Hello and Thanks for Visiting The Little GSP!

I’m Annie and I live with my husband, Matt, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.  I started this blog back in February 2012 and since then I’ve had a blast posting about our everyday life… everything from food and gardening to running, vacations, and our June 2013 wedding!

This blog is named after our beautiful German Shorthaired Pointer, Bailey.  We lost Bailey very suddenly in January 2014 and we miss her very much.  Bailey was a smaller-than-usual German Shorthair who galloped through life with boundless energy and enthusiasm.  You can read more about Bailey’s many adventures in the “Bailey” section of my blog.

In October 2014 we welcomed a new GSP into our lives.  Piper is a wacky, happy pup with a huge personality.  She loves hiking, lounging by the fire and playing with every squeaky toy she finds… the louder the better!  When the weather is cold enough Piper runs with me; her current 5K PR is 22:43!

Some of my blog’s ongoing themes are:

  • Food and Cooking – I am just the sous chef and photographer; Matt is the real chef in our house!
  • Running – I love running and racing, particularly in 5Ks, trail runs and the occasional 5 miler.  It all began in July 2013 when I set out to complete 100 miles in two months. 8800+ miles later I’m still going!
  • Photography – Piper pics, travel photography, and other fun with my Nikon D90, iPhone X and GoPro Hero4Silver.

Thanks again for visiting and happy reading!

Starting the weekend with a hike at RCSP
Look, a GoPro selfie!
View before entering Refrigerator Canyon
Stopping to smell the tulips
Fisher Towers

42 thoughts on “Hello and Thanks for Visiting The Little GSP!”

  4. Hi Annie,

    My name is Sue, and found your blog today thru WordPress – it captured my interest! I’m from SlimKicker (a healthy living/fitness app), and was wondering if we can do a giveaway for your blog readers?

    Our site basically turns people’s health/fitness goals into a level up game with challenges such as quitting soda for a week. We’re looking for new challenge ideas, so was thinking of holding a contest where your readers leave a comment on a health challenge idea, and we’ll pick our favorite challenge idea, use it on our site, and give the winner either a free digital health scale, slow cooker, or digital heart monitor.

    Let me know if you’re interested by email: sue (at) slimkicker.com

    PS. You can choose not to publish this comment since it’s not really a comment, I just couldn’t find your email address =)

    Best,
    Sue

    Reply

  5. Hi – Will you please post a link to your Blog at The German Shorthaired Pointer Community? Our members will love it.
    Members include: Owners, Breeders and Lovers
    It’s easy to do, just cut and paste the link and it automatically links back to your website… it’s a win win. You can also add Photos, Videos and Classifieds if you like. It’s free and easy.
    Email me if you need any help or would like me to do it for you.
    The German Shorthaired Pointer Community: http://www.vorts.com/german_shorthaired_pointers/
    Thanks,
    James Kaufman, Editor

    Reply

  6. Hi Annie, I was looking for fun photos of GSP’s and found your site. Bailey is awesome! We have two intact gorgeous male GSP’s, both liver and white ticked, with impeccable AKC pedigrees. Leo is the smaller one and he is a dock jumper and Pet Therapy dog-ReadingPaws-we take him to schools to help kids get more confident as readers. His brother Zarif is an amazing hunter and the sweetest GSP ever. They are both clowns-they keep us laughing. Is Bailey spayed? If not, are you considering mating her?

    Reply

    • Hi Patti, thanks for your comment! I checked out Leo’s page and he is a handsome pup! That’s great that he’s calm enough to be a therapy dog. Maybe Bailey will be that calm in a few years but for now she would be WAY too wiggly and excited to calmly help a child gain confidence with reading. 🙂 Bailey is spayed so no, we cannot breed her.

      Reply

  7. I came across your blog while searching for other GSP-related blogs. I own one purebred (Gatsby) and a GSP/Lab cross (Lola Lulu); I’m also currently fostering another male GSP (Porter) who was rescued by the pointing breed rescue I started a year ago.

    I love that you incorporate food, gardening, and other topics into your GSP & dog sport related posts! I especially love the photos of Bailey… she clearly has the typically big personality of a shorthair!

    If you ever have a moment and would like to check out the blog I write, here it is: http://garnet-scarabin.blogspot.com/ I mostly write about dogs, food (although I need to remember to take photos of what I cook and actually write down the recipes!), and my recent foray into running.

    Reply

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  12. Since you are a GSP lover- the GSP Rescue of Pa is having their annual “Beef and Bones” dinner at he King of Prussia fire hall, March 22,2014 at 7:00 pm. It is $25.00 per adult at the door. Good food, raffles and music. Anyone is welcomed.

    Reply

  13. Great site Annie! We just launched The Beastie Bar on Kickstarter. Check it out, hope you like – kck.st/1maHO49

    All natural, made in USA, individually wrapped dog treats. It would be amazing if you could help us tell our story!

    Reply

  14. Hi Annie! Love your site! So very sorry about your loss of Bailey. What a beautiful girl! I love the “regal” orange harness she is wearing in one of your pictures and wondered what brand it is. Would love to get one for my black lab….hopefully he will look as good in it as Bailey! Thanks so mucy, Patty

    Reply

  15. Hello, love your blog. What a loved dog Bailey was – so sorry for your loss. My bestfriend has a one-year old pointer with boundless energy. They are exploring e-collars but have reservations. Would you mind sharing where Bailey was trained and any advice you might have for training a Pointer who is mainly a house dog (but has VERY strong hunting instincts/energy)? Thank you so much, Eliza

    Reply

    • Hi Eliza, thanks for posting! We did most of Bailey’s normal day-to-day training ourselves (sit, stay, down, come, etc.) but I have to admit she never really was very good at recall, especially if she thought something else was more exciting than coming to us. We had very good success with the invisible fence for yard containment and followed the training suggestions from the fence people for that.

      E-collars can be very effective but you definitely would want to make sure to follow a training plan with those as they can also be pretty damaging/confusing to a dog if trained incorrectly. We owned a SportDog e-collar for Bailey and it came with a training DVD. We weren’t experts on the e-collar with Bailey and only used it in the rare circumstance where she was off-leash outside of our yard.

      If you and your boyfriend are interested in trying dog sports with his pointer I’d look for local clubs and training facilities and see what types of classes they offer. We were a member of a DockDogs club (www.dockdogs.com) and Bailed learned how to dock dive at their practices. We also brought her to agility and nosework classes at a facility in our area for training in those disciplines.

      Good luck to you! I think you’ll find that once you give the pointer a “job” with any kind of training, be it obedience, sport, or something else, they will be happy to work for you and it will help to control some of their boundless energy. 🙂

      Reply

  16. Hi Annie,

    I came across your blog when looking for more information about The Pickle Run! Have you heard about the Trail Creek Outfitters Trail Run Series? There are five races in the series, and the fourth race benefits The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County. You can check out all of the races in the series here: http://trailcreekseries.org/ and the Stateline Loop Trail Race specifically here: http://tlcforscc.org/stateline-loop-10k5k-trail-race-for-conservation/. Hope you’ll consider hitting the trails with us this spring!

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Thanks for stopping by! I have heard of the Trail Creek Series and will definitely consider coming out this Spring. I just started running more trails recently and I’m really enjoying it. (I’m actually working on a blog post about trails right now!) The Stateline Loop Race looks intriguing – maybe I’ll see you out there!

      Reply

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  19. Oh My Annie….. What a wonderful way to end my day by finding your BLOG… First… my heart goes out to you and Matt on the passing of Bailey… It brought tears to my eyes and made my whole body feel for you…. Having her in your lives for that short time was a blessing for you all. Then as I discovered you know have Piper… YEAH!!!! I ADORE your pictures… I have just signed up to receive your posts. I look forward to reading and seeing your everyday adventures… Thank you for sharing. I live in Redmond Washington. Born and raised and I’m totally in love with our State. IT’S BEAUTIFUL HERE…. Maybe one day you and Matt and Bailey would head across the U.S. for a visit. I’m sending a big Puppy Love Hug to you and Piper. We have 2 dogs in our home. Chyna who we took over for my sister. She is part cocker and Schnauzer. Black with a touch of white on her chest. Precious!! Then Mia we took over for our Son. She came from the Humane’s society. She is a mix of Terrier… Her markings remind me of a mini cow.. Adorable!! I never thought I would end up with 2 dogs but so Grateful for them… Anyway.. I’m excited about following your blog…
    Pam

    Reply

  20. Hi Annie,

    First I’d like to say that I love all of your posts and pictures of Piper! I found your IG account when searching around about GSPs because I was interested in getting one for myself. We are picking her up this Friday and ironically I decided to name her Piper as well (great minds think alike!) I was just wondering if you had any tips for training, especially training her to go off leash… From the pictures it seems that you were able to do this with your Piper from a pretty young age!

    Thanks,
    Devon

    Reply

    • Hi Devon,

      Congrats on your new puppy! GSPs named Piper are the best. We actually haven’t trained Piper to go off-leash while hiking, I just edit the leash out of many pics in Photoshop. (Cheating, I know!!!) We HAVE trained Piper to our in-ground “invisible” fence at home with great results though. 🙂

      As far as overall training tips, if Piper is your first active/hunting dog I would recommend signing up for a local puppy kindergarten/socialization class as soon as she has her shots and then maybe some basic obedience classes. These classes are more about training us humans so that we learn how to give the dog clear, consistent signals. GSPs are very smart and will response well to consistent training.

      The other major tip with a GSP is to give them enough exercise. Little puppies can’t do as much physical exercise but you can mentally stimulate them as well by having them interact with boxes/bottles/other objects, playing games with toys, working on eye contact, etc. A tired GSP is a happy GSP! 😀 Good luck to you!!

      Annie

      Reply

  21. Hi Annie,

    I stumbled upon your blog today as i was googling abandoned railroads in Delaware County. My fiance and I are looking to get our engagement pictures done, and we wanted something a little different. I have to admit I am not a blog reader, but before I knew it, I knew all about your life! You have great blog, and I really enjoyed reading it and looking at all the pictures! Mike and I are also getting married at a winery! After reading your blog i feel as if we are kindred spirits (if only i could get into running haha) ! Look forward to reading more:)

    Lindsay

    Reply

    • Hi Lindsay,

      Thanks for stopping by! The Darlington Trail in Middletown Township offers access to some great stretches of train tracks that are no longer in use. Good luck with your photos and congrats on your upcoming wedding! 🙂

      Annie

      Reply

  22. I just found your blog when looking for a torta recipe and am so excited! We have two GSP’s and are members of the GSP Club on Facebook. Your dogs are beautiful–aren’t they just the greatest dogs?! I will definitely keep your blog on my faves list!

    Reply

  25. Hello Annie, Do you have a map with drop pins of all of your hiking locations with your GSP? I would love to visit some of your destinations. I live in Philadelphia and just took a new job in Delaware County and would like to explore this area with our dog! I really enjoy your website. There are not a lot of resources of our door adventure activities you can do with you pup & am so happy you are sharing this. Your writing & photography skills are phenomenal! Thank you so much for sharing with the world!
    Maggie

    Reply

  26. Hi Annie, my name is Yves i’m from Montréal and with the heip of my graphic person we discover Piper’s beautiful pictures with his xtrem Warmer Jacket. I would like your permission to use at least one pic for the profile of our Canada-K9 Facebook page.Canada-K9.ca is a online retailer of Hurtta line and others brands and dog accessories. So i invite you to visit us and let me know if you agreed to let us use at least one of Piper’s pic with is Hurtta jacket. Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you soon.

    Reply

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