Getting a Drahthaar is a great idea for the right person. Maybe this person is you? Here are some thoughts to help you decide.
The Drahthaar is bred to track, point, and retrieve. Small game and large as well as fur and feather, these versatile hunting dogs are useful in most all hunting situations. They bred to hunt whatever the common man needs. You don’t need to participate in every type of hunting in order to have a success story with your Drahthaar, but you will need to take the dog out and involve it in the pursuit of game in order to have a fulfilling relationship. While our Drahthaars are great companions in the home, they are also hunting dogs. They need both a great home and an owner willing to use them as working dogs. For this reason, we require that puppy buyers have a hunting license.
In addition to the cost of the pup, your Drahthaar will need a lifetime of health care, a significant amount of quality food, and a place to stay (preferably with a fenced yard and a dog run). Over your dog’s lifetime you must be prepared for significant (thousands of dollars and many hours of your time) commitment to supporting your dog. Your Drahthaar won’t be a freeloader though. You will be amazed at how much game even a pup will produce and with a bit of training. As a team, you and your Drahthaar will approach near certainty in finding and retrieving game. We guarantee the emotional return on this investment will be much more valuable to you than a destination hunt or expensive shotgun. In the end, all you have are stories. The ones you accumulate with your hunting dog are some of the best there are.
Training and testing
Each pup is bred to be a premiere gun dog. However, they need consistent training and exposure to game in order to excel. The first 1-2 years in your pup’s life will have a huge effect on the rest of its life. These dogs need to spend time with their new owners and get out into hunting situations in order to sort out the world. If you are in Fairbanks, we will be training throughout the year and would love to collaborate in training efforts with the new puppy owners. If you are not in Fairbanks, help and advice is always just a phone call away.
We encourage folks to test their pup in the German system. This is for two reasons: first, it will help you know where your pup is at in it’s development relative to other pups in it’s age class. Second, when combined with the test scores from its relatives, the scores will help to make better breeding decisions for the future. The VDD is a breed club and in order for it to continue to succeed, handlers testing dogs is a critical component. We are always available to help with strategies to prepare for tests, paperwork, and general questions about the testing system (Link to summary of tests on VDD-GNA website).
Along with the testing, we also urge folks to join VDD-GNA. The club is a great resource for meeting folks to train and hunt with as well as providing a newsletter and website with lots of great Drahthaar specific information. You will need to join to register for the test, but it would be best to join before your pup shows up, so you can start reading about what you are getting into.
Pricing
Puppy price is somewhat dependent on the cost of the breeding. Most breedings will require travel to the lower-48 in order to accomplish the breeding as the VDD does not allow for artificial insemination. Among other things in order to be bred in the VDD system, both parents must have good hunt test and breed show scores and good hips and shoulders as evidenced by x-rays. You will see on the pages outlining the dogs that more than the minimum has been pursued for the dogs we are breeding. This up front investment in testing the skills and health of the parents and ancestors is going to pay dividends down the road in terms of your pups health and skill as a hunting and life partner.
For the next litter, puppy price is set at $2050. We require a $250 deposit. We will try to honor color and sex requests in the order deposits are received but priority will be put on personality and physical traits needed to fit people’s situation and goals for the dog. The balance is due when you pick up your pup. Included in this cost are initial vaccinations, registration, inspection, ear tattoo, microchip, and a blood sample for genetic records. Also included in this price are a couple of training books to help you start your training off right. We’ll work with folks on shipping arrangements that are best for the pup with the least cost to the puppy buyer, but shipping cost will be additional.
That’s a lot of words and advice and surely there are more questions. If you are interested and want to know more, give a call: 907-978-0104. Training, hunting, and of course living with these incredible dogs has enriched our lives and we truly enjoy chatting about them.