regarding a dog... to the breeder in as much detail as possible.
If you want a field trial dog that you can hunt over...say that. If you want a hunting dog that you can occasionally trial..say that. If you want a hunt test dog that you can hunt over... if you want a Navhda type dog that does water retrieves and can sit quietly in a blind...well you get the idea.
If the breeder is looking for the best fit for their pups to the prospective buyers... and most really are...they will appreciate the honesty.
If you come at the breeder straight...usually you can tell if they are being straight back at you.
You can also ask whom they use or recommend for training their dogs. That will give you an idea of what their level of involvement is and also give you a second source of information on the type and quality of the dogs typically produced.
RayG
Then...I think the next thing you need to do is to communicate your need, wants and desires regarding a dog... to the breeder in as much detail as possible.
If you want a field trial dog that you can hunt over...say that. If you want a hunting dog that you can occasionally trial..say that. If you want a hunt test dog that you can hunt over... if you want a Navhda type dog that does water retrieves and can sit quietly in a blind...well you get the idea.
If the breeder is looking for the best fit for their pups to the prospective buyers... and most really are...they will appreciate the honesty.
If you come at the breeder straight...usually you can tell if they are being straight back at you.
You can also ask whom they use or recommend for training their dogs. That will give you an idea of what their level of involvement is and also give you a second source of information on the type and quality of the dogs typically produced.
RayG
Re: Picking a puppy ? Not a typical question.
What He Said ^^birddogger2 wrote:I would ask each breeder...flat out...first thing...what kind of dog they are breeding for. What is their breeding goal and their ideal dog. How many litters they have bred...how long they have been breeding GSP's...stuff like that. If you are satisfied with the answers...
Then...I think the next thing you need to do is to communicate your need, wants and desires regarding a dog... to the breeder in as much detail as possible.
If you want a field trial dog that you can hunt over...say that. If you want a hunting dog that you can occasionally trial..say that. If you want a hunt test dog that you can hunt over... if you want a Navhda type dog that does water retrieves and can sit quietly in a blind...well you get the idea.
If the breeder is looking for the best fit for their pups to the prospective buyers... and most really are...they will appreciate the honesty.
If you come at the breeder straight...usually you can tell if they are being straight back at you.
You can also ask whom they use or recommend for training their dogs. That will give you an idea of what their level of involvement is and also give you a second source of information on the type and quality of the dogs typically produced.
RayG
See at least one parent once. Regarding picking an individual puppy, I wouldn't place much stock in it aside from obvious deviations from normal, be they physical or behavioral. The work should be done when you pick the breeding.
Re: Picking a puppy ? Not a typical question.
you have about the same odds randomly picking a puppy as any other method.
Best case senario is to see the parents. I have bought a lot of puppies from photos and what the breeder tells me and they all pretty much turn out as expected. They were generally from similiar blood lines.
Biggest challenge is making sure you're breeder understands what you are looking for. My Idea of a really good bird dog might be vastly different than yours. The other probable comes from buying from a new breeder. You really have no idea what you are going to get until you have do it for awhile. The best case is a breeder that has several generations especially of the mother line.
You are pretty likely to get a good bird dog when you buy a GSP. If you are looking for a family dog, there area lot of excellent bloodlines and breeders...…..Cj
Best case senario is to see the parents. I have bought a lot of puppies from photos and what the breeder tells me and they all pretty much turn out as expected. They were generally from similiar blood lines.
Biggest challenge is making sure you're breeder understands what you are looking for. My Idea of a really good bird dog might be vastly different than yours. The other probable comes from buying from a new breeder. You really have no idea what you are going to get until you have do it for awhile. The best case is a breeder that has several generations especially of the mother line.
You are pretty likely to get a good bird dog when you buy a GSP. If you are looking for a family dog, there area lot of excellent bloodlines and breeders...…..Cj
Re: Picking a puppy ? Not a typical question.
I reckon they are all 100 % perfect when they are born (excluding health or medical) .
Around the time they are taken from their siblings and have singular human interaction that percentage changes .
This must be True !! ..If you have selected the best breeding on paper ? ........and it don't turn out like you hoped.
.......
No breeder In the world can breed the right dog for You . In a litter of 8 , the other 7 would be disappointed if they did.
Around the time they are taken from their siblings and have singular human interaction that percentage changes .
This must be True !! ..If you have selected the best breeding on paper ? ........and it don't turn out like you hoped.
.......
No breeder In the world can breed the right dog for You . In a litter of 8 , the other 7 would be disappointed if they did.