Breeder Referral

GSP Public Education
Guide to Help Pick Out Puppies

We are fortunate that the German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) is generally a very healthy dog. Beginning with healthy parents and forgoing any mishaps, your pup should live a long healthy, productive, and happy life. Breeders cannot guarantee everything, but good ones will complete all available testing. Numbered and Lettered Testing Results can be found on the Orthopedic Foundation For Animals (OFA).

The most common causes of early death for most GSPs include cancer, gastrointestinal disease, and heart problems. When selecting a breeder for your new puppy, several “health clearances” are available for the sire and the dam to help increase the possibility of healthy offspring. Every breed has some specific health concerns and there are general health clearances for every breed. Conscientious GSP breeders make every effort to screen all their breeding stock for the following medical concerns:

Hips and Elbows – The Orthopedic Foundation For Animals issues qualifying letters of acceptability for dogs hips and elbows: (E) Excellent, (G) Good, and (F) Fair. If one of these qualifying letters is missing, the dog did not pass this test.

Cardiac Disease – Conducted via a Board Certified Canine Cardiologist.

Eye Tests – Performed by a Board Certified Canine Ophthalmologist in conjunction with The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (offa.org)

Thyroid Disease – Performed through individual Veterinarians.

Cone Degeneration – Performed by local veterinarians for verification to the Optigen Clinic for screening in Ithaca, NY. The Optigen Clinic then issues a certificate of (Normal), (Carrier), or (Effected) when the testing is complete and the results are forwarded to OFA.

Sometimes, breeders will not know that a dog has seizures, epilepsy, or allergies since such symptoms may be difficult to detect. Moreover, although these medical issues sometimes can occur in dogs as young as one year, they usually do not make themselves apparent until a dog reaches full maturity later in life. While certain bloodlines may carry such ailments more than others and various health clearances are issued to dogs at certain stages in development, “final” OFA clearances are only issued to dogs 2 years or older. After dogs are tested for any of the above medical concerns, paperwork is then submitted to the OFA database for publication. For a fee, each clearance is added to the records of individual dogs and then made available to the public as a reference tool when searching for quality bloodlines. Based on the OFA database, after a breeder has completed all the testing his or her breed requires, dogs that were microchipped prior to all testing are also eligible for a Canine Heath Information Center (CHIC) Number. A “CHIC Number” is issued when test results are entered into the database satisfying each breed specific requirement, and when the owner of the dog has opted to release the results into the public domain. The CHIC Number in itself does not imply normal test results, rather  it only indicates that all the required breed specific tests have performed on either the sire or the dam and that the results are publicly available. For example, a dog may have a hip x-ray that shows the dog to be dysplastic, but since the breeder has gone to the trouble of paying for the x-ray and has put it on file, the dog in question will be issued a CHIC Number.  Thus, don’t be misled in thinking that a CHIC number means an animal is totally free of all medical concerns and has a clean bill of health. Finally, although many dogs may have completed all required testing, they still may not have CHIC Numbers (dog without microchips, for example), and such testing can still be verified via the OFA website. For more information, see the CHIC section of the OFA website for full details. Future dog owners are encouraged to research new litters by checking the various health area provided by the OFA website and then asking prospective breeders informed questions.

In general GSPs are happy, lovable, outgoing, and mentally stable dogs. However, please ask your prospective breed about temperament, meet and observe your future puppy’s parents, and consider the way in which the breeder is raising your new  puppy. Finally, California State law states that puppies should only be sold at eight weeks of age, however this law does not consider the differences in maturity amongst various breeds. Discuss with your breeder at what age is the best “go home time” for each individual litter and breed of dog.

For more information, contact our Breed Information Referral Chairperson: Tara Griffin   tgriffin@IV.com