Hello everyone.  Just thought i would introduce myself; been reading threads for a bit now thought i should dive in.

I pick up my 7 week old GSP this Friday.  He will be joining a one year old Brittany in my home.  We hunt and do hunting tests with NAVHDA and AKC.  Plan to do the same with the GSP.  His name is Kilian.

His pedigree is:  [url=http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/genview.php?id=1277]Kilian der Vogelfanger[/url]   Just click the link above.

Do any of you recognize any of the dogs?  Any comments on the pedigree.  Many show dogs i see in the immediate pedigree; more field champions in the next generations back.  I was told many of the champion show dogs also were good hunters.  I suppose i will find out soon enough.  I will post up some pictures this weekend also.

Welcome and good luck with your new boy!

Welcome to the board.  Nice pup.

Good looking boy

Thanks guys (and gals).  Well i decided on him for a number of reasons.  Ill try to explain as honest as i can.  First being price.....yes i hate to admitt it but i can not afford a $1000 puppy, nore do i feel i need one.  Second being location.  I was searching the country (usa) and my state (Michigan) and through a few months of searching low and behold i found a breeder about 40 miles from me who also has pups that fit my criteria; price, color, temperment, ability, etc.  So i checked the litter and the Sire, Dam out and was very impressed.  The breeder owns the Dam and i have heard nothing but good about the Eulenhof line.  The breeder also works for a bird farm and raises a medium sized bird farm himself.  He allowed me to spend as much time with the Dam as i wanted and let me watch her hunt birds on the property.  I was impressed.  The breeder seems very honest and very sincere about his efforts to produce good dogs and improve his litters.  He explained several attributes of the Sire and why he picked to have that dog stud......love of water, good nose and mild temperment.  So in a nutshell that is why i decided to give this litter a try.  I made it out and checked out the litter first and got pick.

So yes he will be tested in NAVHDA mostly.  My Brittany just scored a 108 Prize 1 on his NA test last Sat at 12 months.  He is almost ready for the UPT too.  Prob a good month and he will be ready for that, though the test isn't until Aug.  So more practice and reinforce work all summer while i enjoy the puppy GSP.  No fur for the Britt but the GSP will be trained to track down deer.

I "hope" he becomes a great hunter and maybe he can add some credentials back to his bloodline.  Being im the only person formally testing the dogs of the last litter and possibly this litter the breeder has offered me birds for training.

Now i know this post is long.  But how far back do you guys look into a pedigree to even feel that the given dog has any meaning to the puppy?  2?  3 generations?  My Brittany has a stacked pedigree with a couple hall of fame dogs and FC's and etc almost start to finish.  But as others have said Kilian has no FC unless i go back prob 4 or 5 generations.

I will post more pictures on Friday.

Thanks

Bob

I will for sure keep you all posted.  I take my camera with me all the time.....who knows when the next $1000 American Funny Video might just happen, ahaha.  I have a lot of Ruger the Brittany also.

Well im down to one day and counting.......like Christmas for me as a kid now.

Being about 7 weeks old do you all think i should wait before taking him out and about in public to stores and things to socialize him.  I take Ruger all over with me.

You have to be careful at 7 weeks as they do not have all their vaccinations (www.peteducation.com/article.cfm).  That said the best time to socialize and expose dogs is 8 to 16 weeks, so I would recommend use discretion.  If it is a place without dogs, probably no problem.  However, you want to keep the exposure to other dogs (that you don't know their medical history, strange dogs) to a minimum for obvious reasons.  I take my puppies to locations like Lowe's that are dog friendly and just don't let them interact with other dogs.  I also take my puppies to friends houses, etc.  And certainly take them allot in the car to get them used to riding.z