which do you think would make the most suitable pet for a family how much exercise do pointers really need are they nervous as i've been told

Kipper

We have 2 GSP's, and they are walked for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening.

They will have more if it's given, but if not then they are still happy with what they have had.

Bronnie is a little nervous, but we put that down to the first 11 weeks of her life, she was born in Ireland and shipped over then left in kennels waiting for someone to buy her.  With coaxing she has come along nicely.

Ellis on the other hand has never ever shown any signs of being nervous, quite the oposite in fact, he's a little terror at times.

Both make excellent pets and working dogs, and both are superb with other animals and children, although we have no children in our house.

Hope this helps in your decision.

are you talking about English Pointers or GWPs/GLPs/GSPs OP?

These are 4 distinct breeds with the first being very different to the last three and belonging to a different sub group altogether.

pointers not GSP's does anyone have a or know of any jimjoy dogs

Sorry I thought GSP stood for German Shorthaired POINTER !!

Lol! :D

As Tohme asked - what sort of pointer: Pointer, German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointer, German Longhaired Pointer?

Mind you, all gundogs are active - they're designed to be able to be 'on the go' all day when out shooting. Consider the roles the various breeds were designed to carry out and then decide which is more suitable for your lifestyle - the active, more independent, distant-ranging pointer, or the active, busy, eager-to-carry labrador.

a pointer i didn't think there was any such thing as an English pointer i thought they were pointers or GSP's sorry. I know they need a lot of exercise but it was more the fact that i have been told they can be shy and a bit highly strung

I think 'sensitive' is more accurate - but then labs can be too. On the whole I think labs are probably more forgiving of poor handling.
:)

I have 2 English Pointers, they are brother and sister from the same litter.

One came to me as a pup at 9 weeks the other as a rescue at 18 months.

They are lovely dogs, very gentle and friendly, and think of themselves as lap dogs which can be tricky as they weigh about 30 kgs.

They do love to run off lead, so if you go for them, you need somewhere they can stretch themselves.

They are fascinated by birds, they love human company, and they have not yet met another dog they do not like.

I had not had pointers before, but I would definitely choose them again.  If you have the time to be ith them and the space for them to run then go for it.