I want to preface my post with, this is not intended to be an end all be all of pointing dog selection advice.  A lot of my statements are general statements and there a lot exceptions. Also...doing this on my phone...so I didn’t proof read

I want to dispel the myth you need a huge yard to own a pointing dog.  My ex and I did the travel nurse thing for years with two GSP’s.  We lived out of a pull behind trailer, extended stay hotels, and corporate housing.  Not once did we have an issue with our dogs.  All your dogs need is exercise and structured training.  Two hours of a combination of these activities will leave you with happy, well adjusted dogs.

Do you want a good bird dog? You need good breeding, effective training, and bird contacts.  This trifecta is a three legged stool.  Without one, the dog will fail.  The first two are easy to accomplish, the third will be tricky for many.

Breeding:  finding a well bred dog is easy.  I prefer line bred dogs as there is constant checks to make sure offspring are up to standard.  Most line breeders won’t go more than two generations out from champion blood lines.  Not only do you increase your chance of a healthy dog but you greatly increase the chance the dog you get will have lots of natural hunting ability.  You cannot teach a dog how to hunt... more of that when we talk bird contacts.

You can still find dogs that are not line bred that are good dogs.  If they have a hunt tested dog as a parent, you have a reasonable chance your dog will hunt.  It wouldn’t be my first choice and you won’t really save that much money but I have bought dogs that were not line bred with good results.  The only thing I caution people against is show lines.  If a pup has show line parents I would not buy one unless both parents have been hunt tested.  Too many show breeders churn out dogs that look incredible but can’t hunt.  Show breeders all but destroyed traditional hunting breeds like the Irish setter and golden retriever and are polluting the GSP and ES breeds.

Training:  This is the easiest of the trifecta.  There are so many resources out there for training a pointing dog.  YouTube, books, DVD’s, professional trainers.  For $1200 you can send your dog away for two months to one the best training programs in the business and that dog will likely come back the a well behaved hunting machine, all your hunting friends will be envious of but you’ll miss out on watching your dog develop.  Again...you can’t teach a dog to hunt... more on that later.

Bird contacts:  this is where most people will run into problems.  There are very few places in this country where there enough wild birds to give your dog the contacts it needs.  A dog has all the ability it ever needs to hunt etched in its DNA but it needs birds to bring that natural ability to the surface.  The only option for most people is pen raised birds.  Pen raised birds are stinky, they are dumb, and they do not often act like a wild bird.  Also, they are not cheap.  2-3k is what you can expect to pay on pen raised birds just in training cost to get your dog to a huntable state of competency. You will very likely have to manage your expectations if you train your dog on pen raised birds.  The likelihood of your dog being great on wild birds is not good.  That’s not to say they won’t find wild birds but I have field trial rejects that run circles around champion field trial dogs while hunting wild birds because my dogs were trained on wild birds.

Something else you can do is buy a started or finished dog.  This way you are getting a trained dog that has had bird contacts and is more less ready to hunt. Keep something in mind.  You are buying a dog someone extensively trained and no longer wants.  There is a reason for this...if the reason is because the guy is a field trial guy and the dog didn’t make the cut, I wouldn’t worry too much, if he’s a line breeder and the dog didn’t make the cut, I’d check the reputation of the breeder but wouldn’t worry if they are well known, if they aren’t either...I wouldn’t buy that dog, you are likely buying someone else’s problem.

Let’s talk breeds.  This is by no means an all inclusive list...I’m leaving out many breeds.

German shorthair pointers:
I will never own another GSP as long as I live but hands down this is the breed I’d recommend to a first time pointing breed owner.  A well bred GSP is a hunting machine.  They only stop hunting two years after they die...  they are driven, loyal, forgiving, and versatile.  You can make a lot of mistakes with a GSP and never ruin the dog.  They make fantastic family dogs.  

They are a versatile breed.  Meaning they were bred to hunt everything.  Fowl, deer, varmints, and pretty much anything else with fur/feather and a heartbeat.  As a GSP owner you will very likely have to pry your dog off a raccoon, badger, or coyote at some point in time.

Their drive is their biggest strength and weakness.  GSP’s are absolutely useless for the first 15 min of a hunt.  I don’t care how much you have exercised them before the hunt, they will get so wound up, the first 15 min of a GSP’s hunt is racing around like a crazy dog, bumping birds and stress shitting until they calm down.  Males tend to be very bull headed until they mature.  I highly recommend a female for your first dog.

Brittany Spaniels
Fantastic dogs but they need a steady hand and lots of structure due to their high intelligence.  Extra care needs to be taken when introducing britts to gun fire and an e-collar.  You can ruin a dog with too heavy of a hand.

Britts are fantastic medium range working dogs.  They are great cover diggers, hunt to the gun the best of any breed I’ve ever owned, and most dogs tend to have above average noses.

They make fantastic family dogs but tend to choose a person to bond with.  They are bad barkers.  They are incredibly intelligent.  A bored Britt can easily figure out how to unlock its cage and proceed to destroy your living room.

English pointers.
They are essentially a sensitive GSP without the fur drive.  Fantastic pointing dogs.  These dogs can be ruined very easily with a heavy hand or improper introduction to gunfire.

Probably the best natural pointing ability of any pointing breed.  You can put a 4 month old pup on the ground and he will point wild birds for you more often than not.  These are very athletic dogs.  If you want a short range dog...this isn’t your breed.  Not great in cold weather but can hunt the warmer times of year that other breeds can’t hunt.  They need some coaxing to hunt to the gun and can be a little independent.

The two hour daily exercise/training rule goes out the window for these dogs, they need a solid 3-4 hours daily.  Good house dogs if they can get that exercise.

English Setter:

I’ll never own another breed but recommend this breed the least to a new pointing dog owner.  These dogs are very sensitive, one outing can ruin a dog forever.  They can be very stubborn.

They have great noses.  They run with a steady gate fresh out of the dog box until the end of the day.  They are thorough hunters.  They have lots of natural ability and will hunt at an early age for you.  I had a 6 month pup schooling a 3 year Britt and 4 year GSP on wild grouse on his 3rd day of hunting.

You cannot lose your temper or use the e-collar very much on these dogs.  Introduction to gun fire has to be a delicate affair as well.

They make great house dogs.  They are just as happy curled up on a couch as they are in the field.

Drath/GWP/Griffon’s
I’m going to catch shit for this but they are essentially the same dog with some slight differences in size and temperament.
Another versatile hunting breed.  Because of their hair, they can be used as a dedicated waterfowl retriever at reasonably cold temps.  They do mature late when it comes to pointing.  It’s not uncommon for theses breeds to be 3-4 years old before they are steady to point.

They aren’t as high strung as a shorthair.  The Draths can be aggressive to people and animals they don’t know.
Weimaraner:
I don’t have tons of experience with this breed when it comes to the at home aspect.  I’ve seen them trialed and hunted behind 4-5 dogs.  So, a pretty small sample.  So take this with a grain of salt.

The American bred dogs were very close working dogs.  Close enough working to the point I question the usefulness of their pointing.  They might as well have been flushers.  They had okay noses, good enough to find birds.  I liked their temperament overall. The European lines were medium ranged dogs.  Good noses.  Their temperament was a little aloof and they were not eager to please.  Also, their price tag was 7k a pup imported.  You can buy a titled champion dog for that price from many other breeds.

Vizla
Same thing with weims, I’ve had some exposure but not tons.  The ones I’ve seen are really very sweet dogs.  The American bred dogs were close working and had just okay noses.  The imports were equally as close working but had better noses.  They were eager to please and good retrievers.

Some parting thoughts, things I’ve learned over the years.
You can’t push a check chord.  You can always teach a dog to hunt in closer but you can’t teach a dog to hunt further out.

Your e-collar has no business above its medium setting.

Putting your dog in it’s kennel and going hunting without if it’s not hunting the way you want will do more to correct problems than hacking away at its e-collar.

Birds, birds, birds!  The more contacts you have, the better your dog will be.

Learn to trust your dog.  If you have a bidable dog that takes a weird line and just doesn’t want to come back to your line right away...follow the dog for a couple hundred yards.  I’ve killed lots of birds trusting my dog.

Nicely written.  GSPs for me. Miss many of them. Greatest achievement was putting a VC and a Therapy Dog title on my first GSP.

My setter pointed bugs when he was months old.  Never needed to teach him anything beyond basic obedience.  In fact, i wisely just let him do his own thing in the field.  Turns out that was to find birds.  Love my setter.

I'm having trouble finding a Griff right now, I think we might get a GWP if there is a litter close by in the fall.

Curious about the GWP coat.  Ive had labs and shepherds.  So im assuming they shed similar.  

But does the coat wipe off clean easily like a lab?   For example, my setter is basically made of the same material they make swiffer sheets from.   Everthing sticks and requires brushing.    It looks like the GWP coat has the same teflon like properties the lab does.

No idea, but my lab is far from teflon, burdocks and stickers will pile up on him easy enough, if I don't get them off quick he can really smash them in.

Great artical OP!  There is iron in your words......

The Britt is my favorite flavor of bird dog.  I totally agree with everything you said about the breed, especially the intelligence they posses.  I’ve had the pleasure of having 4 Britts in my life, and am looking forward to the 5th

One of my more memorable experiences was with a 7 yr old male I had.  A favorite pastimes of ours was idling down a MI UP two-track with the windows down.  One minute he’d be sitting in the front passenger seat, taking in the sights, all calm and relaxed.  The next minute all hell would break loose and he’d start jumping back to front to back and front again. That’d be the time I’d pull over, load the O/U and let him go.  9 times out of 10, we were into bird(s) within 100 yards of the Jeep.  He had a hell of a nose, it was FUN

Spot on nicely done.
I've owned 2 GSP's in my life, my wife has had 5. (Her Dad owned 2 and bred them).  My parents bred Goldens.

BOTH of my GSP's died at 7 years old with cancer.  Same bloodlines, same breeder.  IIRC my 2nd was the "Grand niece" of my 1st.
They are by far the most awesome dogs I have ever been around.  Both were females and both were natural hunters.  My 1st used to range too far sometimes and bump birds - but I think that was more an issue of not seeing enough birds (a point which you highlight as the hardest part of the trifecta).  They are an energetic breed and I would try to run them into the dirt all the time.  I didn't have the stamina to do it.  I used "Wolters Gun Dog" book as my training method.  Dated maybe but they both took to it simply.  All I ever wanted was sit, stay, come and whoa. To both voice, whistle and hand commands.  I never leashed any of my dogs.  I always wanted them "out front".  They were both spectacular with obedience, housebreaking and training in general.

I only had 2 real problem between both dogs.  On a Boyscout hike my dog must have seen a deer because it was gone....long gone.  They both wore bells in the field and that damn dog was gone for 30 minutes.  We had a time frame in which to finish the hike (kids to get picked up) so I told my son I would leave a shirt on the ground and we would return later to find her.  My son was very upset and I was mad too because she completely disobeyed voice and whistle commands.  She returned 30 minutes later to us exhausted but I didn't hear that bell for a long time.

The other time I had my shorthair doing water retrieves in a small pond close to home.  2 damn ducks landed on they pond and of course she set out in pursuit.  The damn ducks never flew away they just kept circling the pond swimming a mere 10 yards in front of her.  She would NOT respond to whistle or voice and as she swam she got lower and lower and lower.  When the birds finally took off she was close - less than 5 yards and she went spastic flailing and splashing to get them.  That was the last of her energy.  Only her eyes and nose peered up from the water and I took off my shirt and wallet out of the pocket as I was sure I was going in to get her.  Luckily she made it to shore.

Great with family, kids, visitors.  She would run to the edge of my property but not set 1 foot on my neighbors.  I don't know how she knew the boundaries...but she did.  

They were both beautiful, and I miss them everyday.  My hose doesn't feel the same without them there.  I just cant seem to "pull the trigger" on getting another one yet.  Maybe one day.

That's the one hesitation I have going from a lab to a more stubborn breed.

I called my lab off at 50 yards mid retrieve this fall, I knew he wasn't going to get the bird before it hit the current. I yelled to him, told him to come back, and without hesitation he spun around and came back to me, we lost the bird, but I wasn't going to have my dog end up 3 miles down river.

Especially the write up on English Setters!

We have a GWP coming in October.

So I'm either going to be a big fan, or end up going back to labs on the next one.

The lab will be easy anyway, my sister just bought a block headed black lab female and wants to use my lab as a stud when she's ready for a litter.

I've never met a GWP that was quick to mature when it comes to pointing.  Great dogs but don't be surprised if your dog doesn't point until it's 2nd or 3rd season.

It's going to be a learning experience for both of us I'm sure.

She said the last litter all went to field trialer or hunters and everyone has loved them so far.

Are there any games to play with them at home to help them along as they start to point?

Nice write-up.  Not going to give you "shit", but I'll add on.  I own a GWP now and had a Drathaar in the past.

Drathaars and GWPs are the same dogs genetically.  The difference is what's required to breed.  Some clubs in the US only require purebred registration.  The VDD/GNA requires Drathaars to be field-tested several times, plus examined carefully for breed standard compliance and proof that the dog is free from common genetic disorders in what's known as a "breed show."  Sorry, I've forgotten the correct terms for all this.  Only certified dogs are allowed to breed in the VDD/GNA.  These versatile dogs, GWPs included, will point, retrieve on land and water, track fur, tree, etc.  They are slow to mature, but once they've caught on, they're hunting machines all day long.

There are several European breeds that look and hunt much like the Drat/GWP, but they are different dogs.  The Griffon is one of them.  They are generally shorter, stockier, and hunt at a slower pace.  I looked real hard at WPGs, but couldn't find pup available.

To the poster asking about the coat.  Haven't had a Lab, so take this with a grain of salt.  The double coat stays fairly clean and doesn't collect debris as badly as some long-haired, smooth-coated dogs I've own.  The dogs shed water well and dry fast.  They shed yearly and do require stripping.

To echo other's comments, these dogs are intelligent, determined, single-minded, and high energy.  They need daily, vigorous exercise.  Without proper socialization with people and other animals, they can become aggressive.  Even then, you might see problems.  There wasn't a cat in the world that could survive a trip across my fenced-in back yard when my old Drathaar was still alive.

If you're willing to put in the time, you could end up with the best hunting dog you've ever owned.  That' what my Drat, Tess, was for me.  I have high hopes for Jack, my 7 month old GWP.  He's a PT boat in the water and showing strong retrieving instincts.

Just bird contacts.  Don’t do the feather on the string thing.  

Buy some pigeons or quail and let them chase those birds in your yard.

I found a place that sells Chukar. I think I'm going to buy a few breeding pairs and build a small pen to see if I can make a supply of them.

I can also live trap pigeons at the farm.

Thank you for the write up.  Currently looking for my first hunting dog, grew up with various hunting breeds but never hunted them.. leaning GSP, GWP, or Griffon but not totally decided.

Keep pitting it off hoping toget out of an apartment and into a house.. maybe someday.

You were right about maturity time on the pointing.

He turned two this summer and a few months ago he started going absolutely bird crazy, he's pointing everything now, birds, mice, chipmunks, the deer across the road, anything he can find.

I got myself a PP and this weekend I hope to shoot a few doves for him to play and point with in the back yard

You can freeze those birds and use them for bumpers. I don't know what the guys stating certain breeds are slow on pointing because my experience with GWP's has been that they point very early - 5 weeks old. I wouldn't even buy a pointer pup who I couldn't get to point before I bought it.

I think he just means maturity in the field.

My pup was pointing butterflies when he was a baby, and squirrels at 1 year old.

Only recently though has he gone into overdrive with his intensity.

Getting ready to start my 3rd full season with my male GSP, Hans.

He can be a lazy goofball for the better part of the day but when he is in the field his is all business, heck even in the backyard he is hunting. I let him out the other night and he stood on the deck for 30 minutes staring at a rabbit in the neighbor's yard. When I checked on him after 30 minutes he had finally made a move to the first step. He stalks his way outside to take a wizz in the morning. It's not uncommon to let him out, for me to go to the bathroom, come back start coffee or toast and he still haven't moved...he's just observing the yard. Other times when squirrels are present it is nothing for him to jump up on the shed to get a better vantage point.

His nose is superb and is incredibly steady. He likes to range way out so we are still working together on setting up a workable range on smaller upland spots that we hunt here.

He can be more stubborn that an old mule at times but as others have noted that is pretty typical of a GSP.

He did run after a buck in a early season hunt so I ended up with a Garmin Alpha 200i so I can track him. Those 40 minutes were a bit worrisome.

My trainer did comment at one time as to his natural ability and since he is my first dog the comment was something along the lines of, "You're like a 16yo with a Ferrari here."

The only thing that I might disagree with OP's assessment is that his day to day Sportdog collar is rarely less that full tilt. Otherwise he wouldn't pay any attention to it. (I let him out of a crate during training with the trainer and he ran to chase a scent and took several continuous shocks at high without batting an eye, the trainer was impressed) The Alpha runs medium high in the field.

the goofball
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