South Pines German Shorthair Pointers - Virginia German Shorthaired Pointer Breeders

I spoke with Jim to learn more about breeding qualities and what to look for. I am looking for my first dog and Jim was extremely helpful in helping me to understand the landscape and assist with what to look for. I would certainly recommend working with South Pines as they are very knowledgeable.

Jim & Julie Birdsall
A Search & Rescue Team
For a variety of reasons we had decided on a GSP for our next dog. We had previously owned only Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. We looked online,in publications,asked friends,acquaintances,vets,other GSP owners;many expressed the challenges to locating an appropriately bred dog on one's own. However,a number of sources recommended the Birdsalls,not only for training but as a general GSP resource and we have found that to be so. Jim helped us find and extensively interviewed for us, a top notch breeder in Pennsylvania. Jim and Julie were willing to design and implement a training regimen to fit our very busy and complicated dual career lives. We decided to ,and soon realized we were justified in ,putting complete trust in their recommendations. So from day one when we picked up our 8 week old pup and drove him directly to their beautiful lakeside training camp in North,Virginia , Gipper underwent his initial two month training. We refer to it as his boarding school experience and introduction to becoming a gentleman.
During this time we were provided ongoing progress reports,day visits and several weekend passes.Since being back with us for summer vacation,a hiatus in his formal training,we have had several occassions for help dealing with specific issues. The first,a barking problem,was very quickly resolved with Julie's telephone coaching (of us ,not the dog!). The second,the need for some "healing" coaching was successfully worked on by a several hour visit back with them at no charge.
We love and are so enjoying our GSP;certainly because of the breed,the breeder,and this particular dog but we are convinced that Jim and Julie's intelligent,practical,loving approach has helped to bring out the very best in our dog.
We would recommend Jim and Julie Birdsall for any and all of the process from dog search to prospective owner rescue.
Sincerely,
Doug & Sebastiana Springmann
Williamsburg VA

I've really enjoyed getting to know Jim and Julie and working with Jim on training my pudelpointer Brodie.

This is my first bird dog and Jim is a great trainer of both dogs and novice owners. His monthly package including a stay at their beautiful river house and coaching time for the owner was just the right solution for me.

I've been through 4 coaching sessions with Jim and Brodie so far. Brodie spent 2 months with Jim.

The training facility is very well thought out and allows for training year around.

Jim did a great job with Brodie and has helped me lay out a plan for future training. I have great confidence Brodie will reach his full potential under Jim's guidance.

Thanks Jim and Julie!

We brought our 2 GSP puppies to Jim and Julie for training. After a lot of research and a meeting in person we felt very comfortable leaving our "only children" in their hands. Jim did an excellent job training our dogs. as well as training their owners. He treated them as his own. We stayed at "the Rivah House" and had a great time. Jim has went above and beyond since, helping me to research building a quail johnny house and getting our dogs entered in hunting trials. I would highly recommend Jim and South Pines train method.

I have known Jim and Julie Birdsall for over eleven years. I purchased my first GSP puppy from South Pines and that dog was a dream. Jim and Julie were always there for me, ready to answer any questions I had, boarding the dog when I went away, or assisting me in field training. The Birdsalls have always taken great pride in their operation. The kennels indoors and out are always spotless. They have always treated my dog as if it were their own. Currently Jim has been actively training my second GSP. I am ecstatic with the way my dog is developing. He has been with Jim full time for the past three months and in that time we have entered him in six events of two field trials. He has placed first twice and second once. Needless to say we are off to a very good start. When I was looking at prospective trainers to work with I wanted to find a trainer who had certain qualities namely: 1)superior care for my dog, 2) integrity of the trainer, 3)personal attention and service and 4) an ability for the owner to participate in the training process. If one feels the way I do and is looking for the same qualities in a trainer then the Birdsalls are the only place to go with your bird dog. Jim is the most knowledgeable person I know about German Shorthair Pointers and pointing breed dogs in general. I highly recommend the South Pines operation and Jim and Julie Birdsall.

We have known Jim and Julie Birdsall for many years and have had our German Shorthair Pointers successfully train with them. We also have a young Golden Retriever who is beginning to compete in various field and obedience events.

This past spring, we travelled on several occasions to the Birdsall’s new South Pines GSP Bird Dog Training Resort near Gloucester, VA, for two separate intensive, two-day land and water retrieving sessions as well as obedience training to prepare our retriever for upcoming events.

Together, we identified our goals with Jim and what training we needed to focus on to reach them. During our sessions, Jim was constantly evaluating what our dog and Nancy needed in order to succeed, and his insights were invaluable. We averaged 30 land retrieves and 15 water retrieves per day with Nancy and our dog working and training as a team. Together they identified problems, made any needed corrections, and fine tuned their skills. Each morning over breakfast we would spend time evaluating the previous day’s training and then plan our program for the day.

A week following our training, we were entered in back-to-back retriever Working Certificate tests. The result was that our Golden Retriever easily won his Working Certificate (WC title) on the first day and passed the WC test again with ease on the second day. Our Golden Retriever was also awarded four straight qualifying scores, achieving his Rally Novice title. We will be returning to South Pines later this summer to train for the Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) title as well as prepare for AKC Retriever Hunt Tests.

Our thanks to South Pines for their wonderful training and guidance as well as their gracious hospitality!

Jim and Julie Birdsall are two of the nicest and most experienced professional people I have ever met. After several phone discussions Luke and I arrived on Saturday morning and immediately I knew this place is the place to be. As an experienced hunter, I know how to hunt. I have never hunted with a dog let alone my own dog. I am a novice with hunting dogs. Jim has this great demeanor in how he treats a dog and teaches you how to respond and encourage the dog and use your experience as a hunter. I smiled all the way back to Springfield VA replaying what a fantastic learning experience I had. I'm coming back in three weeks with my dog Luke and my daughter who is going to learn from the best!

South Pines GSPs are the best! We got our dog, Elsa from the March 2008 litter. Elsa is an absolute joy and a wonderful addition to our family. Jim and Julie Birdsall have been nothing short of phenomenal. Never did I expect such caring and kind people when we went to buy a dog! We are in touch with the Birdsalls frequently, and Elsa even goes back to stay with "Grandma" when we need to go out of town. They have helped us every step of the way, inviting my son to come over to train Elsa, and advising us through the maze of AKC language and events. As for the quality of the dogs--they are amazing. Elsa became an AKC Junior Hunter before she was nine months old! These dogs are like computers with the software already loaded. They know why they were bred. We have had people come up to us at hunting events and ask if they can buy Elsa from us! That leads me to my second point: the versatallity of these dogs is outstanding. Elsa is a family pet, and is treated like a princess around the house. But when it is time to hunt, she can really hunt! She has the best nose going and can find those birds in a heartbeat. I would highly recommend the Birdsalls if you are thinking of a GSP. You will get a great dog and get to meet some really helpful and wonderful people.

Jim was instrumental in helping me prepare my Wirehaired Pointing Griffon for her Junior Hunter title. Her hunt test performance was flawless! We are hoping to be back training with Jim for Senior Hunter in the fall...with two new puppies. Thanks to Judy too, for her help in recommending www.gundogbreeders.com to post our recent litter. Great people - great experience.

Honesty, Integrity, Knowledge, Kindness - these are the words that come to my mind, when I think of Julie and Jim. When they say "We are here for you" they mean it and they have always been there for us: helping with any problem or question, always making time for a phone call or a visit. They truly care - about the dog and about you. For some people it takes a village to raise a good dog - for others it takes the Birdsalls. What a blessing.
Anne-Lee Gilder (and Tyko, the happy GSP).