Getting Your Griffon

You have studied the health, temperament, and special qualities of the breed, and now decide to begin your search.

If You Want A Puppy

Health and temperament should be top priority, and you also want to be certain you are getting a WPG. Get a Purebred WPG
If dam and/or sire are not registered you have no proof that the dog is a WPG. At this time even an AKC registered dog may be in question. Learn about the history of the breed, and the crosses that are known to exist at: herrenhausensportingdogs.com and gryphonranch.com. Herrenhausen Sporting Dogs also has a Griffon Database that provides pedigrees and health information that will be valuable in your research. Gryphon Ranch (go to the White Paper on the website) has important history, leading up to the present day that is a necessary tool in your search for the purebred WPG.
Health
If you have not yet done so, go to our Resources Category and explore everything that is listed. If you don’t see what you are looking for, or you have any questions, please send griffonhealth.com a note. We are not the health experts nor advisers, but can help you find the answers, and we also want to know what we should add to our website.
Temperament
A good breeder will spend enough time with the puppies to know their personalities, and will work to get the puppies well socialized. Some puppies will be more dominant, and some more submissive, and they may react differently to various situations. Hopefully you have found a breeder that knows the dogs and can help you identify the temperament most suited to be paired with you. There are methods to test temperaments in puppies, and these are both science and art. Ask the breeder if he/she does that. It usually involves bringing in an unbiased, experienced person to do a known, quantitative evaluation of each puppy. This certainly can be useful, but there is no guarantee that the results are perfect because there are so many variables in the environment, and as the dog grows some of these characteristics might change.

If You Want An Adult

Ways to find an adult WPG:
From a Breeder
A breeder will sometimes agree with a buyer to take back a puppy that has matured. This is not necessarily because the dog has a physical or temperament fault. The owner may have recognized that he/she cannot properly care for the dog, or the owner has to change his/her living situation and cannot have a dog, or the owner may have made a decision to not hunt, show, or otherwise give the dog a job, etc. A good breeder will be careful about placing the dog in a new home, and one advantage might be that the dog has obedience training, and may be started or even finished in hunting. Sometimes retired breeding stock is available, and that can be a great opportunity.
Rescue
One does not need to look far to find that there are WPG’s waiting to be rescued. Adopting a dog needing a new home can be a very rewarding experience. As with any rescue dog, learn as much as you can about the dog’s history, health and temperament. Sometimes owners will provide registration papers to rescue facilities when they surrender the dog. There are times that you are not able to determine if the dog is a purebred WPG. If the dog has no known history the breed may be determined by the facility, and it can be difficult, and in some cases impossible for even the experienced eye to differentiate between similar breeds such as German Wirehaired Pointers, Cesky Fouseks, Italian Spinones, or crosses with WPG’s. Terriers have even been listed as WPG’s. Although it is commendable to rescue a dog, if you are looking for a purebred WPG you must consider this.
Private Parties
There are lots of reasons that an owner will realize he/she can no longer keep a dog. Sometimes by word-of-mouth you can find a dog, and sellers will post ads in publications and on the internet. Find out what you can about the dog’s history and why the dog is looking for a home. You may choose to ask for references such as the dog’s veterinarian, or friends that have hunted with the dog or visited at the family home. It may be possible to take the dog home as a “trial”, and that has advantages, but note that it can be a difficult situation for all involved. You may want to have a vet exam before taking the dog home.