Can you talk me out of getting a GSP

[OntarioHunter]

You can get a GSP to do anything. They are at their best covering 25 miles a day in country like this. Mine actually despise ducks. I think GSPS are incredibly underrated as family dogs, but they’re not Goldens.
A couple fellas above have shown their GSPs can obviously work from a blind, they’ve done a great job training. Most of us will have better luck with a breed that is suited to how we want to hunt.
I’m 65 and in all candor I asked myself several times this weekend what the hell I was doing in hells canyon hunting chukar. My girls are 8 and 9 and likely will be my last GSPs. I might have to get a GWP or (gasp) a yellow lab.

I'm 68 and still beating the brush hard with a great pointing Lab and Fr Britt ages five and nine. A hernia and gall stones slowed me down this fall ... but only slightly. Come up to Montana next year for pheasants if you're interested in a swap hunt. Chukars has always been on my bucket list. I hunted rabbits one winter in the 80s at May, ID. Spectacular rough country.
Look close. Bull and two yearling moose are in the picture. About fifty sharptail were somewhere in front. Those birds were on that knob constantly. I saw thousands of sharpies this year.

Crusty snow made for unusually tough hunting.

 

[2rocky]

Our GSP is 13. In those years she's chalked up a list a mile long of reasons to never own another one.

Never comes
Prefers to hunt the next county over
Never comes
Doesn't point
Never comes
Runs off
Doesn't come
Love horse shit and chickens
Doesn't come
Is constantly whining except when she's hunting
Doesn't come
Was impossible to tire out, I mean IMPOSSIBLE, for the first 9 years.
... I could go on all day

Was this a dog or a girlfriend?....

 

[Pucky Freak]

If you titled the thread, “what breed of dog should I get” and then described the hunting you do, I doubt you’d get many GSP votes. They are wonderful upland dogs to hunt over in my experience, but the exercise requirements of an endurance high-strung upland dog are no joke. My Vizsla mix got 2 walks or runs daily when she was younger or else she tore up the house.

 

[Festus]

Our GSP is 13. In those years she's chalked up a list a mile long of reasons to never own another one.

Never comes
Prefers to hunt the next county over
Never comes
Doesn't point
Never comes
Runs off
Doesn't come
Love horse shit and chickens
Doesn't come
Is constantly whining except when she's hunting
Doesn't come
Was impossible to tire out, I mean IMPOSSIBLE, for the first 9 years.
... I could go on all day

 

[Irrelevant]

Here's a great photo from chukar hunting with my GSP on Saturday.

I took the pic while I contemplated where the f*&% she ran off to.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Here's a great photo from chukar hunting with my GSP on Saturday.
View attachment 167158
I took the pic while I contemplated where the f*&% she ran off to.

She came over the hill and hunted for me for a while

 

[Salmonchaser]

Hunted chukar Friday afternoon, Saturday all day and Sunday morning. It’s Monday, only time you’ll find them like this.

 

[TWC]

+1 on a lab for the requirements you have described

 

[Salmonchaser]

We had a five month old rookie with us over the weekend, labs work well with GSPs they just don’t cover the ground as fast.

 

[Sasquatchewan]

I'll never talk a grown man out of getting a dog, any dog.

Unless he's the "I'll shoot my pup for chewing things" type of idiot.

 

[Mule man]

It's all in what you're looking for in the experience. I have no doubt several guys with some flushing dogs will kill more pheasants than I will solo with my Drahthaar. There aren't many things I've done in the field that are more fun that watching a dog work in to birds and lock up on point. The bird count is irrelevant.

YMMV.

I had several flushers over the years hunting upland birds, they were great dogs and lots of fun until I started hunting with pointers . My GWP stalks like a cat sometimes up to two hundred yards then goes on solid point, then there is the suspense of when and where is it going to happen after you walk out in front of your dog, then all hell breaks loose and I miss them all......LOL

 

[VikingsGuy]

Lots of good reasons to have a GSP, but not the ones you seem to have listed. You seem to be needing a lab and I don't know why you don't think they are good for upland. Our English labs go toe to toe with GSPs every fall in SD pheasant hunting. As long as the temps are below 55 they hunt just as well and retrieved better. If you do a lot of hunting with temps in the 60s/70s they run hot - so that's a concern for me. About half of English labs have a natural point. Some breeders breed to that tait specifically and get closer to 90% pointers. World class house dogs (even as puppies), world class waterfowl over water and field, happy in a blind, happy in the field, good at grouse in woods, very good in field for pheasants, outstanding in cold weather and cold water. Lot's of great breeds - labs are one of the top choices for a reason.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I had several flushers over the years hunting upland birds, they were great dogs and lots of fun until I started hunting with pointers . My GWP stalks like a cat sometimes up to two hundred yards then goes on solid point, then there is the suspense of when and where is it going to happen after you walk out in front of your dog, then all hell breaks loose and I miss them all......LOL

Mine did a couple of 50 yard cat creeps on two different coveys of Huns last week. Sure was fun to watch.

 

[schmalts]

I have ran labs and GSP together. If I was hunting more than 50% ducks or geese, go with a lab. If you want quail or woodcock, go with a GSP. Ruffed grouse, it depends if it is late or early season. Late season GSP will bump too many birds as they do not sit tight. Pheasants, toss up. running partner or mountain bike partner, GSP. If you are a little laid back in the off season and do not want to run the chit out of a dog all the time, Lab. I love hunting over both, but for me I will take a lab. I am interested in the Lab/GWH mix that has been coming more popular though, but really it is only a shedding thing. My last lab could clone himself with lost hair monthly. So for me it is a Lab, and then second I would look at the GWH. I love hunting over my buddies GSP but I am not a fan of how wound tight they can be,
\

 

[corndog1]

If you titled the thread, “what breed of dog should I get” and then described the hunting you do, I doubt you’d get many GSP votes. They are wonderful upland dogs to hunt over in my experience, but the exercise requirements of an endurance high-strung upland dog are no joke. My Vizsla mix got 2 walks or runs daily when she was younger or else she tore up the house.

Ya I thought about that right after I posted. It wasn't the best title

 

[Mule man]

What do you guys and gals think about a GSP for a guy like me? I hunt pheasants three or four times a year and duck and goose hunt up to forty days a year but mosly in fields and also we get done early a lot with plenty of day light left for chasing upland birds. I guess I'm curious how a gsp would do in the blind and how it would do retrieving waterfowl.

What you might look at is the lab/GSH pointer. Have had two now and both were great dogs. I say both,I still have grandma. They are easy to train and will hunt anything, great kids, car ,hunting upland or water and lap dogs. Second best upland dogs I have had for over 40 years. Number one is the GWH. Lab /GWH mix should be a great mix also. Good luck, let us no

 

[MTLabrador]

What you might look at is the lab/GSH pointer. Have had two now and both were great dogs. I say both,I still have grandma. They are easy to train and will hunt anything, great kids, car ,hunting upland or water and lap dogs. Second best upland dogs I have had for over 40 years. Number one is the GWH. Lab /GWH mix should be a great mix also. Good luck, let us no

This guy is a lab/shorthair cross that just turned 5. He’s been an outstanding bird and family dog.

 

[cwitherow]

If you’re still wanting the pointing style of dog, could certainly look into some of the less high strung versatile dogs. That was my biggest factor: I knew I wanted a pointing dog but didn’t need the high energy. With pheasant hunting being primary but duck being a close second, the versatile really intrigued me. Nothing against labs of course. Hard to beat for what they’re bred for.

 

[Mule man]

This guy is a lab/shorthair cross that just turned 5. He’s been an outstanding bird and family dog.View attachment 167205View attachment 167208

That is very nice looking dog,My Brandy could have been the sister to yours

 

[OntarioHunter]

If you’re still wanting the pointing style of dog, could certainly look into some of the less high strung versatile dogs. That was my biggest factor: I knew I wanted a pointing dog but didn’t need the high energy. With pheasant hunting being primary but duck being a close second, the versatile really intrigued me. Nothing against labs of course. Hard to beat for what they’re bred for.

I was actually looking for a Small Munsterlander when I got roped into my Lab Ellie. They are beautiful dogs, a nice size, "versatile" hunter, and great disposition. Relatively new to North America so hard to find breeders. But they sure sound interesting. I think we will be hearing more about them.