Anyone with German Longhair Pointer experience?

[Bob Brown]

I was wondering if anyone on the site has experience with or has hunted with GLPs? We haven't had a hunting dog since our last Lab passed almost 5 years ago and it feels like time. I've had Labs and a Springer in the past, but never a pointer. After hunting over a great GSP I've thought about getting one, but wanted a breed a bit better suited for Canadian weather. For upland I would mostly be hunting for grouse, occasionally sharptails. Probably some early season ducks over decoys as well. The litter I'm looking at is by two German imports.

[John Davis]

I'm not familiar with the German Longhair Pointer breed. I've owned a few German Shorthairs and judged many, many AKC field trials with both GSP's and German Wirehaired Pointers competing. Never ran across a GLP but sounds interesting.

[Bob Brown]

Thanks for the reply, John. Its not really surprising that you haven't run into them. They're not recognized by the AKC, but they are by the Canadian Kennel Association. Not common up here by any means though.

[Timothy Salgado]

Bob,
German Longhaired Pointers are registrable with NAVHDA=North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. If you go to their website you can look up performance test scores, etc. They also have a list of registered breeders. I know from looking at their site , most breeders are located in the Western US or Western Canada. Good luck with your search.
Tim

[Bob Brown]

Thanks Tim. I'll do that.

[Chris Pope]

I saw one work in a NAVHDA test and as I recall she did well. But that was just one dog at one test in Montana. I have never hunted over one. To follow up on Mr. Salgado's post I absolutely agree that, especially for your first pointing breed, that the NAVHDA registry is an excellent place to start. It is open to the public and you can look up the (hunt) test records of versatile dogs from any breeder in any part of North America. All of the records are public. If that is too overwhelming I know the staff at the NAVHDA office can help but probably the best thing to do would be to visit a local NAVHDA chapter training session or test.
I was a flushing dog guy my whole life but wanted to try a pointing breed when I retired. My local NAVHDA chapter was the absolute best resource for learning how to train a versatile dog, meet new folks, bond with my dog and just have a ton of fun. We ended up with 2 Griffons. Just put our first one down which has broken our hearts.
There are many breeds in the versatile category that can handle cold weather hunting.
Best advice is try to match the personality and traits of the breed to your style.

[Harold Pickens]

Just my 2 cents worth--if you want a pointing dog, go with a proven bloodline and breed. Lots of GSP, GWP, ES, Britts, etc out there with tons of hunt and point in them. I have hunted with German Longhairs(friends) and was not at all impressed, then again I am not so sure that it wasnt just as much the owner/trainers fault. They would get all excited and giddy when their dog got birdy, but my Eng Setters had been on point for quite a while by then. Some people just want something different , however. Good luck. The dogs themselves resemble setters somewhat, with long dark liver colored coat

[Mike of the Mountain]

As Ken Alexander always told us, the more "Champions" in the dogs pedigree, the further out they hunt. We hunt close so we don't want a lot of field trial champions in the lineage.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Originally Posted by Bob Brown

Thanks for the reply, John. Its not really surprising that you haven't run into them. They're not recognized by the AKC, but they are by the Canadian Kennel Association. Not common up here by any means though.

We're not fans of AKC. Elitist snobs. We had American Bulldogs decades ago and AKC didn't recognize that breed even though it was older and more pure than most of the breeds they did recognize at the time. AKC had bought out FDSB and said they will no longer accept English Setter registrations from FDSB after July 1. My wife spoke to s girl at AKC and she said they are not registering Setters now because "They already have too many." Seriously?? It's like dealing with schoolgirls.

[ahfoxman]

Originally Posted by Mike Koneski

We're not fans of AKC. Elitist snobs. We had American Bulldogs decades ago and AKC didn't recognize that breed even though it was older and more pure than most of the breeds they did recognize at the time. AKC had bought out FDSB and said they will no longer accept English Setter registrations from FDSB after July 1. My wife spoke to s girl at AKC and she said they are not registering Setters now because "They already have too many." Seriously?? It's like dealing with schoolgirls.

The long and short of it is: I have hunted over a lot of different pointing breeds and the Einsteins show up in all of them. For the last 65yrs, I have primarily hunted grouse and now have two outstanding older Labs that point. They were both given to my wife and I by a trainer/trialer friend who likes our retirement 'dog' environment, as our hunting dogs live in the house with us. That way our buddies are always having their 'education' reinforced. So, after you decide on the breed and breeder, close your eyes, stick your hand in the puppy box, and grab first one to check you out, repeat until you get the sex you want; then All the Very Best of Good Luck and Enjoyable Hunting. PM me with your phone number and I can forward videos of my troops working. One of the best 'grouse dogs' I have hunted over was a Gordon owned by a close hunting buddy. He had two, one an absolute flawless bird machine, the other as dumb as they come. Sadly, all are long gone, a problem with living too long, best old friends, both 2 and 4 legged, are no longer with us. I now hunt mine one at a time, more fun for me and at an crippled arthritic 82; much easier.