German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[emccraw]

My female GWP spends ALL her indoor time running from window to window crazyily looking for birds. Sparrows, buzzards, anything that flies. It is driving us nuts. I realize her breed is a game dog, but, holy cow, is there anyway to curb this behavior?

[whiskerdog1]

You have a crazy a*s bird dog, that needs running and alot of exercise it sounds like. I had a GSP like this. Ultimately became an outdoor dog most of the time, and was run twice a day off leash at a park across the street. These arent your average lap dogs but a high energy field dog, whoever told you differently lied to you.
A tired dog is a good dog(and a happy dog). 10-15 minutes 2x/day works wonders-and a meat bone to chew on.
_________________
Real men hunt Wire Dogs

[Illona]

yup, sounds like a bored bird dog to me. i've got a 4 1/2 yr old that still needs muchos exercise and stimulation. she's out on the trails with her wire JRT brother, and sometimes a GSP friend, three times a week for 1 1/2 to 2 hours each hike. then leash walks and ball fetching on the non-hike days, as well as obedience classes. i do the classes just to keep her mind active and to keep her in different environments. plus, my girl has some fear issues with other dogs - bordering on fear aggression - so i'm doing as much as i can around other dogs these days.

like whiskerdog says, this is not a lap dog. major exercise is required and major stimulation. a job is a must for a GWP, and since i don't hunt i'm constantly looking for 'jobs' for her to do in and outside of the house.

have you done any obedience classes? how about agility?? my girl loved agility before i shattered my ankle, and before she developed these dog-on-dog issues. it's a TON of fun and really makes a dog work physically and mentally.

i also feed raw, so that means on some nights the dogs' dinners take them an hour to complete.

illona
www.flickr.com/photos/illonahaus