This past few months we’ve been discussing whether or not to get a dog, specifically a bird dog.  After my hunting excursion this spring I decided you kind of need a dog here, the terrain here is nothing like the marches through Iowa cornfields that I grew up hunting and a dog seems pretty essential.  I also miss Isan and would like to have a dog companion around since I’m a bit more house bound than I’m used to being.

I decided to turn this into a whole research project so we began investigating breeds before settling in on a German Shorthair Pointer.  This is a good bird dog, a good family dog and a very athletic dog perfect for hiking or trail running.  Catherine ran into a client that has a GSP and absolutely loves the dog, it is their child.  She gave us a bunch of resources and this began a search for breeders and trainers in the area plus a bunch of reading about dog training for a gun dog.  Luckily the Pheasants Forever magazine this quarter was all about dogs so I got a bunch of resources from it.  I located Sage Brush Gun Dogs in Ellensburg which raises and trains GSPs, I also know that our guide from Red’s just had pups too that are in the same line as Katie above.  I just finished reading The Ultimate Guide to Bird Dog Training and Wing & Shot to get an idea of what would be involved with training one of these dogs, both excellent books that gives you a very sobering look at how much work and time is involved in developing a bird dog.

After spending the last several months immersed in this I decided a few things.  First, I think we want to get a started dog instead of a puppy.  A pup is like having a baby around for a while and neither of us really want a  baby at this point in our lives.  A started dog is through with the chew the house up phase and has had some basic training already and often exposure to birds.  Second, given my health concerns this is not the time to get a very active dog until I know more what I’m dealing with.  I haven’t been able to run in months and keep activity to a minimum due to my weight loss and right now would not be able to give a GSP the exercise it needs.  Third, I realize that I need to train myself better before I’m ready to train a dog.  In light of that realization I decided I need to go out with guides and/or friends with dogs as much as possible this next season so that I can learn by watching others handle their dogs.   After next winter we’ll re-evaluate the dog question.