Frequently Asked Questions

Breeding Practices

1. Do you health clearance test the dogs involved in your breeding program?
Yes. We complete all age appropriate health testing on each of our dogs as a part of the process of vetting their candidacy for our breeding program. We test in accordance with recommendations of the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America (GSPCA) and require each of them to have a CHIC number from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) before they can participate in our program. Click here for more details on recommended health testing for GSP’s.

2. What do mean when you say your puppies are not from indiscriminate breeding or that you practice selective breeding?
Our definition of indiscriminate breeding is breeding without a specific purpose or plan. It’s breeding without regard to the lineage or health of the parents involved. We practice selective, discriminate breeding in an effort to align the lineage and health of the parents with the goals of 1) improving the GSP breed as a whole, 2) improving the odds of producing puppies with the best possible natural hunting traits, 3) producing a temperament that make our puppies good family companions, and 4) producing genetics that do not pass on the the congenital health problems that can be found in this breed.

3. Besides health clearance testing, how do you manage the health and overall welfare of the dogs involved in your breeding program?
Every GSP at Eagle Ranch Kennels is a part of our family first and breeding program second. Each is on a wellness plan with our veterinarian which includes 2 vet visits per year, all vaccines, heart worm and intestinal worm prevention, flea & tick control, and an annual teeth cleaning. They all also receive regular nail maintenance and grooming.

4. When do females become a part of your breeding program, how often do you breed them and how many litters do you allow a single female dog to have in her lifetime?
The earliest that a female would participate in our breeding program is 2 years of age. This allows the dog to go through one full heat cycle, annual eye exams, DNA testing for Cone Degeneration and Von Willebrand disease and complete hip, elbow, and cardiac health clearance testing (none of which can be done before 2 years of age). However, if for some reason a female is older than 2 years and has completed health testing but has not yet had a full heat cycle, that particular dog would not be bred until this has occurred. In terms of frequency of breeding, we have bred on consecutive heat cycles before but in most situations we will breed every other cycle or every third cycle. Lastly, we will retire a female from breeding and spay her after a maximum of 4 litters or the age of 6 (whichever comes first).

5. Are any of your male dogs offered for stud services outside of Eagle Ranch Kennels? If so, how do you decide which females to pair your stud dogs with? Yes. We do offer our male dogs for stud to females outside of our kennel. However, we will treat those situations the same as if the females were ours. Meaning we will be just as selective and take into consideration health testing, age of the female, the number of litters she has had, how well the pedigrees align to our goals, overall temperament, etc. in deciding whether to approve the female for breeding to our male. Coming soon will be a link to our stud services application and agreement.

6. Are your dogs registered with any kennel clubs? Yes all of our dogs are registered with The American Kennel Club (AKC) and we are also moving towards registration of each dog with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA). We also have some dogs that have additional registration with Field Dog Stud Book of the Untied Kennel Club (UKC).

7. What does it mean to hunt test a dog and what role does that play in a GSP breeding program? There are several types of hunt tests with the most common for GSP’s being AKC junior, senior, and master level upland testing and NAVHDA natural ability and utility testing. The lower level tests (AKC Junior and NAVHDA Natural Ability) are designed to showcase the inherent, natural abilities of gun dogs. The upper level tests (AKC Senior, AKC Master, and NAVHDA Utility) test the more advanced and developed hunting skills that come from training. Unlike field trials, hunt tests are not competitions between dogs. Rather they are designed to measure a dog’s performance against the breed standard. We strive to AKC title all of our dogs and NAVHDA title those that have more versatile bloodlines as an additional means to select the best candidates for our breeding program. While we would not consider hunt testing to be as critical as health testing or an absolute indicator of how puppies from our program might perform in the field, it does serve as an extra data point when studying pedigrees to pair dogs for breeding.

8. Does your breeding program hold any designations, certifications, or accreditations associated with your breeding practices? Yes. Eagle Ranch Kennels is currently recognized as a responsible breeder by Good Dog. For more information on Eagle Ranch Kennel’s participation with Good Dog click here. Eagle Ranch Kennels also participates in the AKC’s Bred with H.E.A.R.T. program. For more information on this program click here.

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Puppy Adoption

1. How do I know if I am a good fit for a GSP? The German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America is a great resource (www.gspca.org) that should always be considered but in terms of information about whether GSP ownership is right for you, the source of truth we prefer is the Southeast German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue (www.segsprescue.org).   This all-volunteer group works tirelessly to find homes for GSP’s that have been abandoned, sheltered, or otherwise need to be re-homed from their original owners. Sometimes these circumstances are out of the control of the original owner but often rescue GSP’s are the result of an owner that either didn’t think through the decision to take on a GSP in the first place and/or was ill equipped to manage a GSP.  Eagle Ranch Kennels would encourage you visit this group’s website and learn more before making a final decision to pursue a GSP (coming soon we will have a puppy application that will help prospective owners determine if a GSP is right for them). Lastly, do your homework on the breeder as well. Interview the breeder. Learn their philosophy on breeding and their breeding practices. Verify that the breeder exists before you ever give any one any money and make sure their is a receipt or some other form of documentation such as a puppy agreement that all parties have agreed to.

2. Do you work with hunting owners exclusively or can non-hunting owners adopt a puppy from your program?
We are most interested in placing our puppies in homes where the owners philosophically align with us on the responsibility of GSP ownership. We get to know every prospective owner of our puppies and equally expect those owners to get to know us. And while we love placing puppies in hunting homes, we are more than willing to place them in non-hunting homes provided all of the puppy’s needs are adequately met for a lifetime of health and happiness.

3. What is the process to reserve/adopt a puppy from Eagle Ranch Kennels? Once we announce a planned litter we open a waiting list and begin taking deposits for that litter. Typically we start with at least 6 but no more than 8 pre-litter deposits evenly split between males and females. We will take more deposits (as needed) and/or adjust the mix of males and females (as needed and only with deposit holder approval) once the puppies are born. We use a “puppy draft” format to place puppies. Draft order is established by the order in which we receive initial deposits for each gender. For example, the first deposit received for a male gender preference gets to select from all the males in the litter on draft day. The second male deposit gets the second pick of males and so on. The same process holds for the females. The deposit amount is set at 1/3 of the total purchase price or $500 (whichever is less). Prior to accepting a deposit, Eagle Ranch Kennels and the prospective owner will get acquainted so questions can be answered, the goals for the new puppy can be articulated, and the general terms of the puppy agreement are understood. Once both parties are verbally in agreement, the puppy agreement will be executed and the deposit is placed to formally reserve a litter spot. One note – we do not reserve puppies based on color scheme. However, secondary to the preferred gender and subject to draft order, we do all we can to accommodate an owner’s color preference when placing puppies.

4. When will my puppy be ready to go home and what have you done as the breeder to prepare him or her to leave Eagle Ranch Kennels? We host a puppy draft day the first Saturday after the puppies turn 8 weeks old. It is on this day that new owners come and select their puppy based on the draft order, which is set by timing of deposits. Puppies leave Eagle Ranch Kennels microchipped, with the first round of vaccines completed, worm prevention up-to-date, dew claws removed, tails docked, and the appropriate paperwork to register the puppy with the AKC. They also will have had at least two veterinarian well checks and come with a two-year health guarantee as outlined in our puppy agreement (click here to review).

5. Do you offer any post-adoption support? Yes. Our approach is one in which the owner isn’t just adopting the puppy; he or she is also adopting us as the breeder. We stand behind every puppy produced at our kennel and strive to be a resource over the lifetime of the puppy. We want to do all we can to help our new owners (and their puppies) get the most out of the relationship. Whether it is answering questions, connecting owners with training resources, or something more complex such as returning a puppy because circumstances have changed, we want ERK gun dog owners to know that we are here to support them. Our objectives are happy owners and happy puppies above all else.

6. What should I do to prepare to take my puppy home? In general preparing the home for a new GSP puppy can be a little bit like proofing a home for a baby once it has begun crawling and/or walking. The most important thing is to have a puppy supervision plan. New puppies should not be left unattended. In addition, be sure to designate safe spaces within the home and make sure you have an adequate way to restrict the puppy to those designated areas. Think about your daily schedule and how that might need to change. Puppies tend to do better with a routine and some structure so plan for that. Think about how you will introduce them to other dogs/pets in the home, children in the home, adults in the home. Make sure you have all needed food and supplies ahead of time (we can provide a list of some of the necessities). Your puppy will have been exposed to crate training beginning at week 6. Plan tho keep that going after send home (so you will need a crate). Have an exercise plan and a safe, secure place where the puppy can run and play. Plan for immediate basic obedience training. Developing good behavior from the start is critical to a well mannered dog. It is much more difficult to correct bad or unwanted behaviors in dogs once they have been conditioned as puppies than if the puppy starts off being trained to behave.

7. What should I feed my German Shorthaired Pointer puppy? There are a number of great food options for active/sporting/hunting breeds like GSP’s. Eagle Ranch Kennels is not a paid endorser of any particular brand or formula but what we can say is that we have had good experience with Eukanuba Premium Performance Puppy Pro for Puppies and Eukanuba Premium Performance 30/20 Sport or Purina Pro Plan Performance 30/20 for adult GSP’s. In terms of how much to feed we follow the guidelines on the bag and feed a small portion of our dog’s daily amount in the morning and the remaining larger portion in the evening.

8. How do I get updates about upcoming litters? We keep the litter and breeding announcements page on our website current for the most part. We also announce planned breedings on our Facebook page @EagleRanchKennels and our instagram account @erkgundogs. Please follow us if you haven’t already. Also, you can also contact us at anytime using the Get In Touch page on our website.

9. What if I change my mind or my circumstances change? Are deposits refundable? We understand that circumstances and/or plans can change but for the obvious reasons of planning as well as the expenses of breeding, we try to exhaust every possible solution before refunding a deposit on a puppy. However, if all else fails we will refund a deposit if that is the only solution. Our puppy agreement talks about this in more detail and can be reviewed by clicking here.

10. What if my litter reservation has to change because the planned breeding doesn’t occur, my puppy gender preference can’t be met, or overall litter size isn’t large enough to fill all reservations for a given litter? What happens to my deposit under such uncontrolled circumstances? We make every effort to insure that litter reservations are delivered in accordance with the original preferences agreed to by the prospective owner and Eagle Ranch Kennels. However, just as there can be uncontrollable changes in plans or circumstances impacting owners, the same can happen with Eagle Ranch Kennels. We work hard to make the breeding process as predictable as possible but obviously we cannot control for everything that can occur in whelping a litter of puppies. All deposits are honored and will either resolve as a part of the the original litter reservation, carry over to a future litter if necessary, or as mentioned above can result in a refund as a last resort and as outlined in our puppy agreement (click here to review).

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Pricing and Payment

1. How much does a GSP puppy from Eagle Ranch Kennels cost? We work hard to keep our pricing competitive while taking into consideration all that goes into producing GSP puppies to breed standards. Currently our puppies start at $1,500. It is important to keep in mind that the price for a well bred GSP puppy is relatively small compared to the lifelong investment it takes to raise and care for a GSP. The best advice we can give anyone is to do your homework on what it costs to care for any type of pure bred dog (or other pet) before you decide to spend the money on a puppy. GSP’s are the best ever (in our humble opinion) but they are not cheap to maintain. Please do all you can to learn what you’re signing up for. It’s not a one time purchase. It is a 10-15 year commitment.

2. There seems to be a wide range of prices for GSP puppies. What goes into the price points that you charge for GSP puppies? There are a number of factors that we take into consideration in setting our prices to include: 1) the costs to prepare our parents for breeding (health clearance testing, hunt testing and training, etc.), 2) lineage of the parents (the quality of their pedigrees), 3) the hunting skills of the parents (the field performance and/or any hunt testing titles they may have), the costs to raise the litter from birth to 8 weeks (puppy formula, puppy food, puppy health checks, vaccinations, worming and microchipping), our time in preparing puppies to send home (tail docking, dew claw removal, bio-sensory training, early crate training, early potty training, early clicker training, early socialization, etc.).

3. Does Eagle Ranch Kennels charge different prices for males vs. female puppies in a litter? No we do not. All of the puppies in a specific litter are the same price. Everyone has their preferences in terms of gender for a hunting dog and/or companion but in our view there’s no justifiable reason to charge different prices based on gender or any other factor in a specific litter.

4. What payment methods do you accept? We accept payments via Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Cash or Check. We can also accept payments via our Good Dog page (click here).