Gun Dog Forum

Crew: Here is my situation. I have had setters for quite a few years. Unfortunately my current girl is getting a little long in the tooth and arthritis has set in. I am pondering what I will do when the time comes to get another dog. I am contemplating either wire hair pointer or a Britt. I hunt with a bud who has GSP and they are a little too wired for me. My dogs live in the house when we are in the house. They stay in the kennel while we work or are gone. They don't get up on the furniture or jump up on people. Knowing how the setters are I am wondering how you might relate to these other breeds will compare to my setters? Thanks.
M

Lets just say....training will have a big part as to house manners a dog will or will not ahve

but basically check out some lines of breeds your interested in and go from there
also Welcome aboard

Either one really. Two very individual breeds with very distinct personalities for sure. I love the WHP ...and the Griffons. Neat dogs. But the Pocket Rockets have me heart and soul.

I think that most will agree that the temperment (wired vs laid back) has more to do with the breeding than with the breed. There are plenty of laid back GSPs out there. Just don't want one myself.

Greg J.

Please don't make an assumption about a breed based on a friend's one dog. I own some pretty well bred trial stock, in theory should be wound tight, dogs. However, I have 4 GSPs in the house most of the time and they are quite calm. If you like GSPs other than the potential for hyperactivity, I'd look at the breed, but find a breeder who has house dogs that can show you just how calm the parents really are.

I have had G.S.P.'s and Brittanies living in the house. As a general rule I've found the britts to be more "wired up" than most G.S.P.'s but it does vary a lot from dog to dog as well as between the breeds.

Bill T.

I think the Britts are fine dogs. Lots of great breeders with outstanding breeding stock. The Britt folks really focus on making thier dogs both conformationally correct as well as outstanding bird dogs. THat is not to take anything away from the GWP. I always thought Britts were known for being good inside dogs. Either way just let the breeder know what you want in a dog and they will do thier best to get you that dog. Good luck

The Brittany will probably come closest to being what you are used to. The wirehairs can go either way. I have a Draht. They are calm, wonderful dog's in the house and a disaster in the kenne. In my opion, most don't make good kennel dog's. They habitually pace and scatter crap from one end of the kennel to the other. They are much like a Chesapeake; they need human attention to be happy.

That being said, I'll never own another breed.

Everyone~ thanks for the warm welcome and kind words of advise. I appreciate eveyone's perspective. Maybe I should try to clarify a tad and that may help you help me even more. I have never been around a single WHP let alone multiple dogs to get an idea of how they are. I am not a field trial guy. I go to South Dakota once, maybe twice a year for pheasants, once to MI for grouse, and quite a few weekends in the fall/winter for quail. We live in the country but in a neighborhood with lots of traffic and the dog will have to be able to be contained by an invisible fence for everyone's safety. I have plenty of access to property to run the dog..just not necessarily at our house. I prefer a mid range dog. It will also be our companion every minute we are home and in the house. Maybe I am spoiled or forget what it is like to have a young dog around! At 11 years old our setter is pretty mild in the house but gets fired up outside. What we don't want is a dog that bounces off the walls in the house, tears up the carpet or furnature if we are not in the same room. etc. I may be answering my own question in that any of the 4 breeds will satisfy our wants, it is just finding the correct lines to do so. I guess my problem is knowning how not to get bamboozeled by someone willing to tell me what I want to hear about their dogs?