I have owned and bred Springer Spaniels and Brittanys and now own a 55 pound German short-hair pointer. I will never own anything but a GSP, even though you have to establish dominance of them in order to get them to hunt for you. They are pure hunting machines! My dog Jake is now 8 and he was not a good house dog until 5. He had too much energy. I live on a farm so he is loose all day long and has room to burn off the energy. The best ones are "sharp", meaning they will kill smaller animals such as cats just for fun. Mine has killed groundhogs and foxes and gives chase after coyotes but fortunately hasn't caught up with one yet! He sleeps in the basement at night in the winter as he is too cold natured to sleep in an insulated kennel in east Tennessee. He sometimes hangs out in the basement in the heat of the day because he doesn't like hot very much either. Or is it that he is spoiled by his owner?