FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Owning a Pudelpointer is the beginning of a long adventure with a very special breed of hunting companion.  Very similar to joining any other fraternity, you will find other Pudelpointer owners to delight in you and your dog.

The North American Pudelpointers Alliance breeders are committed to breeding the best performing hunting companion for the discerning hunter. We accomplish this by selecting breeding stock that perform at a certain level of testing using the NAVHDA Testing System. Having this as our backbone ensures we continue to provide a hunting companion that will meet or exceed the general public's hunting performance expectations. As a breeders alliance, we wanted to have a group that has the mentality of together we are are more effective and can align ourselves with other like-minded breeders that share our same vision and goals.The synergy created has allowed NAPPA breeders to share considerable data on their dogs to include field testing, hip evaluations, size, color, coat and in some cases DNA.

No. However, if you are interested in NAVHDA testing, I will buy your first year membership. I highly encourage you to join a local NAVHDA chapter and at least Natural Ability (puppy) test your dog.

The Natural Ability Test is designed to evaluate the inherent natural abilities of young dogs and gain insight into their possible usefulness as versatile gun dogs. It rates seven important inherited abilities: nose, search, tracking, pointing, water, desire and cooperation. Dogs are eligible for a Natural Ability Test up until, and including, the day they reach 16 months of age.

Contact me and I will help you in any way that I can. However, if you choose to test your dog, please be “all in” on the commitment. Too many handlers fail to adequately prepare their dogs before the test and they don’t achieve the score the dog is capable of because of poor pretest preparation on the owners part.

Here is a link to the requirements for Natural ability testing.  https://www.navhda.org/testing/natural-ability-test  All you really need to do is take the pup our on walks in field every chance that you get.  Introduce birds, water, and the gun.  Do a little tracking with dead bird drags and a couple of live pheasant tracks. If you join a local chapter near you, they have weekly training nights. https://www.navhda.org/membership-chapters/locate-chapters-and-members

This breed was created in 1887 and has had strict breeding standards applied to the breed since its origin. As is expected in Europe (Germany, Austria and Czech Republic) all Pudelpointers must meet strict field testing prior to any mating’s. The same code of ethics is expected here in North America.

NAPPA breeders use NAVHDA testing to qualify their dogs for field testing. Hip radio graphs from either Penn Hip or OFA are used to qualify the dog’s hips to be sound and free of genetic issues such as canine hip dysplasia. These expected standards can be reviewed in full online at: http://www.pudelpointer-alliance.com/.

NAPPA breeders also use Breedmate software to insure all matings are not too close and hinge toward inbreeding. Your quest to find a superior breed of hunting companion led you to the Pudelpointer and having testing records to help you better evaluate the sincerity and dedication of your breeder was hopefully invaluable in your decision making. The test scores of your pup's parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents hopefully led you to a satisfactory confidence that you had come to the best decision.

All NAPPA breeders have an expectation of you. We would hope that you honor the hard work that helped create the hunting companion you now own and you will also respect the Pudelpointer breed and where the breed stands today among all other sporting breeds. Our only request of you is the make sure you have honored the NAPPA breeding standards if you ever choose to breed your dog. To this end, Paladin Gundogs puts a “Breeding Restriction” on your pup’s registration papers. We are all stewards of this wonderful breed and maintaining testing and x-rays prior to all mating’s is the only insurance we have to preserving our breed's position among other sporting breeds. Again, these standards can be reviewed at: www.puedulpointer-alliance.com . When you meet these standards, I will not make any additional demands on you if you wish to breed your dog.

Pudelpointers simply do not have many health issues. I will guarantee free from serious genetic defects for two years. Two years is enough time to have your dog tested for anything that you are concerned about. I will cover only the purchase price. I will not cover any veterinarian expenses for diagnosis or treatments of any disease, genetic or otherwise.

We register our dogs with the NAVHDA registry. You can register your dog in your name by filling out your name and address on the application for registration. We ask that the registered name you choose starts with Paladins. I would like to follow the traditional protocol of kennel name then all the names in this litter starting with the same Letter. Here are some examples of "D" litter dogs:

Naming Examples:
Paladins Delta
Paladins Direct Fire
Paladins Danger Close

M109A6 Paladin is the name of the artillery piece that I have lived and breathed for the last 30 years. That is where the kennel name comes from. The circle on our logo represents the end of 155mm artillery round.

At 6 weeks of age the puppies will receive their first vaccination; this is temporary and needs to be followed up. We will use a multivalent vaccine used for dogs is DHLPPCv. Instead of giving six different injections, all these "vaccines" or antigens can be given in a single small volume injection. Certainly administering the DHLPPCv is easier on your puppy than getting six separate injections.

D... Canine Distemper Virus - This contagious and serious viral illness has no known cure, which makes it even more vital for your puppy to have a vaccine that combats it.
H... Hepatitis - This viral infection is actually caused by two related viruses; it mainly affects the liver.
L... Leptospirosis - This bacterial infection affects a puppy's kidneys. It can also infect humans, cows, dogs, pigs and other mammals.
P... Parainfluenza - This virus can cause upper respiratory infections in puppies.
P... Parvovirus - A severe and often fatal virus that affects the lining of the intestinal tract.
Cv... Coronavirus - Similar to the Parvovirus, it can be very severe; however, it has a somewhat different effect on the intestinal tract and is generally not considered fatal.

Your veterinarian will have a preferred protocol for vaccinating puppies and for follow-up vaccinations. In addition, protocols change because of new research findings for the duration of the vaccine's immunity. Here is a general vaccine protocol for a puppy. Consult a veterinarian to learn what's best for your puppy.

1. 6 to 7 weeks of age (They will have this before they leave): Administer first combination vaccine.

2. 9 weeks of age: Administer second combination vaccine.

3. 12 weeks of age: Administer the third combination injection and possibly a Lyme vaccine inoculation. Generally a Lyme vaccine is repeated two weeks later, then once a year.

4. 16 weeks of age: Administer the last combination vaccine.

After immunization, some pups will often times develop a small lump on the back of their neck. This is the body's immune system reacting to the shot while starting to build antibodies. These lumps will soon go away and are actually a good sign of immunization building. Your pup was also wormed, but additional worming is usually necessary. Your vet can also advise on this. You may want to trim the toenails on the front paws. Just trim the tips and make them blunt with fingernail clippers. For those who have female puppies be aware that many will develop a urinary tract infection in their early years? If you observe a female pup trying to urinate frequently but doesn't actually urinate, it's a good chance she needs treatment for a urinary tract infection. This is common in young females prior to building an immunity of their own against the common bacilli that frequent puppies. It is a very simple cure that your veterinarian can resolve with antibiotics.

Your new puppy should have fresh water available and be fed twice a day until about 6 months old. You don't necessarily have to feed your dog a "puppy food". But you certainly may.   Feed a good quality, all age adult brand (http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-dry-dog-foods/ ) I currently use Purina Pro Plan and that is what the pups will be started on.  I have also used Diamond and NutriSource with good results.  Again, as long as you feed a high quality food, your pup will do fine.  Don’t fret about switching foods if or when you have too.  They will adapt.

The most important responsibility you have for developing a good representative of the breed is socialization. I have spent a considerable amount of time with your pup in the early stages of socialization. From 8 weeks to 20 weeks of age, your pup should go to as many new places as possible and see people of all ages, size and race. The hunting genetics are in your pup but through proper socialization your dog will develop into an adult dog with normal temperament and good citizenship. It's your responsibility to develop these traits and the opportunity window is relatively narrow. This part of the pup's development needs to be done early, from 8-20 weeks.

Pups go through what is known as the "fear stage" between 8-11 weeks and this is a period that they need to be exposed to many people of all sizes and many environments to help them understand a solid temperament balance to these situations. From 8-11 weeks, continually expose your pup to the world outside of his home. The two most important tasks I ask new dog owners is to make sure their new pup is being taken to new environments on a daily basis. A pup merely raised only in your backyard may experience sensitivity issues from this neglected upbringing.

I cannot stress enough, all the pups that I observe at 6 months of age that impress me are those that have had daily citizenship workouts with rules and expectations. You'll have a big investment in your new hunting companion. Let's make a top notch gun dog out of them!

Allow pups to solve their own problems. We should wait quietly, giving the puppy time to complete its evaluation and make a decision regarding the situation. This is between the puppy and its world! If we encourage the puppy, we are putting pressure on it, increasing the stress it is feeling.

All pups also need exposure to young children as they grow up. They shouldn't have their first experience with children after they are adult dogs. This should be self-explanatory, but many people without children in the home don't actually think about this necessity, so it is merely something needed as a reminder. Any biting by the pup is very ordinary as the pup is merely trying to establish dominance as was done in the puppy pen with its litter mates. One method is to us a little spray bottle of water and squirt them in the face when they bite. The pup will wander off with its tail between its legs, but when it returns later, they should show a more submissive nature. Discipline should be light in the early months but the pup needs to know "house" rules and boundaries.

I also restrict the pup to certain areas of our home using child gates while house training. In addition, we have certain rooms that the dogs are never allowed into. I feel that is helps to establish discipline. The pup cannot just do whatever they feel like in our house. We don’t allow them on any beds or furniture with the exception of one. They are allowed on our daughter’s bed to say goodnight as we are tucking her in. It is up to you how you want to restrict your pup, but they should have some sort of restriction.

Remember: A tired pup, is a happy pup. They should go on walk in the field twice a day. Off leash is preferred. A large park will suffice if you can’t get to traditional hunting type areas. I have a couple of minimal use gravel roads that I use if we can’t get to the field. Off leash is preferred. They learn to go with you and cooperation by assuming that freedom is normal. I don’t talk to them much during these walks, let them figure things out on their own. I do anticipate when they are returning to me and I tell them “here” and praise. Puppies learn a lot by observing older dogs so we use them to help puppies gain confidence. If you have another dog, bring it on your walks with your pup.