TimJ
Well-known member
Dave Ward's post "The Sign Post" got me thinking. My long and probably boring dog related ramblings.
15 years ago when I found this site I had a dog. That summer sucked for many reasons, at the end of it on Sept 1 1999 my 9 year old Vizsla Nippit had to be put down. At that point it was about the worst day in the worst year that I had experienced. I was glad for the understanding support that I got from this forum just 6 months after finding it.
He wasn't really much of a hunting dog but was nearly my constant companion. With all that happened at that time I told myself I would never have a dog again.
Jump ahead a decade or so and I started to think about a pup, maybe a Pointing Lab or one of those little energizer bunny English Cockers. Then some more life got in the way and I wasn't very serious at that time anyways. Finally last winter while helping my nephew look for Brittany litters it hit me that I'm not getting any younger and I'd like to have a real hunting dog at least once while I can still use it.
I had been looking at different breeds for years but there were really only two that always stayed at the top, Pudelpointers and German Wirehaired Pointers. So I started looking with the idea of getting a pup asap. I was going to have the time and opportunity to get a good start on making a dog fit for home and field. After a short Pudelpointer search I decided that although it would be great to find one it probably wasn't going to be one of them. I'd start concentrating on GWPs.
I was close to getting a pup last March but it didn't quite feel right. I asked around a little and was lucky enough to get some great help from BillS here. He is a Drahthaar guy but some of the bloodlines are the same. His insight helped me greatly when looking at pedigrees. At about the same time I was told to check in with a local breeder named Dan Griffith. I called him and liked him right away. The blood lines were what I wanted (or at least what I was told I should want
) and he seemed as concerned about the lifespan of his dogs as he was with the hunting desire. He would have a litter soon and I would be second on the male pup list. Great! I could hardly wait. Then the day that litter was born I got updates; 1 female... 1 male.... 2 females.... 3 females.... that was it. She had a small litter and I was out of luck. He has one maybe two litters a year at most. He does not just have litters to have them.
After checking out a few other pups and a couple planned litters with help from my mentors I decided to wait it out and get one from Dan's next litter. He now had a waiting list for pups from these two and was going to repeat that breeding. In November I got a call saying she was being bred the next week. On my birthday in December I got a call from him telling me the ultrasound showed pups, that made my day. I even had the option to change to a female if the litter was lopsided again.
Saturday evening he called with an excited voice and said we had pups. I would have at least 3 males to choose from, ended up I will have either 4 or 5 to pick from. She had 7 pups, 5 males and 2 females.
He sent me this photo.
I can't wait to see them in person in the next few weeks.
So now I have to puppy proof for the little guys arrival in early March. Reading books and watching training videos, I want this pup to have a chance to live up to some of his potential. I'm very happy. I'm not truly a dog person. I like dogs and I understand dogs but I am not someone who can't see himself with out a dog... but still I am looking forward to this more then I can explain.
I know most of you have dogs and this is all old hat to you guys. I had pretty much decided I would never have another dog and now I am impatiently waiting for the house breaking, obedience training and for that unmistakable sound of a vomiting dog at 3 AM. Ok maybe I'm not looking forward to everything but seeing that first point, the cocked head when he hears a new sound and having a pup fall asleep next to me on a sunny afternoon will make up for all of that.
Now I just have to decide on a name. I might use the name from my much beloved pup from years ago. I think he would like that. Now I just have to see if there is a Nippit in that bunch of pups.
Tim
15 years ago when I found this site I had a dog. That summer sucked for many reasons, at the end of it on Sept 1 1999 my 9 year old Vizsla Nippit had to be put down. At that point it was about the worst day in the worst year that I had experienced. I was glad for the understanding support that I got from this forum just 6 months after finding it.
He wasn't really much of a hunting dog but was nearly my constant companion. With all that happened at that time I told myself I would never have a dog again.
Jump ahead a decade or so and I started to think about a pup, maybe a Pointing Lab or one of those little energizer bunny English Cockers. Then some more life got in the way and I wasn't very serious at that time anyways. Finally last winter while helping my nephew look for Brittany litters it hit me that I'm not getting any younger and I'd like to have a real hunting dog at least once while I can still use it.
I had been looking at different breeds for years but there were really only two that always stayed at the top, Pudelpointers and German Wirehaired Pointers. So I started looking with the idea of getting a pup asap. I was going to have the time and opportunity to get a good start on making a dog fit for home and field. After a short Pudelpointer search I decided that although it would be great to find one it probably wasn't going to be one of them. I'd start concentrating on GWPs.
I was close to getting a pup last March but it didn't quite feel right. I asked around a little and was lucky enough to get some great help from BillS here. He is a Drahthaar guy but some of the bloodlines are the same. His insight helped me greatly when looking at pedigrees. At about the same time I was told to check in with a local breeder named Dan Griffith. I called him and liked him right away. The blood lines were what I wanted (or at least what I was told I should want
) and he seemed as concerned about the lifespan of his dogs as he was with the hunting desire. He would have a litter soon and I would be second on the male pup list. Great! I could hardly wait. Then the day that litter was born I got updates; 1 female... 1 male.... 2 females.... 3 females.... that was it. She had a small litter and I was out of luck. He has one maybe two litters a year at most. He does not just have litters to have them. After checking out a few other pups and a couple planned litters with help from my mentors I decided to wait it out and get one from Dan's next litter. He now had a waiting list for pups from these two and was going to repeat that breeding. In November I got a call saying she was being bred the next week. On my birthday in December I got a call from him telling me the ultrasound showed pups, that made my day. I even had the option to change to a female if the litter was lopsided again.
Saturday evening he called with an excited voice and said we had pups. I would have at least 3 males to choose from, ended up I will have either 4 or 5 to pick from. She had 7 pups, 5 males and 2 females.
He sent me this photo.
I can't wait to see them in person in the next few weeks.
So now I have to puppy proof for the little guys arrival in early March. Reading books and watching training videos, I want this pup to have a chance to live up to some of his potential. I'm very happy. I'm not truly a dog person. I like dogs and I understand dogs but I am not someone who can't see himself with out a dog... but still I am looking forward to this more then I can explain.
I know most of you have dogs and this is all old hat to you guys. I had pretty much decided I would never have another dog and now I am impatiently waiting for the house breaking, obedience training and for that unmistakable sound of a vomiting dog at 3 AM. Ok maybe I'm not looking forward to everything but seeing that first point, the cocked head when he hears a new sound and having a pup fall asleep next to me on a sunny afternoon will make up for all of that.
Now I just have to decide on a name. I might use the name from my much beloved pup from years ago. I think he would like that. Now I just have to see if there is a Nippit in that bunch of pups.
Tim
