German Shorthaired Pointer

HayleyMarie

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#1
There was one in the garage of one of the houses we looked at in the winter. He was locked away in the garage, but he was super protective and did not like us being there at all.

And since seeing that dog I was curiose about them

Is being protective Typical of the breed? Whats the breed typically like?
 

CaliTerp07

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#2
They are suuuuuuuuper popular around here! They're very much a trendy, yuppy dog of choice (along with vizlas, for some reason). The ones I've known through agility or the dog park have been hyper hyper, bouncy bouncy, friendly towards everyone, yet very responsive to their owners.

I haven't seen any protectiveness, but then, I haven't seen them in their home environment either.
 

Pops2

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#4
they have a reputation among hunters as the softest of the pointers. those i've met have been like this, and the hyper bouncy bouncy thing too. OTH the german wirehair is said to be quite ferocious.
 

FG167

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#5
I used to foster through a GSP rescue and my parents adopted one of my fosters. He is very protective, very calm and very bright. He's energetic but not uselessly, he patrols the property when they are outside and is very confident in his abilities as guard dog. My parents utterly adore him. He's great with my dogs, even over-enthusiastic puppies, and when he corrects, he corrects fairly. He's stubborn as well but just adores my father and grandfather and follows them around in his patrols.
 

Aleron

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#6
GSPs, Weims and Vizslas can all be protective...or just plain weird about strangers. They are sporting breeds that really need a lot of socialization and training from early on (plus tons of exercise). I do think they are softer than a lot of other gun dogs and definitely prone to being more anxious in general. The GWPs can be quite protective, especially the Deutsch Drahthaars.
 

Catsi

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#7
We had two growing up. One I remember (her name was Britta) - I grew up with her and the other girl, Cleo, I do not because I was very, very young when she died.

From my limited experience, they were great dogs. Very active and outgoing of course and very happy to spend a lot of time playing with very active children. Our two did have a protective streak IMO, but really I'm not sure if it was anymore obvious than in any other dog we've had. Gracie doesn't have a protective bone in her body. Humans = friends. Period. And Abby is 'weird with strangers' so I don't have much to compare with.

Britta would always bark and carry on if someone entered the yard, but once we had let them in and she knew it was ok, she'd settle straight back down. She was fine with visitors or strangers down the street, but she'd have quite some stuff to say about those that just appeared in our yard.

One night she was barking quite persistently, which was strange because she wasn't much of a barker. My father ended up yelling at her to shut up. The next morning dad discovered our car had been siphoned. He felt pretty silly about it and took Britta rather seriously after that. Lol, not one of his best moments for sure.

But that description could be of any dog really. She once bailed up my brother's friend (young adults at the time - there is quite an age gap between us kids) in the middle of the night because he had come into the backyard and through the downstairs of the house instead of going through the front yard as per the instructions. She didn't hurt him at all, but gave him a big fright and we had to diffuse the situation.

Also, when she was much older and going blind she once half bailed up my dad who had come out of nowhere really and the rest of us were downstairs with her. I personally think she just got a big fright on this occasion and was slightly confused. She immediately looked shocked at herself when she found out it was dad and showered him with kisses instead.

I have heard similar stories about Cleo.

So, although I wouldn't know if the breed is protective as a whole, I know the two we had did have that characteristic. But at the same time I wouldn't describe them as 'weird with strangers'.

Edit - these two dogs were very sound in temperament I think. I have since met some GSPs out and about and some of them seem quite highly strung... I can't tell whether it's just their temp or if it has something to do with perhaps lack of exercise/too much energy.
 

mkj2013

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#8
The only couple I've met weren't wired right.. One stood up like a bear and came at my head. This was away from his owners, I worked at a kennel and was walking him outside. Usually the ones I meet are not exercised mentally or physically near enough, and of course that leads to serious issues especially with a breed so high energy.
 

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