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BTW, just to keep the record straight, the original of that was in French, written by and copyright to Elsa Weiss. Original published on cynopolis.fr. I don't know who did this translation.
And, while the poem concentrates on purpose-bred dogs, there are lots of dog breeds who make great pets. And lots of rescue mutts, same. And bloodlines within breeds that were more recently working, but whose bloodline has bred the working character down.
My big male GSP came from show lines. However, he was easily trained to be a fantastic hunter. He has a goofy rear leg point-
I think he doesn't want to spook the bird by raising his front leg, lol.
My female GSP is a DK bred dog- very much hunting bred. Very aggressive searching and pointing birds.
So two dogs with different breeding goals, however the natural instinct is still very intact.
We are looking to add to our family. Currently have a lab who is 13 and been the best ever. I’ve thought about another lab but I just feel she set the bar too high and I need to look elsewhere.
Been curious in the gsp. I don’t hunt but like a lot of their qualities. Size especially. Lot of lab Breeder have a site of 90# or more near me.
My issue is s I live on land with some chickens. Neighbors all have chickens. I can control the dog to a point but it is a bird dog….am I setting myself up for a chicken serial killer?
Here's an unhelpful story : One of our North Idaho neighbors had chickens in a coop. Another neighbor had a large, aggressive lab (lab mix?). Winter came, snow piled up to the height of the chicken coop fence, and the lab stepped right over the fence and killed all the chickens. Obviously not the best lab ever, but I guess that's where opportunity and lack of training will take over.
Here's an unhelpful story : One of our North Idaho neighbors had chickens in a coop. Another neighbor had a large, aggressive lab (lab mix?). Winter came, snow piled up to the height of the chicken coop fence, and the lab stepped right over the fence and killed all the chickens. Obviously not the best lab ever, but I guess that's where opportunity and lack of training will take over.
Dogs, even within their breed have different personalities and express selected behaviors to different degrees.
I know a couple of people who have labs that wouldn't put their mouths on anything. They have no interest in chasing or retrieving, not even a ball. One hates water, even getting wet.
A former co-worker was an avid upland game hunter who spent a lot of $ on a field line springer. It didn't show much interest as a pup, so he spent more $ on training. The dog was athletic, fun, a great family pet and companion, but it never developed any interest in game or hunting it whatsoever.
One of my Australian cattledogs was the perfect physical example of her breed. She was beautiful, whip smart, athletic, fast as blazes, a devoted companion to her human and all the rest of it but she never had the audacity to boss another creature into where to go. So much for herding. She welcomed and loved every living creature with the exception of squirrels. So much for being suspicious or protecting the homestead. She was also a ninny; all the dog toys belonged to me, not her. She was even afraid of dropped laundry. So much for standing up to livestock. Luckily, I didn't have any that needed telling. I was grateful for her timidity. They grow potentially dangerous wildlife big around here (moose, bears, coyotes, porkies, wolverines) and the place isn't fenced! .
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-09-2024 at 05:15 PM..
My son had a husky shepherd mix and he took it for a run in the country daily. I inherited him at 8 years old and we still had to walk 5 miles a day fast for him to be happy. I was only 60 then so I had no problem exercising him daily. Now at 70 it wouldn’t be fair to get a high energy dog so I have 2 Maltese. People need to take this into consideration. It’s one of the reasons dogs end up in shelters because of people’s unrealistic expectations.
Hi all. Thanks for the replies. We are still weighing the options on a lab again or gsp.
For the record, we will exercise the dog and it will be a huge part of our family. Not to just hang out. I worked hard to get my lab to be the dog she became.
I’m also aware about any dog will or can go after chickens do training as a puppy will be done.
Not being around a gsp before, I’ve read a lot of mixed things.
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: One of our North Idaho neighbors had chickens in a coop. Another neighbor had a large, aggressive lab (lab mix?). Winter came, snow piled up to the height of the chicken coop fence, and the lab stepped right over the fence and killed all the chickens. Obviously not the best lab ever, but I guess that's where opportunity and lack of training will take over.
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