German wirehaired pointers…. Pros/cons?

M

Mapledog

New member
Hey guys,

Lifetime lab guy thinking about possibly getting into the pointing world. I’m looking for everyone’s opinions on GWP‘S….. How’s the drive, temperament, and are they good family dogs as I have young children that I am sure will want to use them like the monkey bars at a playground. Are they able to hunt all weather like a lab? This is one of the reasons I was looking into them since I enjoy waterfall hunting as well. Is this breed known for any later in life health issues?

For any of you guys that switched from labs to pointers, what are some tips/tricks when it comes to letting the dog roam in the field rather than work close by. My current lab works close and tight which is nice but for Montana prairies it’s nice to have the dog cover most of the ground.

Also, any suggestions of breeders that you would recommend?

Appreciate any feedback!
 
I've only owned Drahthaars, kind of the same as a GWP but different breeding rules and requirements. high drive hunters that will hunt what ever you want. In addition to the typical upland birds, we blood track wonder big game. My friend uses his Drahthaar to hunt lions, and he's good at it. My experience with Drahthaars is they do better in the cold than the heat. I've goose hunted in -27 with my dog, I did put a vest on her though. down to zero we just go and hunt. My dogs range to 200 meters depending on the cover. We hunt the mountain grouse and the dogs can locate and point them in the trees, I use a .22 rifle or pistol to shoot the spruce grouse. They do have a high fur drive, my momma dog and 2 of her pups (10 months old) chased down and bayed a coyote this year. Plenty of raccoon fights while pheasant hunting over the years. My youngest pup pointed a nice big black bear this year. And for some reason they all like to chase moose, I stop that quickly but at times when out of sight in the forest you dont know if it's a rabbit or a moose chase. I do let my dogs chase rabbits, I enjoy watching them after a jackrabbit. The jacks run just fast enough to stay in front of the dogs. My dogs are family dogs and when raised with kids they are just fine. Off season we fish, hike, bike and cross country ski. We have fun
 
We had one when I was a kid, she was a great dog and a great hunter on waterfowl and pheasants. She was a good family dog. She did like to kill everything, rabbits,cats, guinea pigs , anything like that.. she loved to hunt anything.
 
We had one when I was a kid, she was a great dog and a great hunter on waterfowl and pheasants. She was a good family dog. She did like to kill everything, rabbits,cats, guinea pigs , anything like that.. she loved to hunt anything
 
I have always had Gordon Setters but my best friend that I have hunted with for nearly 40 years has always had GSPs. He does a good job training them. They are well behaved and as Goose said excellent noses. We have taken them all over the west in the last decades with my setters. He has had a couple that may have been the best dogs I have ever seen. They don’t bust birds and when they go on point believe it the birds are there. Hope this helps
 
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