GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER OR AKC BRITTANY?

[BIGINNER]

OK,.. WELL ON MY OTHER POST I SAID THAT I WAS INTRESTED IN BUYING AN AKC BRITTANY FROM A GUY. WELL TODAY I FOUND ANOTHER GUY SELLING SOME GERMAN SHORTHAIED POINTERS.  BOTH DOGS ARE SELLING FOR ROUGHLY THE SAME PRICE. BUT I DON'T KNOW WICH ONE I WOULD BE BETTER OFF.

THE BRITTANY IS 7 YEARS OLD,  GUB BROKE, AND HAS SEVERAL HUNTING YEARS BEHING HER.
THE G SHORTHAIR IS 1.5 YEARS OLD, AND IS ALSO GUNBROKEN , AND HUNTS/POINTS/RETREIVES.
I'M LEANING MORE TOWARD THE YOUNGER DOG, AND THE FACT THAT I DON'T REALLY KNOW THE OWNERS OF THE BRITTANY DOESN'T HELP MUCH,

SO WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?
THANKS FOR ANY INPUT.

[Mr56Jeep]

Are you looking for a pet that will hunt or a hunting dog.

I have a GSP.  High energy dogs.  They need exercise.  Hard to beat a GSP in the field but they can be knuckle heads at home.

The Brittany at 7 is probably real mellow and likely several years of hunting left but won't hunt as hard or as long....

Now I'm speaking in general terms but IMO that is what you what to think about.

Good luck!

[Rowdy]

I have a Shorthair and he's a hunting machine.  He's also had formal training but I feel confident that he would be a good bird dog regardless of training.  Pointing birds is not something that is trained, it's instinct in well bred dogs.  If the Shorthair has some decent genetics all you'll need to do is get the pup on birds, take it hunting and lower your expectations for the first year.  The more time on wild birds the brighter the bulb burns.

I would recommend reading a book or two if you do want to train the pup to a higher level.  Joan bailey has a good one for bonding with your pup and getting it ready to be a bird dog.  Bill Tarrant, Paul Long, there are quite a few.  It's not rocket science if you just want a good hunting dog.  If you want ribbons or dog that makes peoples jaws drop you'll have to put in some work.  Lots of wild birds is the best teacher a pointer can have.

IMHO, go with the younger dog if it's come down to picking between the two.  

 
Jake

[Skyvalhunter]

I have a brittany and he is a hunting, hiking machine. But you have to take them out and excercise them. Not the type of dog to lay around like a shorthair.

[BIGINNER]

EXERSIZING THE DOG IS NO PROBLEM AT ALL,  I AM ALWAYS OUT AND ABOUT. I HAVE A SMALL DOG, (CHIWAWA MIX) AND I USUALLY DON'T TAKE IT OUT MUCH JUST BECAUSE HALFWAY THROUGH OUR HIKE/RUN HE GIVES UP AND I HAVE TO CARRY IM,  LOL

[Skyvalhunter]

Your going to get favorites for both dogs. Even when you do get the dog there is no guarentee he or she will be a hunter.

[Mr56Jeep]

I have a brittany and he is a hunting, hiking machine. But you have to take them out and exercise them. Not the type of dog to lay around like a shorthair.

Interesting opinion... I would have said the exact opposite as a GSP owner.  Just goes to show how perspective is.   

[Skyvalhunter]

yea in the eyes of the beholder I guess. I hike alot and in nasty places and my dog still keeps goeing at the end but alot of that can be genetics. 

[Stilly bay]

get 10 brit owners and 10 GSP owners together and you will get 20 different opinions. I used to breed GSP's. great dogs, some are hyper some are mellow. 

Im assuming you want a ready to hunt dog for this upcoming season?
since both of these dogs are older and both have claims of hunting ability the smartest thing to do is evaluate them in the field and see which one will suit you the best. its a month or two before you can actually go hunting, but watching both of these dogs handle planted pigeons or preserve game birds will at least give you a little insight as to what your dealing with. I would take a 8 week old pup sight unseen and miss out on hunting season while training it, before I would take on an older dog that may or may not have a host of training/breeding/hunting issues.

maybe you should recruit an experienced bird dog person to come with you and watch these dogs in action, two heads are better than one and it might keep you from making an impulse purchase.

good luck in your decision!

[Birdguy]

 

I currently have a brittany that we have had for 15 years. He has really slowed the last year or so. Until that point he was the energizer bunny in the form of a little red and white blur. We also have a soon to be 5 year old GSP that hunts from the moment you let her out of the kennel until you lock her up. The Mrs. hates the fact that the GSP will hunt snakes when she is hunting and leave them on the porch  . Look at both dogs and evaluate them for what they are and how they will fit into your family. Both dogs should have plenty of get up left in them, yet both should be great around the family as well. They are different dogs that do the same job just a bit differently, go look them both over and see how they shake out. Be sure to include the Mrs. as I am sure she will get to deal with them as well .

[jetjockey]

Biginner.

If you have never had a Brit or GSP then trust me, excercising them is a lot harder then you think.   At least it is if you want your dog  in good shape.  I road my Brit off a bicycle with a dog attachment called a Springer.  10 miles in an hour is nothing for her!  Her trainer roads her off a 4-wheeler.

I read your other post, and IMO, I would pick neither dog.  Get a pup, and train it yourself.  It doesn't take much to train a dog, and these days there are tons of good DVD's and videos on youtube that can really help.  I really like the pointing dog training DVD's "Perfect Start/Perfect Finish".  Its a step by step process on how to train your dog, and its relatively easy to do.   Since your in Pasco, finding ground to train on shouldn't be too hard.  Purchasing a puppy and training it yourself will be cheaper in the long run, and you can purchase a dog with bloodlines that you really want.

As far as a Brittany vs a GSP, ask 10 different guys and get 10 different answers.  But to generalize the two, heres what you get...........  GSP's tend to be better retrievers, but the winningest Shoot to Retrieve trial dog in history was a Brittany.  GSP's are bigger and tend to be a little more high strung.  Brits are smaller and need family attention.  They won't do as well in a kennel all day, but make great house dogs if they get enough exercise.  Neither dog will outhunt eachother.  It completely depends on the breeding.  Some of the best Brits and GSP's go head to head at the AKC National Gun Dog trials held every year.  There has been no clear winner between the two breeds.  I have heard that GSP's tend to be a little harder headed, thus possibly a little harder to train, but brits can be a little soft for some people as well.  I like Brits for their size, their hunting ability, and because they do so well in a family environment.  Mine is a sweetheart who sits in the front seat of my truck everywhere we go, but put her in the field, and shes a big running hard charging machine that can go all day long.  ID find some good breeding in the Northwest and try to find a pup.  If your interested in a GSP, Dunfur kennels in spokane has some nice dogs from what I hear, and there are a few decent brittany breeders as well.  Expect to pay somehwere around $500 for a good brit pu.