Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Wirehaired Pointing Griffons

Starting to look at another dog for bird hunting. Griffons have caught my eye. Anyone care to comment on their experiences? I would be focused on Woodcock and Grouse and some stocked Pheasants. Do prefer a dog with a sense of humor and watchfulness around the house.

Griffons are stoic, but they do tend to protect home and family. They're an extremely versatile dog and are good retrievers for a pointing breed.

My experience with griffons goes back 60+ years.







ANCIENT SADIE...still here at 15, but a bit slow now.

They'll work the heaviest cover and have decent noses as a breed. They handle the cold well and are good swimmers; they have an undercoat and webbed feet.

They're a typical German breed...hard-headed but not difficult to train, and they are a reasonably intelligent breed. As a house dog, they have a distinct odor. If you give them frequent baths don't send them into cold water. That odor is from oils that insulate them.

Griffs are NOT a German breed, they're Dutch. The best Griff couldn't compare to the worst Drathaar.

have to disagree

Just spent the past mont hunting with various labs, gsp's, gwp's, various setters, brits and my griff did just as well if not better in many cases on ducks and upland.

For a versatile breed that works closer and more methodically and can do ducks, forest grouse, woodcock occassional rabbit and get along in house would pick griff.

For pure hunting ability the draht probably beats a griff in most cases

I like drahts but for a house dog would pick a griff. I seen my share of drahts kill neighbors' cats, chickens, small dogs.

Have not noiticed a strong odor when she is wet.
Great watch dog- very tuned into environment, , intelligent and always doing something funny. She is a bit hard headed but eager to please.

my grif has incredible prey drive, birds, rabbits, squirrels and has tracked wounded game.

the difference i see between griffs and drahts is i can control my dog and call her off. just experienced this with a porcupine. the draht went to the vet my griff not one quill
IMO

ford vs toyota deal

BULLSCHIDT!

The breeder was a Dutchman who developed the breed over a twenty year period in GERMANY! They were further developed as a breed in Germany, France and The Netherlands.

I've had Drats, also, and they were no better or worse than the Griffons.

Ribka and Luv have it.

Though I to have noticed no smell.

If I was looking for a hardcore big runner, I'd likely go drat/GWP. For an all around buddy/hunting dog, my Griff is as good as it gets(IMO). Great with my kid. Will put on a show if someone comes in the yard or gets close to the truck, but is far from out of control or aggressive.

She earned a Prize I perfect score in her Navhda NA test, has a great nose, is a swimming fool, and has great drive to search. My dogs coat is a bit on the soft side though. Have to strip her fairly regular and even then she can be a mess of burrs after running through some cover. Doesn't bother her in the least, and I don't mind spending a 15-20 minutes after the hunt getting her cleaned up

My advice would be go to a local NAVHDA event and watch some dogs, talk to some folks.

Hell, my chickens get out, I tell Catfish to go get'em and she'll track them down and bring them back unharmed. She'd likely eventually kill them if I wasn't there though.

It's pretty funny.

I love my griff but he has been mostly a family pet. Great personality and fun to have around. Reasonable at barking when alarmed but not too much. No odor I can notice and doesn't shed much at all. Downside for a serious hunter depending on what is growing in your hunting area is that dog collects burrs like no ones business.

Once I retire might go with a draht as I will have more time to hunt and like the fact they can track big game as well for recovery purposes.

if you get a griff from a good hunting line will have more than a house dog imo

I don't really know the difference between a drat. and a griff., regardless my family had one that looked like the pictures above, about 35 years ago. Unbeliveable dog, in all ways. For pheasants no equal. Only problem the dog was too smart for its own good and was meaner than hell. Loved the family, strangers not so much. Tried to kill the paper boy, the cleaners, the mail man, anyone else who happened to knock on the door. Dog would hunt everything, rabbits, would retrieve ducks, squirls, wood chucks, house cats, and deer if you let it. Hard headed yes. Our dog, a female about 55 pounds, was one bad ass, and would try to kill everything it could, unfortunately other dogs too, would fight with dogs much bigger than her and mostly win before we would break them up.
It was a certified house cat exterminator and had that down to an art. Big ones, small ones, what ever, if a cat got in our fenced in yard it was over, she would rush in through the claws and grab the neck and a few shakes, it was over. She would scrap with some big tom barn cats and I'll tell you it was no contest. You could not have a dog like this anymore, too much liability. A good shock collar would have gone a long way, except they were not around then.

Although I have heard the breed has softened quite a bit since then, these dogs seem to be similar to Chessies, when they are good they are incredible, but can be frought with issues.

Ours nevers smelled, except when she got wet and had that great "wet gun dog smell".

Some day when I have more time, I intend to get one for grouse hunting and maybe a few ducks.

Good Luck.

I just lost Sadie this morning. She declined fast and was still chewing out delivery men here last Sunday.

Sadie was rescued from the pound at 6 months old, and I rescued her an hour before she was due to be killed. From that day 15 years ago she has been my loyal and loving companion. She was a real character and very talkative. She was a good bird dog but nothing special in that regard. She was a good watch dog but nothing special in that regard.

She was a good companion and was very special in that regard. Tears have taken over, and I need to go cry a lot more. God I loved that screwball dog.

Sorry to hear- quite a bio on her

Good you got her out in the field

Screwball dogs with character are the best

Condolences

Any WPG and Drat guys have breeders to recommend? I am in the hunt for a pup too.

Very sorry to hear about Sadie. I lost my own Sadie (Boykin) several years ago. Hit me like a hammer too. You were lucky to have such a great dog.

Condolences about Sadie. Lost my hunting Airedale two months ago and still think about him especially when I'm on my deer stand like this morning.

Don't know your local, but in the PNW for a Griff, I would talk to:

Frank Puccio/Hun Hill Kennels Weiser ID
John and Laurie Kohnke in Centralia WA
Katie Steuhm/ Griffonpoint Kennels

I spoke with a bunch of folks before I picked a pup, including those above. Frank had a litter ready when I was so that's where I went.

Katie was great and I've heard nothing but good things about her dogs.
John is a bird hunting guide and hunts his dogs a TON, as well as being a trainer and NAVHDA judge. He and Laurie are super people that know hunting dogs. I'd happily get a dog from any of them, or Frank again.

Only GWP folks I personally know of are Bonepoint Kennels in Baker City. Though I'm sure there are lots of good ones out there, they are the only ones I've had first hand accounts of.

First thing I'd do is check out your local/closest NAVHDA chapter and see some dogs run.

Marquis Kennels in Mississippi has 2 litters on the ground - 22 dogs.
I spoke to her last week and she is quite busy. I was referred to her from a club member who knows her well and purchased a dog two years ago.
Also Linda Gagnon from WET ACRES Kennel in Massachusetts is breeding in the spring.

Thanks all.

I am in Maine so Linda Gagnon of Wet Acres is close enough to visit when she has pups available. I'll also look into the NAVHDA chapter that is just down the coast from me.

luv2safari,

Sorry to hear of Sadie's passing, the loss of a great companion is never easy. Cherish the time and years spent together and the great memories you made together. If dogs don't go to heaven I want to go were they go...

Condolances about your friend. But glad you both enjoyed lives and love and companionship. Last dog my famm had was an Australian Sheperd. She got cancer at 8-1/2 years. Have missed her tremendously.


Are German Wirehaired Pointers any good?

How do GWP's compare to Griffons? And Draathars? THANKS!

Safariman
Eduard Korthals was Dutch and while I'm fully aware he had a kennel in Germany for 20 years you'll get VERY few Germans to agree or acknowledge that a Griffon is a German pointing breed.

I've ran Deutsch Kurzhaars and Drathaars in German hunt tests over the years and have witnessed many more in multiple states. I have never seen a Griffon entered in a German hunt test.

I've seen and judged Griffons in NAVHDA and AKC hunting tests. From my observations of the breed they are not a "typical" German pointing breed. IMO most Griffs lack drive and style and have softer temperaments compared to several of the German pointing breeds, especially in comparrison to most lines of Kurzhaars, Drathaars and Pudelpointers.

To me Griffs are a perfect breed for older folks who aren't hard hunters, dont care much about style, and don't demand much from a dog. Some folks like VW Beetles and some prefer Porsches. I prefer the latter.

In any case, my condolences to you for the loss of your dog.

Thanks for your reply.

Sadie and my late father's griffons would work you to your knees chuckar hunting. They were steady and bullet-proof. In a day's time they would get you far more chuckar, and we're talking wild NV birds, not the soft preserve kind, than any other breed but a German Shorthair, which I hold is the best all around upland dog for rough country.

Dad's dogs were famous for their noses and bird sense and their overall strength. The breed isn't what it once was, however. We got our original dogs from old Col. Stodtmeister out of Germany, and they were TOUGH!!

But, like many breeds, a lot have been bred to be easy to handle first, and tenacious second. I could actually care less about style. I want bird producers.

Invariably, the "style" dogs shoot their wad far too early to be decent chuckar dogs. They wear off their pads and collapse about mid-day. A good griffon will still be chugging along at a good pace, working his heart out for you.

I just committed to getting a female pup from this litter, whelped on 11/04.

Congratulations!


Nice looking mama doog and good HEALTHY litter of pups!

When choosing a pup, question the breeder on which breeding program they subscribe to, the WPGCA (Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Club of America) or the AWPGA (American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association). In the 80s the WPGCA began a program of crossbreeding pure Griffons with the Cesky Fousek to produce a WPG with more "drive". The AWPGA on the other hand promotes staying true to the fullblooded WPG as Korthals set the breed.

Congrats! I'm thinking that pup just won the lottery!

Now, why would you think that?

Ive participated in NAVHDA trials over 20 years on east coast, MD, PA, VA and now here out west in ID, OR, WA.

Ive noticed the griffs bred and hunted out west have very good drive, are methodic but do range farther and are very energetic. Not many breeds can climb up steep rocky terrain and range out to 50 to 100 yds on chukar , huns the later in the day point and retrive rabbits, work close for quail in the tall sage brush and break ice retrieving ducks and make a good house dog companion.


Not much of a style guy, I just want my dog well socialized with other dogs, animals, people, obedient and driven. Pretty happy with griffs. Does everything i ask of her


good looking pup safari

SMH

luv2safari
Those pups are showing a lot of white do they get darker as they age?
Thanks for your time. Cheers NC

You have been blessed with some beautiful dogs. Outstanding

Yes, they do get darker as they get older.

luv2safari.
Thanks NC