Versatile Wirehaired Pointing Griffons

New Owner Application and Griffon Selection Questionnaire

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this interview. Your answers help make certain that your personal desires, lifestyle and training methods are matched with the personality and inborn traits of your puppy.  And that your puppy's activity level, dominance level and temperament are matched with the specific needs and experience of you and your family.

Ensuring that your special puppy is a fit for you and your family is my priority.  

Our breeding program involves both the breeding and training of hunting Griffons. We breed on a limited basis, and only when we want a puppy for our program.

Please tell us about your Griffon Preferences

Please tell us about you

Why have you chosen a Griffon?

How did you learn about Newtown Kennels?

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For how long have you been gathering information on the Griffon?

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Why did you decide on a Wire-Haired Pointing Griffon?

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How many Griffons (approximately) have you met?                      Where?  

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If you have not seen a Griffon before, are you interested in meeting a Griffon owner in your area in order to see what Griffons are like?

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What other breeds did you research?

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Please tell us about your lifestyle, and how your Griffon will fit in.

Griffons are an energetic breed. Have you considered the time required to exercise your dog?

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Griffons are very affectionate; do you enjoy that, or prefer a more aloof breed?

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Do you have an active lifestyle, including outdoor activities? 

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Will your Griffon be jogged or biked?

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Are you married, or single? If married, do you both work during the same hours?

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If married; if you split up who will get custody of your Griffon?

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Who will be responsible for your Griffon?

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Have you discussed with your family all the pros and cons of owning a Griffon?

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Is everyone in agreement on the choice of breed, and the time to bring a puppy into your home?

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Do you have children? If so, what ages are they? 

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Have your children been taught the proper way to treat a living animal? 

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Will your children be active with dog care and training?

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Do you have any other animals? If so, which kinds?

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If you have birds, rabbits, cats, hamsters, gerbils, are you prepared to spend the time necessary to accustom the dog to them?

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Can you isolate your small animals from your Griffon if they cannot get along?

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What other breeds of dog have you owned and to what age did they live?

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Would you describe your other dogs as being submissive or aggressive around people?

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Would you describe your other dogs as being submissive or aggressive  around other dogs?

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Will your Griffon be spending a lot of time with you, or a minimum of time with you?

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What do arrangements you plan to make for your Griffon when you go on holidays?

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Training, socialization and general care of your Griffon

How much time each day do you plan to spend socializing/training your dog?

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Would you describe yourself as a very experienced owner/trainer/handler, a moderately experienced owner/trainer/handler, or an inexperienced owner/trainer/handler?

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What is your philosophy about how to handle and train dogs?

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If you have used or researched different training methods, which training methods are you most likely to use with your Griffon?

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Would you consider yourself to be a firm, demanding dog owner/trainer, or an easy going, lax owner/leader?  If in between, which do you tend toward?

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Do you plan to attend puppy classes and/or obedience classes? (Or Both?) Will you be training your Griffon to be a good Canine Citizen?

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If you are getting a puppy, do you understand that early socialization is important to the development of a well-balanced adult Griffon? Socialization means taking your dog into crowded areas outside of your home and having strangers pet the dog ..... Are you willing to spend this kind of time?

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Will your Griffon be accompanying you to work?

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Do you rent or own your home? Do you live in an -----apartment -----suburbs------acreage------farm-----other----- If you rent, does your lease allow a dog?

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Do you have a fully contained yard or kennel area that is free of poisonous plants and dangerous articles? Is there anything beside the fence that will help the Griffon Climb out? 

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How high is your fence, and what kind of materials is it made from?

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Do you have a swimming pool, and if so, is the pool area fenced off?

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Do you have a crate, and do you plan to crate train your Griffon?

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Do you plan on allowing your Griffon to run loose, or will it be kept in its own safe, secure yard or large secure kennel area? 

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If your Griffon will be spending time in a kennel, please describe your kennel, and its location in relation to your house.

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Will your Griffon have appropriate shelter and water when it is outside?

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Where will your Griffon puppy be sleeping?

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Once your Griffon is an adult, where will he/she be sleeping?

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Will you inoculate your Griffon as per your veterinarian's specifications?

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Are you able to provide us with a reference from your veterinarian?

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Do you plan to feed a good quality dog food? If so, what brand?

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Griffons are not the easiest dog to housetrain. When your puppy comes home, are you able to dedicate time to housetraining?

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Will there be someone home to attend to your young Griffon puppy, or will you be making other arrangements for daily care?

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Hunting

The Griffon is a member of the Continental Versatile Hunting Dog Group. The Griffon is bred to search for, point, track, and retrieve all game, over all terrain, in all weather.  In order to best prepare your Griffon for this, you need to give your young Griffon the opportunity to develop every aspect of its hunting instincts, providing the opportunity to search, to point, to track and to retrieve, and to expose the dog to different game and different terrain.   

Do you have a hunting license? In what provinces/states?

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Have you hunted with a Griffon before?

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If so, what was your impression? What did you like and dislike about the hunting style of the Griffon?

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How would you describe your ideal hunting dog, with a 1 being the most active and bold, and a 6 being the least?

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As it pertains specifically to training a Versatile Hunting Dog: Would you describe yourself as a very experienced trainer/handler, a moderately experienced trainer/handler, or an inexperienced trainer/handler?

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What is your philosophy about how best to handle a hunting dog in the field?

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How much time do you plan to spend exposing/conditioning your Griffon for hunting?

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What type of hunting will your Griffon be used for mostly?

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On average how many days do you hunt per year for waterfowl?

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Can you describe the conditions of your waterfowl hunting (i.e.: field, ocean, delta, pond, river, jump shooting,  from blinds etc. )

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On average, how many days do you hunt per year for upland?

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Can you describe the conditions of your upland hunting (i.e.: dense forest, steep mountainside, open prairie,  desert, hillsides, farm land etc.)

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Have you trained a versatile hunting dog before? If so, did you have any problems?

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Do you plan to enlist the help of a professional trainer or do you have an experienced versatile hunting dog owner who will be helping you train your Griffon?

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Do you have access to wild birds and land/water near your home with which to expose your Griffon? If so, what kind?

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What other kinds of birds do you plan to use to help you with exposure and training for hunting?

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Are you a member of NAVHDA (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association), or another Hunting Dog Club? Do you plan to NAT (Natural Ability Test) your dog?

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If there is no Hunting Dog club in your area, are there any people nearby with whom you can meet and train your dogs together?

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Other Venues

Is there another aspect that you plan to become involved in with your Griffon (i.e.: Obedience Trials, Search and Rescue, Pet Therapy, Jogging Partner, Pulling Carts,  Tracking Competitions, Drug Detection, Agility Competition, etc)?

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 If so, have you trained a dog for this venue before?               If so, what breed was your dog and what level did you and your dog achieve?

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Are you involved in a club or organization that will help you to prepare your Griffon to perform for this venue?

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What specific traits should your dog have in order to be appropriate for this specific use?

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Health and Testing

Have you or any of your friends owned a pup infected with Canine Parvovirus or another contagious disease?            If so, how long ago?

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Do you plan to have your Griffon's hips cleared with OFA or PennHip and have it's eyes examined by a Certified Ophthalmologist when your dog is 2 years of age?

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When your Griffon is two years old, will you be willing to fill out a detailed survey asking for detailed information about your Griffon, and send 2 photographs for our records?

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Your Griffon

Are you interested in allowing me to include your Griffon in my breeding program?

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Are you interested in co-owning a Griffon?

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Do you have a preference of male or female Griffon, if so why?

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Do you plan to breed your Griffon?

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If you plan to breed, who is your mentor/council?

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Are you planning to purchase a second Griffon?

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Do you plan to compete with your Griffon in Dog Shows?

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Do you have any specific concerns about raising your Griffon?

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Do you understand that when you purchase a Griffon puppy from us, that we will be in contact with you periodically throughout the life of your Griffon?

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The ownership of a dog is a lifetime commitment. Is it your intention to offer your Griffon a home for his/her lifespan which could be 10 to 16 years?

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Are you agreeable to notifying us, should some unforeseen circumstance arise wherein you would no longer be able to keep your Griffon? We will be willing to either take your Griffon back, or to help to find him/her a suitable home.

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Please feel free to add any other information. The more you can tell us about yourself and what your Griffon will be used for, the better we can select from our bloodlines to suit your needs.

Again, thank you for your interest in our Griffons. If you have any questions regarding this questionnaire, please do not hesitate to call.

There are three options for sending this information.

1. This form can be printed and mailed to us at:  (Please phone or email for our mailing address.)    

2. You can highlight the entire form with your curser, and copy it onto an email: katy@newtownkennels.com  

3. You can telephone us at 916-812-8045.