-FINAL FOUR- GSP vs DD

[gwphunter]

What does that mean?

As stated. We've had a couple in the the neighborhood over the years . Both D D's thought if it moved it died. One was sent packing, the other started turning on the owners wife. I don't think I have to explain what the end result was there!!. My statement might have opened up a can of worms put to bad, that's my opinion. I've been around some with nice pesonalitys when there owner is present.

I have never known GWP's to be any more agressive than any other versatile dog, but there one line of GWP's that has a tendency of being agressave with other dogs in the field. On the other hand my Wirehairs are obnoxiously frendly with people and other dogs. But with most versatile dogs they seem to have a taste for cats, unless they were raised from a puppy with one, but all others are fair game.

[gwphunter]

How did this discussion get from bird finding to cat killers. It is inharant that all versatile dogs have drive, if they don't have drive they are lacking in their natural instinct to be the best. DD are required to hunt furbairing in their testing. Testing their drive. That is why they chase deer, bobcat, bear, mountain lion. So dont tell me that GSP don't do that. If they don't have drive they are missing a major hunting elament of their instinct. I know they do have that same drive as Wirehairs. It is in what you train your dog to do and what not to do for you.

[DK dreams]

You didn't answer my question.

You don't know one gsp that growled,showed teeth,fear bite,etc?

Maybe the level you witnessed,and I assume you did witness it, is higher than what you have witnessed in other breeds, but that doesn't mean a DD is any worse than any other breed.

[ryanr]

Have a hard time believing that the GWP has a nose so much better than the other dogs...I suspect the desire to get game in its mouth has a lot to do with it as well.
There are a LOT of good GSP...the breed has taken over NAVHDA. It is very hard to argue against so many good GSP. I will stay with the DD simply because the working style is more my style. I like the strengths of the breed, the general calmness, and liveability factor, and, of course, there rugged good looks as Steve puts it I am sure there are dogs of other breeds that I could be very happy with. If I dabbled elsewhere, it would be with a PP or LM.

I suspect that may be the difference. Just In my limited experience, I'll put my own young DD up as an example of an excellent & willing dead game finder. There's usually not a day that goes by that he doesn't pop out of the woods on our walks with something dead or a piece of something dead. He's shown this ability at a couple training events too (I'm actually a little concerned for the NA test that he might smell some other dead game somewhere and go get it during the test!) Most recently at training he no sooner got out of the truck and I watched him lift his head to sniff the air and then take off like a freight train up a hill thru some woods. About a minute later he pops back out with a dead pheasant chick that looked like it had been dead for several days. I've never seen a real DK at our training, only the GSP but I sure would like to. I suspect their desire for game is likely on par with the DD, would enjoy seeing one work.


I love my DD. I think they are an outstanding breed and it gets proven in my eyes the more and more I've been getting involved with NAVHDA. Neither my vet nor my boarding kennel of choice had ever seen or experienced a DD before and at both places the employees continually tell me that I "have one of the sweetest, even-tempered dogs they've seen." I've been to several training days where at one point or another we've had 4,5,6 DDs or GWPS all playing together off-leash with no growling or aggression. There's been an issue or two with a couple other breeds though.