Looking to buy GSP

[Cjoydawg111]

Ok well I'm really new to bird dogs, and my buddy from work hooked me up with a guy who has 2 GSPs for sale. One male and one female. The female is really sweet and the male is pretty hard headed. They are 18 months old and started pretty good. They point but still need some obedience training and such. He is asking 2000, is this high or about right? Their mom and dad were NSTRA champions and their granddaddy was a 9x champion

[deseeker]

You might want to describe them a little more. You said they point, flash point? do they hold point and let you get in front and flush? Do they back other dogs on their own, will they whoa into a back, or not back at all? Will they load in a vehicle or kennel? Will they retrieve to hand? to within a couple of feet? or not retrieve at all? Will they recall all the way back? or just when they want to come in? How are they around other dogs? What is their pedigree. etc. You are asking us to put a value on something we haven't seen and hasn't been described to us. All we know is they point(but don't know for how long) and they are 18 months old---with just that description I would say they are NOT worth $2000. If you could describe them better, maybe someone can give you a better idea of their value JMO

[Hotchkiss]

Now, that was some darn good advise.

[GSP4ME]

Being really new to bird dogs is all i really needed to hear. Not too long ago i too was new to bird dogs but had over 25 years dog training experience behind me in every discipline from obedience to search and rescue to schutzhund. Point being, i like to think i know quite a bit about dogs and reading dogs and knowing how much pressure a dog can take and when to let up and when to let dogs do their thing while i sit quiet. All that said, this past year has been quite the eye opening/ learning experience for me. So my first and i guess my only bit of advice is to get yourself a dog, as in ONE dog, not two. You're going to need to give so much of yourself to that dog that trying it with two is just going to overwhelm you and neither of the dogs imo will ever be what they could quite possibly be if you were able to devote all of your time and energy and focus on just the one. And if i'm buying an 18 month old dog i better like pretty much everything about it bc while you have an opportunity to shape a young pup, much of that shaping has already taken place with an almost 2 year old dog. That's not to say there's not a lot of good that can come from getting a started dog or that some of the hard stuff may already be taken care of for you -especially as your first, but i'd certainly hunt over the dog and make dang sure i like the dog a lot, as is. And if the dog is going to be an inside dog/family pet around children, other animals, spouse, then i'd be doing even more homework on that grown dog.

[luvthemud]

I made the mistake of buying two dogs at once years ago. A buddy had two left, so I took them both. I didn't realize how much time and effort a dog took, and neither dog got the attention they deserved/needed.

Edit: after reading the OP again, I don't think he is looking at buying both?

"Hardheaded"? That can mean a lot.

So many choices/options out there, don't simply decide based on what is easily available.

[magspa]

Also, Make sure the dog has been introduced to gun fire properly and not gun shy.

[kcbullets]

Agree with above posts.. Need a lot more detail to know if worth $2k. They would have to be doing a lot of what is asked above before I would consider it.

[RayGubernat]

Agree with above posts.. Need a lot more detail to know if worth $2k. They would have to be doing a lot of what is asked above before I would consider it.

FWIW -

Before I would drop 2K on a bird dog...I would insist on a written contract with a 30 day return clause. The only way I would not insist on that is if I were able to take the dog to a new area(not the breeder/trainers home grounds), cut it loose and watch it work. A preserve stocked with pheasant or chucker might be a good place to see what it is you have. A couple hundred dollar investment in a half day at a preserve is money very well spent when you are considering ten years or more with that dog...not to mention that 2K ain't exactly chicken feed.

At 18 months of age, a bird dog should be darn near dead broke, handle pretty well, come in when called, be collar conditioned and gun conditioned. I would not expect a NSTRA dog to be steady to wing and shot but the dog had better stand its birds until I got there and should stand the bird until it is flushed. Most bird dogs should be pretty well broke by 18 months old. If they are not either broke or pretty close to it...they may be difficult to get broke at all.

If the dog runs and hunts the way you like, is physically healthy, runs well for an hour without coming up lame or catching a fit, hunts with joy, shows no fear when handled, finds birds and is staunch on its birds(for the most part), then 2K is probably money well spent.

One of the things I would do is to approach the dog with it sitting or standing in front of me and come down with an open hand toward its head. If the dog sits there and waits for your hand to pet it or raises its head in anticipation of getting petted, I know the dog had been trained with a gentle hand and is not afraid, but instead, is eager for praise. If the dog flinches or shies away, or worse...I know the dog has been subjected to some rough handling. Some dogs are very sensitive to this stuff, but typically(yes I know it is a generality)... field bred shorthairs are pretty tough minded and mentally well balanced dogs that can handle appropriate discipline and bounce right back.

I can have any of my dogs stand and come down very fast with an open hand or closed fist or whatever and the dogs won't flinch...because they know the only thing my hand will do is to scratch, pet and stroke...UNLESS they did something they should not have...then they know they will be corrected. They are pointers and a couple are fairly soft of temperament.

RayG