Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game German Shorthaired Pointers for Pheasants?

My Chocolate Lab (Dakota), now 12, is right on the edge of being too old for serious upland hunting. His legs and hips just can�t handle the work anymore, and I hate to push him too much nowadays. He�s been a GREAT hunting and family dog for a lot of years. Here's a photo of Dakota from about 5 years ago when he was in his prime...always was a bit of a ham!



So, I find myself thinking ahead about a new dog. Pheasants will be the main quarry, with some other prairie grouse and maybe quail mixed in. Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and the Dakotas mostly.

I�ve always been a Lab-man, but have also long admired the looks and energy of German Shorthaired Pointers. And regular posters on this forum � like Cheesy � seem to do very well on pheasants with GSPs.

I did download the following GPS description for the Internet:

�One of the most energetic breeds, the German Shorthaired Pointer is a hunting dog by nature. Protective, clever, eager and willing to please, they are very fond of their human families. Happy-go-lucky, they love nothing more than to engage in some type of constructive activity with their owners such as a long walk, jog, hike, hunt, or a game of Frisbee. This breed is not suited to life in a kennel. Faithful, spirited and friendly, they like and mix well with children. Dominancy and energy levels vary slightly from puppy to puppy even within the same litter, however those bred for working in high performance field competitions usually require more activity than the average Shorthair, but are all still very high energy dogs who need a lot of daily exercise. Best suited for an active family. When they lack in exercise they can become high strung, and frustrated. The GSP will not listen if they sense that they are stronger minded than their owner, however they will also not respond well to harsh discipline. The GSP needs an owner who displays a natural air of authority. Firm, but calm, confident and consistent with rules they must be made to follow. They crave order and need structure in their life. If this breed lacks in either exercise or leadership they can developed separation anxiety and possibly become destructive and nervous. Well adjusted, stable minded GSPs who receive enough mental and physical activity along with a balance of consistent leadership will get along with other dogs and cats. This breed likes to bark and they can be reserved with strangers. Socialize well. They will be in their glory if they are actually used for what they were bred for and taken on hunting trips.�

Is that a fair assessment of the German Shorthaired Pointer?

Can a GSP be a good family dog as well as a serious upland dog? How would you compare the typical GSP to the typical Lab?

Any practical input or advice at this point would be very much appreciated.

All in all I'd say thats a fair assessment, but also I've seen as much variance between dogs in a breed as I have between breeds. I'd also say that the success myself, family, and friends have had with GSP's has as much to do with where we are hunting as it does with the breed we hunt with. We could probably take English Setter's, Lab's, or field bred cocker's and do just as well, but come on now, who would really want to hunt without a GSP?

The 14 month old I have now is the first female I've owned, and the first dog we have kept in the house. During the day she goes outside and stays in a 12'x12' kennel with an opening into a 6'x6' area inside the barn. When we are home she is inside. We let her run in the yard each night, and often take her for several mile walks. The only thing she has touched in the house are 4 pet beds that she chewed the corner off and emptied the fluffy contents. Boredom? Still a puppy? I don't know the answer, but she hasn't chewed on shoes, furniture, or anything else that she wasn't supposed to. She is the friendliest dog I have ever been around, tail is constantly wagging, official name is Happy Dog Katy. I've heard her bark exactly 1 time, at the wife's 5 lb maltese trying to get her to play.

The GSP's I had as a kid were protective of the family, mostly just friendly barks to alert us people were there. They all were kept loose, had the run of the farm. Scooby was a half shorthair half Irish Setter, but looked full blooded GSP. Everyday my sisters would get on the bus, he would cross the pasture to my grandpas, go into his wood shop, put his front paws on the work bench to be petted, then leave and go back home. One though was beyond protective though, hackles raised, teeth bared, fierce barking. He never attacked anybody, but people thought he would. Only familiar vehicles could approach the house without him barking, and to them he was as friendly as any other dog.


My brother in laws dog Cane (shown in some of my pics), is about the best family dog I have ever seen. He is 6??? and I have a 4 year old nephew and 6 year old niece. They climb all over him, more so when they were younger, he just took it and allowed them to do whatever they wanted. My buddy told my brother in law this weekend he'd better than double his money on him, give him $75 for him. My brother in law said my sister would shoot him even if he sold him for $7500. I guess Cane is her dog, my brother in law just gets to borrow him for hunts.

I've never been around labs, so can't compare. GSP's work for us, but I'm sure others would too if we gave them the chance.

PM sent.

I had Labs most of my life, including Breed and Obedience Champions.

I wanted a pointing dog so I now have a GSP.

A GSP will most likely be a BIG running dog. Mine is and that is want I wanted. Example: he is finding chukar 400 yards out and holding point until I arrive. Unless you are in top shape forget about the GSP.

I have a DC 40 my GSP and the last chukar hunt I walked 2 miles and he ran 9.77 miles and an average speed of 8.71 mph and pointed six coveys!

The GSP is an amazing dog. Unless you have property (several acres) that is dog fenced a GSP will drive you nuts.

Get another Lab you can�t go wrong!

Although I'm far from being an expert I'll throw in my opinion. I grew up with Labs and have had a few since then and I consider them great dogs. They're loyal, hard working, and everyones friend. That being said, I decided to change it up a few months ago and got a GSP pup. He is now 9 months old and I can honestly say I'd have a hard time going back to Labs.

I definitely agree that they need more exercise than your typical Lab but I don't think you need acres and for them to run on. I live in a fairly small house with a fairly small yard and my pup is in his kennel most of the day aside from the hour I come home at lunch. To work him I take him to a park and let him run, I take him to a field and work with his dummy, I run with him, I hike with him, it doesn't really seem to matter as long as I get him out more or less everyday. If I left him locked up all day and then expected him to be completely calm I'd be disappointed but that goes with any hunting breed.

I think one of the key issues with GSPs is working on obedience immediately, and believe me they'll pick it up in a hurry. At 9 months Cooper is more "grown up" than most Labs I've had are at 2 years. They seem to have less of that bullheadedness that Lab pups can have. I've also noticed that he almost never barks and has not destroyed anything of mine. In fact the only things he's actually torn up were one or two of his toys that he pulled the stuffing out of.

Obviously all pups are different, but so far, I'm definitely a GSP convert! I'd also like to throw out that I've gotten more compliments on him that any dog I've ever owned, and come on, who doesn't like to be told by complete strangers that they have a nice looking pup!

The GSP was bred to be a walking man's hunting dog - a close worker. As a result they didn't bring home the ribbons from trials that favored the bigger running breeds. Ribbons mean money, so lots of breeders have been slanting the gene pool toward bigger running stock. Close working GSP's are still easy to find, just talk to the breeder and watch the breed stock and older dogs work.

I have a 14-month old from Big Island genes which is now TT Gundogs out of McPherson, KS. My dog's natural check-in distance is 40-50 yards tops. Between preserve and wild pheasants he's put 56 birds in various freezers since the beginning of September, so we're doing okay.

With regards to the OP, there is no comparison between a lab and a GSP - in both directions. They bring totally different tools to the field. Which dog is better for you is dependant on what you hunt, where you hunt, and how you want to hunt.

I'll add to JOG, the majority of GSP's I've hunted around have been close working dogs, which is what I want. When you're hunting wild pheasants and the dog is 300 yards away on point, there aren't going to be many roosters that are going to hold long enough for you to get there.

With the usual cover we hunt around here 600-yards means the dog is two farms away where I don't have permission and he hasn't been in sight for 575-yards.

BTW, in your photo the dog on the left looks like a Big Island/Von Greif dog.

I'll be honest, I have no clue. My ex-gf had bought him for me while I was in college from a classmate of mine. He had the female, his uncle in KC had the male. A couple years after I got him, his uncle drove down from KC to look at him, even offered to buy him from me. He had all these books with him on the history of GSP's and pointed out all the ties this dog had with the big names, but most were several generations back. The uncle was trying to breed a line to be like the true German dogs. This dog has got the biggest head I've seen on a GSP, just big and blocky all over.

He does not cover ground fast at all, just plods along. He has zero style when it comes to pointing, just kind of stands there hap-hazardly. His nose isn't the greatest, but you can tell when he is on a trail, and you can just about guarantee when he is on a trail there is going to be a pheasant at the other end of it.

In comparison, my brother in laws dog to the right is an unpapered backyard bred $35 dog. He points with style and has a way better nose than our big dog. They've both put us on a ton of pheasants the last 6 or 7 years though.

Having been owned by GSP's all my life I think that is a pretty fair assessment. They are smart, loyal, and do require room to run. My current dog ( male ) knows that the pecking order in our house is me, then him, and then everyone else. He simply ignores my wife cause she never would buy into trying to be dominant when he was a pup. Nothing as bad as the yuppies in our area that get a male GSP for their apartment and try to leave them home alone all day. They come home to ruined furniture and the dog winds up being in a rescue program.

The GSP in the picture above being held is the twin of my Jake. He is 60 pounds of cold twisted blue steel and death on grouse and quail. Mine hunts at medium ranges, 75 yards out, which is perfect for this area. He just figured out how to handle running birds and will swing out wide and get ahead of them. I would love to try him on pheasants.

All of our GSP's have been family dogs and were all very tolerant
and patient with kids that climbed all over them. Not so much with other dogs, they tended to be very territorial. Cats met an instant death and were never tolerated. My wife came home from trying to walk the dog one day with road rash and no dog. Seems a cat had crossed in front of them and she was drug about 15 feet before she let go.

GSP's are athletes and can go all day. A ten mile jaunt beside the ATV is nothing for my Jake.

IMHO there is no better breed. But then I am a bit biased.

I too had a Lab,which we loved dearly,she started to slow down an be more of a family dog around 6-7 But my GSP is 9 an hasn't slowed a bit,he doesn't have the endurance he once had but you're in for a race for the first couple miles,very high energy.I'm not sure I will have another (i know my wife won't).They're a great an loyal dog, but if I don't walk him at least 3 miles a night (rain,snow,sleet) I can't live with him.He weighs 67lbs an my wife Can't an Won't walk him (she's 97lbs) or she would also have road rash.We don't have really many birds in WV now a days so we usually do a couple planted bird hunts an maybe a trip to Michigan.A good shock collar IMO is a must for a high energy GSP for hunting.....

I raise, train, show and compete my GSPS, while they can be high energy, I believe it depends on the bloodlines you choose. My first was VERY hyper/high strung and roguey(sp), I gave it away. The ones I have now and have had for 15 yrs are very calm and quiet in the house, my 4 mnth old is as laid back a pup as I have had yet. (I have had Labs, a Britt, a Golden, GSDS and Danes)
My dogs are all house dogs, a couple sleep in my bed, a couple with my son and they all go to work with me, have the run of my grooming shop and tend to lay in an open crate all day bothering nothing or in their room, couldn't have them there with client dogs if they were hyper, let alone 5 in my house.
I field trial them, but also hunt them and guide at a preserve, they know the difference and adjust their range accordingly. My biggest running male will go from 600+ yds when trialing to 1-200 off foot.(and he will do 10+ miles off a quad at 25 MPH steady)
They are excellent pheasant dogs!! My girl is death on them and will track a runner hundreds of yds, just got done guiding a 36 phez hunt with her, guys nailed 33 of them & she retrieved every one to hand. (she has an RDX title which is duck work, like labs do, multiple marks and blind retrieves, she is also field trial pointed, a senior hunter with master passes and a show champion)
I don't have property and dont run them daily, they do fine, are not nutzo hyper ONE bit. Look carefully and choose your pup accordingly, temperments are strong traits IMO, do your research before buying, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a GSP.

If you're into training, I think a GSP is very rewarding. If you don't want to do a lot of training, my pick would be an English Springer Spaniel. For pheasants, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better dog...

I have a 1/2 GSP 1/2 Vizsla that turns 2 next week. He has energy like no other. My wife takes him for a 3-4 mile run every morning, and that really does nothing for him, he needs more like 6-7. He is also a bird hunting machine. This season we have only been on 3 hunts due to my schedule but each time he has found and held birds at about 60 yards. I think if I wanted him to he would range further, but 60 yards is about his natural comfort zone. When not hunting he spends most of the day outside while we work, but is in at night when we are home.

When he is in the house around my 8 year old he is a door stop. My daughter will fall asleep on him, and he will not move. Just a couple nights ago my daughter slept on him all night long.

Like it has been said, for the owner who is really into working and training their dog, the GSP is IMHO at the top, but ours has taken a lot of training to get to where he is.

Wow, I have had the exact opposite experience with my GSPS per needing a lot of training. My girl Tara was guiding 20 or more phez hunts at a year old and never bumped/chased birds, retrieved everything. Her sire was butter to work with, went straight to Master Hunter, the most biddable dog I ever had around the house and in the field next to her.
Her son Jesse is the same, he won a lot of FT's, but hunts well and I have guided with him with no issues, all natural retrievers. My now little one Nitro was swimming/pointing/retrieving at 8 weeks old, VERY quiet around home at now almost 5 mnths old.
Jesse at 3 mnths doing duck work:

5 mnths old on pheasant:

on point with his dam at 6 mnths old

retrieving a phez at 4 mnths old

backing his dam on the PA youth pheasant hunt at 6 mnths old

6 mnths old on a pheasant hunt

I have found the GSP to be a very natural bird dog, I teach some basic obedience and expose to birds, they do the rest!!
3.5 mnth olds Jesse and Jet on quail, Jet on point, Jess backing

Jet at 6 mnths old on pheasant

Jesse on point, sister Jet backing him at 6 mnths old

Jet backing her dam at 4 mnths old on a grouse

3.5 mnth old Jet on woodcock

You don't say! 10+ miles at 25 miles per hour hey and off an ATV to boot. Now just what bloodlines would would your dogs be out of may I ask???

my GSP is a velcro dog, he isnt happy unless he is close to me and if allowed follows me everywhere......when out hunting he seems to prefer to stay within 100 yards or so which is fine by me cause my knees are about shot......i know others have GSP's that range farther than that but mine doesnt and its fine by me.....great companion dog like a lab, mine would not be happy living in a kennel away from the family....

My old GSP, "Duke", hunted fairly tight... he'd make a "bee-line" out about 50 yards in front of me, then turn and hunt back and forth towards me.

If a pheasant ran on him, Duke would run wide of its track and force it on a line back at me. It would flush when it saw me... making for an easy 10-15 yard shot for my "skeet & skeet" bored Charles Daly over/under in 28 gauge using 7/8 ounces of hand-loaded, copper-plated 6's... kinda like a high-house 8 shot in skeet.

Sorrowfully, I had to put him down... hip displacia. That was 40 years ago and I still miss that dog... he was a good 'un.

Had an English Setter ("Murphy")... she loved to hunt, but was a bit wild & hard-headed. Some SOB stole her.

"Fred" was a Brit... he lived to hunt, very "birdy"... he was a "sweet" dog. He was 17 years old when he passed (old age).

But none of 'em were as good as "Duke"... nor nearly as smart.

Good memories of wonderful dogs are great things for old hunters... hard to believe the years have gone by so fast.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Since I do raise AKC German Shorthair Pointers, I think I will put my 2cents in on the subject of the breed. #1 They can take harsh talk or tuff handling, in some cases it is very much needed. These are NOT Brittany Spaniels by any means!

They are a very tuff breed and love people as a general rule!
However, not all GSP's are great bird dogs in the field. One must be careful of what you purchase and get a pup backed up with a good predigree........lots of genes from those titled dogs who have proven themselves. It is the only real warranty one has.

Lack of exercise does NOT make them "high-strung" this has to do with breeding period, in other words the bloodlines or dogs that are behind it on the pedigree.

The worst dog I have in my kennel, is a show dog out of a champion but has NO hunting nose, beautiful to look at and watch run but very nervous and always barking. We have a dozen adult dogs and she makes 60% of the noise barking in the kennel.

so long as you realize that this isnt the case when they are pups mine is about 22 months and his is just now settling down pretty good even on the days he isnt ran cause i just can take him out...... but this is the case with alot of breeds my ten pound schipperke was a hyper pin ball until she hit 18 months.....