Before You Buy A Puppy
You are in the midst of searching for the perfect puppy. You will be researching different breeds and since you here, looking at German Shorthaired Pointers, we will attempt to give you some ideas and sound advice when visiting breeders.
You will find puppies for sale in various areas such as the newspaper, Little Nickel and other want ads, the internet, newsletter, and word of mouth. You first must decide what you want to do with your dog. Do you simply want a house dog, one that gets along with your family and other pets? Many people drawn to the GSP are looking for a hunting dog that also fits in with their family. Others are interested in owning a dog that can compete in field trialing or hunt tests. Finally some are interested in competing in the show ring for conformation, obedience, agility and/or tracking. Whatever your choice, you must do your research on kennels and bloodlines because many are firmly rooted in one vein or the other when it comes to competition. For example, if you are interested in showing your dog, he needs to come from champion lines that demonstrate that a dog from this breeding as a good chance at finishing. Please note that no matter what your choice of competition is, there is no guarantee that you dog will finish in what ever venue you chose. Circumstances, training and ability, plus your time, experience and perseverance can make the difference between a titled dog and one that will never finish.
So how can you do this research? First ask friends, veterinarians, breed clubs and attend events in which you would be interested in competing or simply obtaining a dog that could do what you are interested in down the road. Call or email breeders you find through these areas that match what you are looking for. Assuming this is your first GSP, take time to visit various kennels so you can spend time with this breed, making sure you understand what you will be bring home. Too many times people buy from the first place they visit, because the puppy is so cute, with no regard to what they actually want, then find out too late that this is not the what they wanted at all and end up turning the dog over to rescue or an animal shelter. To avoid this, plan on taking time to visit more than one breeder. Spend time with the puppies and their mother. Ultimately, it's best if you can visit at different times because the first time you may have come after the puppies are worn out from playing and it's difficult to evaluate them when they are trying to sleep. Puppies' personalities change weekly, so it is important to take time to play with them and simple watch them as they play with their siblings. Some breeders will have an evaluation done, especially for potential show prospects. This evaluation, done either by themselves or someone else qualified to do it, grades prospective puppies as either show quality or pet quality. This means that if you buy a show quality pup, you are buying a puppy that has no disqualify faults that would prevent him from finishing in the ring. Again, this is no guarantee that he will finish, only that he has nothing wrong with him that would prevent him from finishing. A pet quality pup is one who has at least one disqualifying fault and would not finish in the ring. For people looking for a companion, this is a good way to go. Often what is a disqualifying fault is not even noticeable to most people and does not affect his health.
While visiting various breeders, find out what their purpose is in breeding their dogs. Good breeders should always have the goal of bettering the breed. They should have a clean facility, with well socialized dogs. You should be able to view the entire litter plus the mother. Often the father will not be available to see simply because many breeders do not try to keep a stud dog along with bitches. It's quite a bit of work to deal with both sexes when bitches come into heat. A good breeder will spend a great deal of time socializing their puppies with many people, including children, other animals, inside house noises and lots of time outside for exercise and exploring. The more time a breeder spends with his litter for those seven to eight weeks he has them, the better off you will be as a buyer. You will be bringing home a puppy that is well adjusted and accepting of unusual places and noises. A good breeder will sell a puppy on a contract with a health guarantee, at least one set of shots done and one worming. Many breeders are realizing the overabundance of GSP's in Rescue looking for homes and are adding into their contracts that if the buyer can no longer keep the dog for whatever reason, the breeder will help to locate a new home for the dog or take the dog back in order to avoid another Shorthair in an animal shelter.
What can you expect to pay for a quality German Shorthair? If you look in the paper, you will see puppies advertised for as little as $200 and on up to $800 or more. Although the saying is overused, "you get what you pay for" comes into play here. Good breeders invest an exorbitant amount of money into their dogs even before considering breeding. Much money is spent in competition, whether it would be in field trials or the show arena because it can take months to years to finish a dog's title. Add the costs of health tests (Hips OFA'd, eyes CERF'd etc), transporting the bitch to the stud or AI breeding, the cost of whelping, plus the time and care the breeder puts into the litter and you can see why a quality puppy is going to be more than $200. Average prices run around $400-$600 with proven producers (bitches that have produced puppies that have titles) commanding $1000 and more.