I don't have a GSP but I do have a weimaraner which are closely related breeds. Anyhow she's a smart little shit. They can be crazy ass dogs energy wise, but they're extremely loyal. My weim is the sweetest dog and sheloves everyone, yet she is very protective of her house. She gets super excited/defensive when someone comes to the door, but if I greet the person she turns to an overly energetic attention seeking whore dog. The dogs love being out doors, mine will swim in the creek fetching for well over an hour at a time. My wife and I had no issues, but they can be destructive dogs (so I'm told) if they don't have some kind of "job" or have their energy ran out of them. We were also told by dog trainers that they can be very difficult to train. I think sometimes they call breeds like this "dogs with human brains". Their attention span can be fairly small, but they're smart as hell. They can also be hard headed/stubborn and likely understand what you want but they may refuse to do it. Great dogs though. We love our Greta. She's a 65lb lean running, swimming, fetching machine. I hope to actually train her to be my bird slaying partner this summer. I'd also like to train her to hunt out of a boat so she can fetch me ducks in the fall.
Just a little broad info for them as hunting dogs. They are considered versatile hunting dogs. They basically do everything. They point, flush, dry retrieve, and wet retrieve. If I'm correct GSPs have webbed toes like weimaraners which makes them very capable swimmers. They are big on scenting everything. Mine will do aerial scenting and ground scenting. They typically also have an instinct to kill small animals. There aren't really animals for her to kill in my neighborhood, but she has bagged herself a mouse. She does not go after cats, in fact she loves cats. One annoying thing is when she finds game animal shit, like many dogs and especially hunting dogs, she will drop down and roll around in the pile of shit. Other than that she's a extremely clean dog.
Just a little broad info for them as hunting dogs. They are considered versatile hunting dogs. They basically do everything. They point, flush, dry retrieve, and wet retrieve. If I'm correct GSPs have webbed toes like weimaraners which makes them very capable swimmers. They are big on scenting everything. Mine will do aerial scenting and ground scenting. They typically also have an instinct to kill small animals. There aren't really animals for her to kill in my neighborhood, but she has bagged herself a mouse. She does not go after cats, in fact she loves cats. One annoying thing is when she finds game animal shit, like many dogs and especially hunting dogs, she will drop down and roll around in the pile of shit. Other than that she's a extremely clean dog.
