Thread: Kennel vs private

So I’m in the market for a dog and I’m somewhat taken with short haired pointers.

There is plenty for sale on trade me and Facebook etc but I’m a bit wary of splashing out that kind of money without having a bit of an idea as to potential health problems.

My understanding is that if you get a pup through a kennel they’re tested on various things that those dogs would be prone to.

What are other experiences and thoughts when buying dogs?


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All gsps are mad, it's just a gradient of how mad depends on the breeding.

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Take time to meet the breeder and place they breed, the person is just as important as the dog. Ask for names of people who have bought their dogs past few years and ring them up to check their experience with breeder/dog

MY PERSONAL experience here...
first dog,Xbreed out of paper...think $50 from memory, buttons was a gsp/huntaway...great dog we put her down at about 10 with breast cancer getting naasty.
Misty was gsp/lab lived similar age,no health issues ,put her down when went deaf (had young kids at home at the time and worried she get fright and snap).
willy big black goof ball...add said lab /huntaway....nope he was huntaway golden retriever....spotted the dad as came past house months later,he took 3 years to mature at all...strong as an ox,lovely nature .went to home as pet when we shifted and couldnt get rental with 2 dogs.....he was glueten intolerant and got itches and ear infections galore untill we changed diet...
Nugget...we thought go breeder as wanted cocker spaniel.....uunfortunately breeder had ...ummmm.scruple issues, we didnt do homework. he lived till 11 and was bundle of fun BUT was blind at end because his skin on head was too loose n floppy.needed about inch chopped off to make eyes open properly,lovely dog but cost us thousands in vet visits oer his lifetime.
Meg is gsp/labxlab /beardie SO FAR touch wood we have only had incontinence issues health wise....
so we havent gone pure bred with papers.....mongrel = hybrid vigour OR bundle of issues.... do your homework BEFORE letting wife or kids see puppies...once they are seen/smelt/touched its too late....puppies arent the only ones who give puppy dog eyes and melt out strong will.

In my limited experience I think black lab crossed with a working dog or gundog breed are good. Lab for ease of care working dog for brains.
I have a lab huntaway cross. He's ok. A bit headstrong. Needs regular remainders.
Next dog will be a bitch with some heading dog in it. Hopefully be a bit more biddable.

If you want a pure breed make sure it's out of working strain and not a show dogs. Many breeder will have a clause in the sale agreement that you cant breed from the pup. And papers cost extra on top
You don't need a pure breed to get a good dog ask @Ryan_Songhurst about Bo.

more importantly what do you want to do with dog pet hunting etc..

Had 3 gsp dogs (yea I know I have problems) trade me dogs seem more expensive than good breeding kennels, that offer more protection. I would own another in a heartbeat.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

MY PERSONAL experience here...
first dog,Xbreed out of paper...think $50 from memory, buttons was a gsp/huntaway...great dog we put her down at about 10 with breast cancer getting naasty.
Misty was gsp/lab lived similar age,no health issues ,put her down when went deaf (had young kids at home at the time and worried she get fright and snap).
willy big black goof ball...add said lab /huntaway....nope he was huntaway golden retriever....spotted the dad as came past house months later,he took 3 years to mature at all...strong as an ox,lovely nature .went to home as pet when we shifted and couldnt get rental with 2 dogs.....he was glueten intolerant and got itches and ear infections galore untill we changed diet...
Nugget...we thought go breeder as wanted cocker spaniel.....uunfortunately breeder had ...ummmm.scruple issues, we didnt do homework. he lived till 11 and was bundle of fun BUT was blind at end because his skin on head was too loose n floppy.needed about inch chopped off to make eyes open properly,lovely dog but cost us thousands in vet visits oer his lifetime.
Meg is gsp/labxlab /beardie SO FAR touch wood we have only had incontinence issues health wise....
so we havent gone pure bred with papers.....mongrel = hybrid vigour OR bundle of issues.... do your homework BEFORE letting wife or kids see puppies...once they are seen/smelt/touched its too late....puppies arent the only ones who give puppy dog eyes and melt out strong will.

Yeah the wife suggested we go look at some so I thought I’d start doing some homework first! Had a friend get one on trade me and then a year later had to spend a lot on surgery for hip issues only to find out it already had bad arthritis as well. Not something I want to deal with.


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Originally Posted by Chur Bay

In my limited experience I think black lab crossed with a working dog or gundog breed are good. Lab for ease of care working dog for brains.
I have a lab huntaway cross. He's ok. A bit headstrong. Needs regular remainders.
Next dog will be a bitch with some heading dog in it. Hopefully be a bit more biddable.

I have heard a lot of good things about crossing with heading dogs


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Originally Posted by northdude

more importantly what do you want to do with dog pet hunting etc..

Hunting mate as well as the family dog really. All rounder


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Originally Posted by ONYVA

Had 3 gsp dogs (yea I know I have problems) trade me dogs seem more expensive than good breeding kennels, that offer more protection. I would own another in a heartbeat.

That’s what I’m thinking re kennels, less likely to have health issues and you have protection if they do. Have all yours been through kennels? Which ones?


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I take it you mean gsp?
Look for a breeder who actually breeds "working dogs"
It makes a difference.

Heading dogs are tough bastards and high health. Pedigree dog breeds carry and inbreeding coefficient of around 60% ( this is a mathematical ratio for calculating the closeness of breeding) where no more than 20% is desirable. So what this means is that it is very hard to get away from the genetic faults that a breed has even with culling. Crossbreeding with a fault free breed - (heading dog) fixes it in a single stroke.
Interestingly, Greyhounds are free of genetic faults.
I have always though a GWP would be a great base for a cross with all sorts

Our first dog was purebred lab, lovely useful dog, lived to 15 but got pretty hopeless after 10-11. Our current girl is 3/4 lab, 1/4 GSP (sire was 1/2 lab, 1/2 GSP) I thought she would just be a slightly more motivated labrador. Wow the first year was terrible, absolutely headstrong, wilful, disobedient, destructive, escaping, batsh1t crazy asshole. If it wasn't for the kids she would have been moved on, I had a friend keen to try her on pigs as she is quite big. At 2 she's has improved and coming up to 3 she is a lot better and will no doubt get better with more experience and training. She is massive for what looks like a black labrador, a smaller dog would be a lot nicer to lift over fences etc. She is supposedly gluten intolerant (a common problem with GSP's apparently) but she gets a lot of bones and offcuts so doesn't get too expensive to feed. I wouldn't get anything with GSP in it again but to be fair she is getting better and I reserve the right to change my mind as she matures more.