Testing the waters, may be rehoming our GSP

Let me pre-empt this --THIS IS NOT A FOR SALE AD---. We are simply looking to see if anyone has any advise on what we should do when rehoming our GSP.

We have raised many dogs over the years, a few of our GSP's have gone on to hunting operations and family pets and we are currently down to our male. DUe to our lifestyle of always being on the move its getting harder and harder to find the time for such an active breed of dog! Now, please don't go and post anything negative, my husband and i have been talking about this for months and we have decided it is in the best interest of the DOG to rehome him to someone who has the time and experience this breed needs. The following is the ad we had typed up and we will NOT be posting him up locally or in craigslist. Were down in Kingsville and the people are hit and miss with dogs down here. Any advise on the ad, info Im missing would be greatly appreciated. As well as what kind of a rehoming fee we should ask. We're not looking to make money off of selling him but want the amount to reflect the type of dog he is as well as to ward off people who aren't serious. He is the GSP located in my siggy for those wanting a pic.

"Plato Quailhunter's Bexar is an AKC registered German Shorthaired Pointer. He is 3 1/2 years old and a very high energy dog. He has been mainly a family pet but has been hunted. He will need a little refreshing but would make a perfect hunting and snuggle buddy for a family. He is potty trained and has spent most of his life indoors. He will jump a fence in a single bound. He can not be left outside. He did live a short time in a kennel (with a floor AND a roof) but he barks straight through a bark collar and we got complaints. If you exercise him daily he is a perfectly find inside dog. He loves playing catch and is by far and away one of the best soccer players I know. He will point and fetch toy birds, frozen birds. He has been dove hunting but doesn't quite like bringing back a dove. Haven't had the opportunity to take him out quail hunting but I'm positive with a minor amount of training he'd shine. He loves kids (we had young 3 and 4 year old foster kids he loved) he does fine with ear and tail pulling and is not toy or food aggressive. He does however, not do well with other dominate males. He is neutered, chipped and UTD on shots. We'd really love for him to be a family pet with a family who can take him out to play at a minimum. He loves parks, the beach, lakes, water and ranches. Anywhere he can run free. He will come back when called. He will come with several months of heart worm meds, a bag of food (the only kind he doesn't have issues with. We've have had him on over a dozen types of food and this has been the best so understand you will be buying a higher end food from Tractor Supply) a training collar system (two collars and a remote), a dog bed and some toys.

I would pay anyone to take Cracker if I no longer wanted her, and give them all her hunting gear.

Let me know when your ready, I'll come get her & all her stuff.

To the o.p., I would just try to find the dog a good home & not be looking to charge a rehoming fee. Rehoming fees make you look like all you are trying to do is get paid. IMO
If you need the money, don't give them the collars, sell them in the classifieds here. Also, check with the breeder you got the dog from, alot of times they will help you out & take them back. I have one that that I took back a few months ago from a litter I had almost four years ago.

I get where y'all are coming from but you have to remember where I live (deep south texas, aka little mexico) People down here do NOT care for their dogs and everyday there are people on all the FB sites, craiglist and newspapers looking for free dogs that they don't take care off. Down here a rehoming fee is a necessity, not out of making money, but to weed out the trash. Kingsville (and all the surrounding areas) is littered with stray animals, the pound here kills animals daily to make room and people just don't care for their pets. I am going to of course be screening all potential people but the rehoming fee does most of that for you down here. Im not talking about asking $500 for him, more like $50- $100 and that doesn't even cover the collars, meds ect as you pointed out. We didn't buy him from a kernel, but from a private individual through a fundraising auction from The Texas Chapter of the WIldlife Society annual conference 3 years ago.

You might want to look into a GSP rescue. Or even Rescue Road Trips,
they will be able to match your pup with a new home. You will pay for your dogs transportation, but if finding the right home is what is important to you, that shouldn't be a problem.

Good idea kindall. Thanks

What he really needs to be is an agility dog, or a pro soccer player. Lol

Are y'all Navy? I was on that Kingsville base for a couple years.

No not navy but we live about a mile from the base. We're BP.

Serious not for a plane ticket I can get him a home on a farm in PA he'd be a pheasant hunting fool... maybe some geese if they fly over the farm....my parents gsp passed away about 8 months ago...there not looking for a puppy

Sounds like the perfect type of place for him TJHook

im serious my family back in PA does alot of pheasant hunting...Im in the Marines just stationed here in fort worth got my lab im a waterfowl guy my self..let me know if you want to do it if you have a kennel for him i could book the ticket and you can take him to your airport or im in fort worth we can meet half way and i can do it my self

"People down here do NOT care for their dogs and everyday there are people on all the FB sites, craiglist and newspapers looking for free dogs that they don't take care off."

Let me be the first to say that I do indeed live in deep south Texas (further south than you) and not everyone down here ignores their dogs or abandons their dogs (like everywhere else some do). I know plenty of responsible dog owners who care for and love their dogs. Generalizations like the one you make are not only ignorant, they are insulting.

Stray and abandoned dogs are a problem around the country, and in some places, Detroit for example, abandoned dogs roam in packs.

Good Luck and I hope you find a good home for your dog.

robalero- I didn't say the valley was bad, the valley is a much better place than the small towns around us. I specifically said Kingsville and the surrounding towns. I didn't mention anything about the Valley. And what I said is the truth. And Corpus is one of the worst. I keep up with all the rescues in the area, volunteer at the pound and transport and foster dogs for rescue. So no, I'm not ignorant and I'm sorry you were insulted by the truth of the matter.

Hi, I'm the husband for Texas princess.

I'm man enough to give you the benefit of the doubt on the blind, based solely off your conviction in this post. Sadly, I disagree with you. Between work, hunting, and a social life, I cover everything from Laredo, to Corpus, to Harlingen in any given week.

Maybe my wife's credentials of being so heavily involved with strays / rescue groups isnt enough for you. The sad fact is, you are a rare abnormality if you take care of your pets. I can't drive through town, or drive to work without almost hitting a dog. Most of them live in the streets (literally, not an exageration) and your claim of knowing "many responsible pet owners" doesn't begin to cover the thousands of stray / neglected animals in south Texas. You just have a rare group of intelligent, responsible, pet owners.

To say my wife's claims are ignorant and insulting is laughable and only proves you don't fully grasp the dire situation of strays and neglected dogs in south Texas. As per the lady at the pound in Kingsville about 3 months ago, she has the workers put down about 8-10 animals a day. All of which are owner surrenders / found on the streets.

You can do the math, then figure that's only 1 city, and not all cities have a pound.

Point in case, she knows what she's talking about. Call 361-592-3324. You can ask the pound directly if the neglect / stray situation is as bad as my wife claims. Maybe that's enough proof. Then you can appologize to her.

Princess, and Shot,
Ignorant = wrong word = apology.

I am not blind to the fact that we do indeed have a stray dog problem, a very bad stray dog problem. However, to paint the generalization with a such a broad brush about people who live in south Texas is still not correct.

One more thing, I also apologize for re-directing this thread!

This thread sure took a bad turn.

Ok... "not posting him up locally" so everyone's thoughts on the people of kingsville is irrelevant anyway, so lets focus on helping the dog.

Since the dog has an AKC name, I thought the individual who donated it to the fundraiser could be the breeder or have gotten it from one. I looked it up. Mr. Curtis Greene. I came up with nothing on the name. But when I found the dog and realized you are, or were a breeder. And good job looking for a good home for him.
http://blackcrosshill.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=13217327

Working with a GSP rescue is a great idea especially since you have a lot of experience working with rescue. http://www.texasgsp.org/ Include in your description all the areas your husband travels or distance beyond those areas he is willing to travel and you have your own THF express.

Rehoming fee of $50- $100 is pointless IMHO. I tried that with a walker hound I had to rehome to try and weed out some of the calls. I had people in apartments with cats, flea market dog dealers, etc. calling still. After some of the calls I think I realized by adding a small rehoming fee rather than free may have even made me come off as one of those flea market hunting dog type resellers myself rather than a houndsman with one dog too many. I was trying to screen for the right home for a dog I cared about, but some callers had money in hand and because it was for sale wanted the dog "now", if that makes sense. You will still have to screen the calls/people anyway. Your were a breeder and you work with rescue, so you know the drill. IMO, throw out the fee. Remove the collars. If you need the $50 - $100, sell the collars. If not, just hand them over to the new owner with the dog. The collars are not going to be a deal maker or breaker to a new home if you screen them right.

Keep it free and we can remove this thread and let you post the details again here without all the questions and kingsville talk, include the pictures from your old breeder site, and lets find a good home for the dog. Maybe even work out a THF express if it has to travel very far. Otherwise it has to go in the classifieds.

And seriously, you might want to take up tjhook's offer to give your dog a good home with his family, if you have not already.