I'm currently looking after a gsp & I know nothing about the breed & could do with a little more information on how to deal with him. He currently comes to me 4 days a week (I do day care) & although I don't dread him coming, I'm not having as much fun with him as I would like. He's only around 18 months old so he's not much more than a puppy really but I do find him challenging. He pulls really hard on the lead (but is walks nicely if its just him on his own) & is so fixated on cats, birds etc that I can't get him to move away. He'll chase anything that moves so letting him off lead can be challenging & can only be done when there is no one else around & he plays so roughly that I worry that my springer will get injured (Fin tells him off when he gets too rough but he is often bowled over by this dog's surprise ambushes). He'll also disappear far off into the distance (he comes back when he's called but not immediately) which worries me as I like all the dogs to stay close to me so I know what they are doing. I briefly looked after a gsp several years ago & I had to keep him on a lead as he also disappeared off into the wild blue yonder. Does this all sound fairly standard for a pointer & will he calm down as he gets older?

Sounds like a normal, healthy GSP to me. It will help greatly if you take a moment to read the two breed guides below.

If you understand the job of work (purpose) a GSP is bred for (or any other breed come to that), then the rest will fall into place :)

German Shorthaired Pointer Breed Guide and German Shorthaired Pointer Breed Information

>will he calm down as he gets older

The majority are babies for the first 5 years of their lives and others are mad all of their life - given half the chance! Sounds like you have one that may mature when he is about 12 or 13 if you are lucky. Give his brain something to think about and you will see a change but you will need to work at it :)

Doh! Never thought to look for breed info on Champdogs!!!

Thanks for that. Yes he does sound fairly normal. I think I may have to continue to be careful when & where I let him off lead until his owners have refined his training a little more. Maybe I need to find more games for him to do at home. I didn't think you could get anything more mad than a springer!

Another GSP owner once told me that they only slow down once arthritis sets in :)  Mine has a strong prey drive and instinctively enjoys flushing out and chasing anything that moves.  She has been very food orientated so I was able to use this for recall training to very good effect but it is still not perfect; she runs off but comes back immediately when called/whistled.  However, because her prey drive is so strong I have never let her off lead near any roads.  She has always been a serial puller and all the training advice given has been tried with consistency to little effect.  If I stop, she comes back to my side and as soon as we set off she's pulling again.  If I change direction suddenly she quickly gets ahead again and I can keep about turning until dizzy and it although she gets the message it's quickly forgotten. A Halti collar has been the only solution for this problem.

She's 10 years now and very ill, this will probably be her last few days, however, she's still pulling me on the lead. They never give up.