I have 5 GSPs, of which 4 are mine: Riley, Blue, Vegas, and Memphis.  Riley is retired at 13 years old, so we won't tell his story.  I also have 1 foster dog, Zola.  Here's a breakdown of my dogs' schedule.

Saturday - Agility!

• The dogs wake up for a quick potty outside in the yard and a joyful dash around the fence perimeter chasing birds, squirrels, bugs...anything fast moving and/or shiny. 
• Breakfast:
  • Vegas gets a handful of kibble to tide him over until agility practice. 
    
    • If we're feeling motivated, I put it in a bowl in the middle of the kitchen and we do a little work heeling around the bowl (this lasts maybe 15-45 seconds depending on how successful he is) - releasing to the bowl when he's done a good job. 
    • If we're not motivated, he does some drop on recall pratice with bits of kibble thrown at him when he's a good boy. 
    • Or we may do competitive downs - whoever downs the fastest (Blue or Vegas) gets the kibble.  You snooze, you lose on this one. 
  • Memphis and Zola get a handful of kibble tossed in their respective crates after the morning potty run to tide them over until class.
  • Blue gets his regular meal in his favorite toy (Nina Ottosson's Pyramid - I highly recommend it as a medium-hard interactive toy.)  This is the last thing I do before leaving the house with Memphis and Vegas.  He's happily batting around his toy as we head off for a fabulous car ride.
  Car Ride!  Vegas and Memphis load up for a trip to the agility field.  My dogs LOVE car rides!
• Memphis has class first - he's in Baby Intermediate agility at our club.  That's basically just past obstacle introduction and beginning to sequence obstacles.
  • Memphis tries to run madly in the agility field; I try with equal fervor to keep his attention focused on me and just allow him to run wildly in short spurts in between the obstacles.   
  • Memphis gets to practice some basic rally moves in between turns - yay! Fun focus :)
  • Memphis gets breakfast and extra yummy treats for all of the above most excellent work.
• Vegas has class next,
  
  • but Memphis has to be entertained, so he gets a stuffed Kong or stuffed Squash (love these! from Ruffwear) while he waits in his crate for Vegas' class to finish.
  • Vegas tries really hard and invariably proves that he is much smarter and better at agility than his person is...as he does every week with embarassing consistency. 
  • After class, Vegas and Memphis run around for 5 minutes or so in the great big fenced field surrounding the agility field.  We pratice catch & release recalls. 
• Car Ride!  Vegas and Memphis go back to the house and Zola heads to the agility field.  Blue may come with to use as a motivator dog - that's just the dog who gets to play when the one you're training decides they're having more fun doing other stuff.  Works great :) 
• Zola has beginner agility class (thank you K9 Xpress for donating!)
  • Zola tries really, really hard to pay attention...but there are dogs playing out in the field and it would be really great fun to join them.
  • Zola regroups, makes a supreme effort and manages to participate in class, have great fun running through the tunnel, and mind not at all that she gets bunches and bunches of yummy cookies when she hangs out on the contact obstacles.  We even practice a bit of basic obedience in between the agility fun.
• Car Ride!  Zola heads back to the house. 
• All the dogs get a fun chew - antler, stuffed bone, stuffed ball - and I get a much needed doggy break :) 
• All the dogs get dinner in their favorite toys and a potty break or 2 before bed.  Zola practices sitting to go outside or come inside and polite releases from the crate. 
• Then we do the doggie bedtime shuffle:
  • Memphis in his crate in my bedroom.
  • Zola in her crate in the dog room.
  • Riley is his crate in the garage.
  • Blue works on the distance down command - then gets released to the bed.  Unless we do down races and Vegas wins.
  • Vegas has to do a trick (maybe front or a distance down), then he joins on the bed.
  • I squish the 2 dogs over and we all crash after a very tiring day.

Sunday - Hanging Out

• Mad morning dash to potty, then all back to bed for a little more sleep. 
• Memphis goes back in his crate to eat breakfast out of his green Everlast ball.  Blue gets his favorite pyramid toy or 2 XL stuffed Kongs, Vegas gets the same, and Zola gets her Kong Wobbler toy.  I hang out and drink coffee completely undisturbed by spotty dogs.
• Blue gets to run errands with me and usually meet friends for lunch at a dog-friendly outdoor patio.  Blue works on his pet manners, which are in need of some polish.
• Last weekend - Zola came with and stayed in the car while we ate.  Then she came out for a little walk around Tomlinson's and some fun videoing of her newly learned skills.  See Zola's Greeting a Friendly Stranger YouTube video!
• Once or twice a month, Blue and/or Memphis get to go tracking - with our schedule freeing up a bit we're hoping to track weekly.  See Texas GSP Rescue's FaceBook page for pictures of Memphis tracking. 
• If I run errands in the evening and it's not too hot, I bring whichever dog appears the most neglected along for the ride.  Vegas always claims to be most neglected, but sometimes Blue or Memphis win.  Car rides are great!
• Everyone has a quiet evening with some good chews andI may or may not go to a friend's house bringing 1 pooch with me.

Sometimes I compete on the weekends, sometimes I teach seminars.  On these weekends, the dogs are even more the focus of unfolding events. 

Weekdays

During the week, I rely on interactive toys, intermittent training sessions, and training classes (whether a class we take or my dogs acting as demo dogs for class I teach) to make up for the fact that I'm away from home much more than on the weekends.  Everyone practices Being on Their Best Behavior until the weekend rolls around again.  Every dog gets 1 evening out at a training event during the week on a rotating basis, except Zola.  So Zola sometimes gets to ride in the car for quick errands - even if it's to the corner store to get toilet paper :)  Zola thinks that's an excellent adventure: leashing up, walking to the car, loading in the crate, waiting in expectation to arrive at some wondrous end destination...arriving and not getting out of the car, returning to the house.  Somehow, this proves to be a most excellent adventure for all of my dogs.  Car Ride!

I've been involved with Texas GSP Rescue for 7 years now.  When I started I had 3 of my own non-GSP dogs and along the way I've added 2 GSPs to my family.  My non-GSPs include a Great Dane mix, an Australian Shepherd mix and a Yellow Lab.  I had always been conscious of taking them on walks and I do really enjoy running with my dogs, however, my dogs and their exercise needs had not necessarily prepared me for GSP ownership. 

Both Deringer and Hanna joined my family in the last three years and initially upon adopting Deringer my husband and I thought, "Wow! We've found the lowest energy GSP there is!"  Turns out, that was not entirely accurate.  Deringer is the most snuggly, soulful dog that we've ever owned and he is extremely low energy in the house, but he, like every GSP, has an energy outlet that needs to be respected. Hanna is a member of the MO 75 and although annoying, it is rewarding to see her acting as a mischevious, too-smart-for-her-own-good, normal GSP that has too much energy and won't stay in the yard. 

For a long period of time, we did a good job of running every other morning with the GSPs for one and a half to two miles.  That didn't necessarily wear them out (like it did me :) but it was sufficient, along with some additional walks during the week and playtime out in the backyard to keep them well behaved. 

If we missed a few of these jogs in a row, Deringer's extra energy was misplaced somewhere around the house - he has a love of tearing up dog beds and pulling any blanket/towel or laundry room item he can locate out of the dog door and shredding it in the yard.  Those activities were kept in check when we were getting him the level of exercise he needed, but would quickly pop up when we failed to do so. 

Eventually there came a time when we became less committed to running every other morning and Deringer and Hanna quickly found other ways to use that energy.  Our house fast became one where every day we had to figure out how to keep the GSPs in the yard.  We have a privacy fence, which we replaced so it would be more sturdy.  We have an invisible fence for which both GSPs have collars.  Hanna is completely unconcerned about the shock she receives when she goes over the fence.  We have installed chicken wire all along the bottom of the fence, as Deringer had begun to dig out of the yard.  That seemed to deter him until he managed to figure out how to get over the fence.  Each day we would come home to two GSPs missing and our latest addition to the backyard had been outsmarted by the pointers.  They would always show up at dinner time and thankfully nothing bad ever befell them, but each time I felt like an awful dog owner and swore to keep them crated inside so that nothing bad would happen to them.  Eventually that didn't do the trick either and they were leaving the fence while we were at home.  It was unfortunately obvious that their destructive behaviors in the house, as well as fence-jumping was a direct result of our failure to provide them with enough exercise.  Once we had this realization and made a commitment to getting them sufficient exercise during the week, these behaviors have again subsided. 

Owning a dog of any breed requires making changes in your home to accomodate for that dog's personality.  As much as you can know about the breed, or think you know because you've owned dogs in the past - each dog is an individual, and like people, you will be required to make adjustments in your own life to make living together a positive situation.  A GSP is a more life-altering commitment than most people realize, and GSPs are just not the right breed for a lot of people.  I'm honestly not sure GSPs are the right breed for my family.  We exercise, but we don't do a good job of dedicating daily time to providing exercise to the pointers, which is really what owning a GSP is about.  Each of my non-GSPs required some adjustments - Snoopy eats toilet paper, so you will not find an open bathroom door in my house.  Kingsley does need to get exercise, but he's fine if he gets a walk or a jog once a week.  None of my other dogs require the same level of mental or physical stimulation that my GSPs require.  It is a noticeable and quite a large difference. 

I love my GSPs and wouldn't change a thing about them.  They are a great breed for a family that is willing to actively dedicate time to exercise and interact with the dog.  But thinking that a GSP will just blend into the background of your family is a mistake.  GSPs don't blend :) Should you try and make them blend, they will find a way to make you pay attention by being destructive, digging in the yard, and jumping your fence.   Unfortunately after 7 years of being involved with GSP Rescue, I've seen a number of homes less qualified than myself, and unwilling to make the necessary accomodations for a GSP, adopt and then return a dog.  I certainly don't want to scare anyone away from the breed, but a GSP is unlike many large breeds and are not for every one.  If you do not have sufficient time to devote to engaging with your dog in training, exercising or another manner and your motivation is wanting a dog for the kids, or for companionship when you have time for the dog or a dog to throw the ball to only on the weekend--a GSP is not the right choice for you.  If you are willing to make those larger accomodations for a GSP and have a trial and error period where you and the GSP adjust to being a family, your GSP will reward you for it.