What’s your favorite bird dog breed? Lets talk about the GSP, French Pointer, and Pudelpointer breeds.

We have been a bird dog family for the last 18 years. In high school and early college I fell in love with the German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) breed. One of my best friends had one, and the look and prey drive of that dog was amazing. I was hooked almost immediately. So when my wife and I first got married, we decided to get a dog before starting our family. The breed choice was easy for me……..a GSP. I found a litter less than an hour away, and suprised my wife with a trip to the breeder, in the middle of a snowstorm in December. We played with the pups, and ultimately selected a a good looking dog we named Hunter. He was liver/grey in color and was a handful. Great prey drive, and a natural when it came to hunting birds. He had a great nose and stayed close enough in the field to search for birds but stay close enough for a shot. A couple years later, we had the itch for a second dog, and decided to get another GSP. We found a local breeder and named this dog Gunner. He was white/liver in color, and had no interest in hunting. He loved hanging out with my wife and laying around house. Ultimately Hunter ended up being “my dog” and Gunner ended up “her dog”.

We started our family at this time, and had two boys. Both dogs were great with the kids and carried a light paw around them. We never had an issue with them being aggressive or too rough with the kids. They were very gentle and nuturing. Both dogs were males.

Fast forward to May of 2016. We had gone a handful of years without a dog, and we missed our GSP’s. I did some research and was intrigued by the French Pointer (Braque Francais). Another bird dog, that looked very similar to GSP, but were typically a little smaller. I also read that this breed seemed to calm down faster then the GSP’s. My wife really like the sound of a dog that was a little smaller and calmer but still had the looks and prey drive of a GSP. So we looked for breeders nearby and found two in West Michigan. At the time, there were not that many breeders in the country, so I was suprised to find two close by. We picked a breeder and went through an interviewing process. He ultimately chose us as well, and because we were late to the game, we were second to last pick of the litter. We ultimately chose the runt, and named him Murphy. All the things I read about this breed were true……this dog was amazing. Great with people, amazing prey drive and nose, but was perfectly content in the house……at least until he saw a bird or animal outside. Then it was game on! Truly a magnificent breed! He had a bit of seperation anxiety, but that seemed to go away after a few years.

Murphy passed away about 6 years later from cancer, and we were once again without a dog…….The boys were now 16 and 18 years old, and quite distraught from losing Murphy. We went about a week without a dog, and I just couldn’t take it, so I started looking for a new pup. I love bird dogs so much, that I just couldn’t consider anything else. The French Pointers are typically white with liver spots, and I thought if we got another French Pointer that looked similar to Murphy, that we might have a hard time disassociating the two. So I started researching other breeds and fell in love with the Pudelpointer. As they say, “Fear The Beard!”. I found a local breeder, and went to visit him to see his “pack”. Great guy with great dogs, but they weren’t having a litter until the following year. So I got online and found a breeder with good referrals in Wisconsin. It was the closest place I could find, unfortunately. My wife and I made a road trip out of it, and went to the Dells for a couple days, and then on to the breeder to pick up our pup. We named him Wilber, but we call him Willie. He slept most of the road trip back to Michigan, and once we got home the fun began.

Now, Willy is cute as a button, make no mistake. But the first 6 months as a puppy were by far the most challenging for us, when compared to the other three dogs we had. This was the most stubborn and mouthy dog we have had. He wanted to play bite and nip all the time which got old quick. He tended to be a bull in a china shop and not really understand his own strength or clumsiness. Most of which is to be expected in an pup, but this was on another level. He was born on Memorial Day, and as I write this blog post, I can still hear my family telling Willy to stop as he bites on their shoes while they walk or bump your hand with his nose/mouth. He wants to play, and with any bird dogs out there, they require exercise and attention. Again, this has been on another level for us, when compared to our other dogs. But now, as we are approaching 8 months old, its quite a different story. His personality has really come out, and he has these moments of greatness. He has, by far, been the easiest dog to crate train, but the hardest to house break. He is not a snuggler like our other dogs. He is all business, all the time. He is either pointing/chasing birds in the yard, trying to get you to play with him by poking, prodding, barking, bringing you things, walking on you, etc, or sleeping. But this dog wins our hearts every day with his intelligence and his aesthetic. I mean, come on……who doesn’t love that face!

So I am looking forward to the next year with Willy. Beginning to work with him in the field and getting him on his first hunt this fall will be exciting. I have heard great things about Pudelpointers in the field. I will also be running him through the NAVHDA Natural Ability Test, so look for a blog post on how that goes. I have never done it before, and am a little nervous. Hopefully this article helped you learn a little more about the GSP, French Pointer, and Pudelpointer breeds. I would encourage any dog lover or Outdoorsman to check these breeds out!

What’s your favorite bird dog breed? Lets talk about the GSP, French Pointer, and Pudelpointer breeds.

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