pup or half year old

we're looking for a hunting/family dog. after over one year debating, it's about time to get one…
we've started researching breeders and are still in the midst of it. it appears that gsp gained interest outside the hunting community, which does not necessarily make things easier for us.
Questions:

1. What papers would you expect for a puppy that indicates some sort of hunting pedigree?
2. What are the pros/cons of buying a half year old dog? Why would there be puppies left over/returned and how/what to check for?
3. Anybody an idea how much it were to ship a dog from Germany to YYZ?

Thanks,
Chris

2.

No problems IF the dog was properly socialized during those 2-5 months. However, if kept in a kennel , only allowed out for runs off and on , serious social problems are quite possible. People will return pups before 6 months are up due to having made a bad choice as far a their lifestyle with a dog is considered. This wouldn't necessarily turn me off.

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/dogsocialization.pdf

4/ Ask to see the parents work before deciding on their pup.

http://www.gspcanada.com/onbreederslist.html

5/ health clearances to consider:

http://www.gspca.org/Health/testing.html

Lots of excellent GSP breeders here. I don't see the need to import one from Germany where you likely won't have a chance to see the parents. Save that shipping money and spend it on professional training here. Your dog will be far better for it. The only reason I would buy an older dog is if it had been professionally started/trained.

There are a lot of answers to each question you asked. To keep it short I'll summarize with what I think is most important.

1. Without knowing much on a specific line within a breed, let alone the breed, trying to decipher 'hunting ability' from a pedigree will be very very tough. Your best bet here is to find the breedings of interest and then ask someone knowledgeable on the breed or the line to help you with this. Also, pedigrees will only tell you what the 'potential' of the pup may be, there are no certainties.

2. Like Sharon mentioned, if the kennel is producing a decent number of dogs, than a 'leftover' may be quite neglected in terms of socializing. That said, the breeder may have opted to keep one dog to develop it to the 'started' level to sell at a higher price. A returned dog may have been returned for many reasons, not necessarily a bad pick. The pros can be lengthy (house breaking, gun introduction, bird introduction, basic obedience, etc,) but the bond you make with a puppy is hard to replace - may be worth more to the handler than the dog though.

3. Roughly $1000 with insurance.

If you want to ship a pup its expensive. I just went thru the hole thing. I got a pup from Hungary. They quoted me $1000. This was the cheapest but I still have to go to montreal to pick it up. I can't remember exactly how much was to Toronto but around $1500. If you travel to Germany and bring a pupy back thats a different ball game. keep in mind it was LOT airlines. Up to 8Kg with cage you can put the cage under your seat $75, between 8-15Kg $200 and above 15Kg $400.
For a gsp I wouldn't go thru the whole process. You can buy a very good gsp in the gta. Also keep in mind in Europe no more tail docking.

I hope its helps. Jozsef

It really depends on what type of hunting you do. I'm not sure of the characteristics a GSP has but I'm sure they are fantastic upland game dogs. How are they with family and childen? Some dogs have it in their nature to nip at children.

I love the lab breed, great with kids all round hunting dog. But we picked up this Airedale Terrier (redline) and he is already hunting at 16 weeks with very little training. He is great with young children. As a puppy he is very active and crates won't work for this breed as well as they would for other breeds. His webb feet have already proven themselves in the Bow river. He can keep up with the labs who love the water.

Being on a plane for so long a time is in my mind unfair to the dog. However, whatever you do, make sure the pup is healthy. Deworm it. Take it to a vet you can trust. If it looses it appetite, get it into the vet FAST!!

Good luck new dogs are always great!!

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Originally Posted by Blackwolf

It really depends on what type of hunting you do. I'm not sure of the characteristics a GSP has but I'm sure they are fantastic upland game dogs. How are they with family and childen? Some dogs have it in their nature to nip at children.

I love the lab breed, great with kids all round hunting dog. But we picked up this Airedale Terrier (redline) and he is already hunting at 16 weeks with very little training. He is great with young children. As a puppy he is very active and crates won't work for this breed as well as they would for other breeds. His webb feet have already proven themselves in the Bow river. He can keep up with the labs who love the water.

Being on a plane for so long a time is in my mind unfair to the dog. However, whatever you do, make sure the pup is healthy. Deworm it. Take it to a vet you can trust. If it looses it appetite, get it into the vet FAST!!

Good luck new dogs are always great!!

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Great upland /retrievers too. Great with kids and calm in the house IF given sufficient hard exercise. I've had 2. :)

One of mine at 6 months Wafrudnir:

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psed5cbb96.jpg

Again, we are still at the beginning of screening breeders. Thanks for the hints that some folks already PMed me!
The question regarding the air freight crossed my mind as we were researching breeders. We didn’t want to limit us to southern Ontario and were looking across the border.
To me, getting a dog is not about the money involved, but to make sure that both hunter, family and dog are happy. Having said that, I noted that pups in Ontario cost often 50% more than in the US and Germany. And breeders there seem to focus at least if not more on the hunting capabilities. So it was more out of curiosity than that I was ever planning on stuffing a puppy in a box into the belly of an airliner (unless there is on other way).
Thanks for the help so far. I’m sure it won’t be the last question…

The GSP is a very popular hunting breed. I can't imagine that you can't find a good breeder here or relatively close over the US border. I would think seeing the parents would be something you want to do?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by terrym

The GSP is a very popular hunting breed. I can't imagine that you can't find a good breeder here or relatively close over the US border. I would think seeing the parents would be something you want to do?

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I'm thinking the same thing. Lots of good dogs in North America.

I don't have extensive knowledge about GSP's but I have seen several nice ones. It is my understanding that the testing in Germany has a part where they have to dispatch a fur bearing animal. So the dogs from Germany may have a little more "kill" bred into them than the North American dogs or maybe not. Maybe some of the DD and wirehair owners on here can elaborate.

Unless you are looking for something incredibly specific in a GSP I don't see any reason to go to Germany, you should be able to find what you are looking for in North America.

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