Sunday, September 24, 2006
So you have decided to get a GSP.
This commentary could be applied to just about any breed similar to a German Shorthaired Pointer in size and personality.
"FIND A German Shorthair Pointer (GSP) TO MATCH YOUR LIFESTYLE."
I see this written repeatedly in every book, chapter and paragraph written about potential dog ownership. It is possibly one of the most ignored pieces of advice on the planet. A positive companion experience starts with asking yourself why you want a dog in the first place.
German Shorthair Pointers known for being loving family companions; are also very intelligent and mischievous. They love attention and without proper training, that personality trait will turn destructive. I also recommed reading the the article in our About section from the Nation German Shorthair Pointer Rescue Organization.
German Shorthair Pointers and Time: As a companion, show or field German Shorthaired Pointers require a significant investment of your time. Think about it like this; 365 days in a year represents 8,760 hours; 2080 hours are spent at work, leaving 6,680 hours; 2,920 hours spent sleeping; leaving us with 3,760; 400 hours are spent driving to and from work everyday; 3,360 hours left and 1,664 of those are weekend hours minus sleeping hours. This represents 1,696 hours remaining meaning you have 4.5 hours of each weekday to spend with your companion, now take into account errands, late nights at work, travel and I could ramble on but I think you get the point. Friends once asked me why I do not go anywhere were dogs are not allowed; I do not get enough time with the boys as it is. If you plan to spend an hour a day with your German Shorthaired Pointer you are already headed for disaster. Before you say it be honest with yourself, if you have kids how much time do you think they will spend with a puppy after the first couple of months.
German Shorthairs love attention in a variety of ways. Scout our oldest loves physical activity and a great deal of it, he will actively run and play for hours at a time if I let him. This is typical of this breed. German Shorthaired Pointers have been developed from the late 1800’s to work in the field all day so it should be no surprise.
Scout and Blade love to be outdoors, however, the difference between them lies in how. Scout will go outside with or without a person; Blade prefers to have us outside with him and will spend only a short amount of time outside before he comes inside to be beside us again.
German Shorthair Pointers and Landscaping: Scout will spend hours exploring the backyard and is very hard on landscaping. I watch for the areas that are the most effected and then design our landscaping to be able to tolerate the wear and tear. This does not become apparent until about a year in age. By that time his “yard habits” will be fairly well established. Blade on the other hand is very easy on the yard he is a rarity. Size of your yard will affect wear on the landscaping as well. In my case, I have ¾ of an acre my personal recommendation is 1 GSP per ½ acre unless you have somewhere you can exercise them for a couple of hours every other day for a couple of hours. Do not plan to have a “Better Homes & Gardens” yard if you have German Shorthaired Pointers.
About German Shorthair Pointers and Health: Whether you hunt them, run them in agility, or any other physical activity including the local dog park you should consider a couple of things I thank should be mandatory. Hip, cardiac, eye checks. If you take them to a dog park something I do not recommend but if you do, All up to date shots are a must as well as kennel cough. Ask your vet if they have any recommendations for your local area. Start by buying from a reputable breeder that guarantee’s their pups, look at the many you will find here and if the person you are buying from have multiple breeds for sale don’t just walk away, run.
Health checks can be expensive have them done anyways; for my two boys, cardiac was about $600, eye checks $45, hips about $450. It is no different from having sports physicals done on your kids. If you are going to have a high performance dog you should be responsible for providing high performance health care. This does not account for accidents in the field. Old Blade went into the emergency room more than once from field related injuries including 30 stitches to the chest after cutting himself open on a downed fence in high brush and x-rays after stepping into an illegal leg trap. Also carry a dog first aid kit in your vehicle, if you travel deep into the woods like I ussually do carry it with you.
About German Shorthair Pointers and Your Wallet: Finding and buying a pup is not the expensive part. Medical, feeding, training, toys, snacks, and travel all add additional reoccurring cost. The basic annual cost for a German Shorthaired Pointer can be anywhere from $2,000 to 3,000 per dog. One of the best qoutes I have ever heard was from a family friend whose daughter said I need to go buy some bookmarkers for school and the response “I have $10,000 dollars in bookmarkers at home.” All I could do was grin. =D Here is a sample of the cost you could expect.
Food: $600 annual
Training costs: $1,200 annual (the money you don’t spend in training you will spend replacing something)
Reading materials: $100 annual
Vet routine: $100 annual
Vet emergency: anywhere from $100 to $2,000 over a life time
Medicines emergency: None Yet
Medicines routine(heartguard, frontline, vitamins, etc.): $200 annual—Heartworm my recommendation Heartguard; Flea and tick Frontline
Accessories(leash, collars, shampoo, brushes, combs, etc): $150 annual
Toys: $150 annual
Gifts: $100 annual
Grooming costs: $200 annual
Pet sitting costs: Depends (check locally)
Kennel costs(day care, etc) : Depends (check locally)
Other costs if you use your dog for: Hunting, Shows, Search and Rescue, Human Services, Agility, etc): $4,200 annual
Registration fees: $200 on time
License fees: $50 annual
Insurance: Varies
A Churchill study indicates that cost over a dogs life time to be 20,000 British pounds; based on our own assumption a German Shorthaired Pointer living for 12 years would have a lifetime cost of $24,000 - $36,000.
Rarely do I make product specific recommendations however there are two instances I will—Heartgaurd - Heartworm is deadly to dogs and is very preventable. It is a parasite carried by misquitoes. I have used it on all my dogs and have never had a problem with the dog having a reaction to the medication or a dog end up with heartworms.
The other is Frontline flea and tick. Since I begun using this on my boys I have not had a single problem with the dogs getting ticks; me on the other hand is another issue.
About German Shorthair Pointers and Children: Every German Shorthair Pointer I have ever met has been good with children, however, being as active as they are they are unaware of their size and will occasionally plow into them. Toddlers and young German Shorthairs unsupervised is not normally a good mix. German Shorthairs have excellent reaction time as young adults and can usually avoid a collision but accidents do happen.
About German Shorthair Pointers and Cats: Just say NO. Kathy and I do have a cat and have considered giving it to family members expect it does have a sense of humor. Train as we do, the chase instinct is just to strong in some dogs and if you are planning on hunting with the dog tread with care. I do not recommend them as a mix, sooner or later even in play, they potentially will kill a cat. Old Blades mother was notorious for killing cats. This is not the norm but as a Breeder friend of ours once said. Eventually they will catch the cat and with a few shakes of the head and it will be over and they will be standing over them as if to say, “Get up lets do that again.” While our two do not chase her very often due to extensive training, they do stalk her.
About German Shorthair Pointer and Age: I tell my wife half joking since our two new arrivals that I have about 30 years left to enjoy the company of German Shorthaired Pointers. Assuming I make it to 75 years old. German Shorthaired Pointers can live anywhere from 10 – 15 years. It is not to say I could not handle one at 75 years old but what will happen to it if I pass away at 80 years old. Considering most men in my pedigree have not made it to 80 years old it would not be fair on the pup. I am reminded of when I lived in Milwaukee, I had a young +90 year old neighbor whose daughter dropped off her Akita one day, and there it stayed. It was difficult to say the least; she already had a ShuTzu, which was more in keeping with her lifestyle.
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Other useful links on this topic
Dog Hause
Canine Adventure
Before You Get A Dog
Sacramento Animal Protection Agency
Dog Play
Westminster Kennel Club - The Right Dog
AKC - Are You Ready for a Dog?
Pending 
