German Shorthaired Pointer
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Breed at a glance
- Origin
- Germany
- Height
- Males
- Other names
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Uses
The German Shorthaired Pointer was bred to be a versatile all-round gun dog . It is capable of working in all weathers, on all terrains and in all types of cover; of finding and pointing to game, whether feathered or furred; of retrieving gently both in water and on land; of following a blood trail to find wounded game; and of defending against poachers and predators. [ 2 ] : 13, 83 Registration is subject to successful completion of a working trial . [ 1 ] In addition to hunting and field trials, German Shorthaired Pointer performs well in many dog sports such as agility , dock diving , and obedience . [ 17 ] German Shorthaired Pointers are also used in law enforcement for nosework , such as the detection of illicit substances. [ 18 ]
intro
The German Shorthaired Pointer or Deutsch Kurzhaar is a German breed of continental pointing dog of Braque type. [ 1 ] It originated in the 19th century in what is now Germany. [ 2 ] : 13 It is of medium size and is an all-purpose gun dog suitable for hunting and retrieving on both land and water. It may also be kept as a companion dog .
History
The pointing dog breeds of Europe all derive from the now-extinct Old Spanish Pointer , which spread through France and the Low Countries and reached the princely houses of the German-speaking world, [ 3 ] : 2 [ 4 ] where at first they were used in bird-hunting with nets or falcons, and later by huntsmen with guns. [ 4 ] Bird dogs were also brought from England; Carl von Heppe [ de ] , in his Aufrichtiger Lehrprinz of 1751, describes these as taller and stronger than the local type. [ 5 ] : 523 [ 6 ] : 17 In the nineteenth century large numbers of dogs of Burgos Pointing Dog type were brought to Germany. [ 3 ] : 5 In the early part of that century, the resulting mixed population had no specific name – the dogs were called Hühnerhunde ('bird dogs') or Jagdhunde ('hunting dogs'). [ 5 ] : 523 In 1878, at the annual dog show of the Verein zur Veredelung der Hunderassen in Frankfurt am Main , it was agreed that breed standards for German dogs would be established at the show to be held in Hannover in 1879; standards for both the Deutsch Kurzhaar and the Deutsch Langhaar were introduced in that year. [ 5 ] : 606 The first stud-book for the Kurzhaar was published in 1897. [ 7 ] : 84 [ 4 ] The Kurzhaar was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1954. [ 8 ] In 2013, it was in twenty-second place on a list of the most-registered dog breeds worldwide. [ 9 ] In the fifteen years from 2007 to 2021, the annual number of new registrations in Germany averaged about 1300 , with a low of 1102 and a high of 1842 . [ 10 ] It was recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1930; [ 11 ] a three-year-old dog of this breed was classed "best in show" at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2016. [ 12 ]
Characteristics
The German Shorthaired Pointer is of medium size: dogs stand some 62–66 cm at the withers , bitches some 3 or 4 cm less. [ 1 ] The coat is dense, short and rough-textured. It may be either brown or black, in any of three patterns: the solid-coloured, either with or without small flecks of white on the chest and legs; the white, with coloured head and coloured flecks or patches on the body; and the roan, either dark – in which coloured hairs predominate over white – or light, in which there are more white than coloured hairs. [ 7 ] : 84 [ 1 ] The head is of moderate size, with a convex profile and a long, broad, and strong muzzle suitable for carrying game; the eyes are brown, the ears are rounded and set on high, and hang close to the head. [ 1 ] Where not prohibited, the tail of a working dog may be docked to about half its length; it is carried roughly horizontally when the dog is moving and hangs down when it is at rest. [ 1 ] It is a tough, healthy dog. A 2024 UK study found a median longevity of 13.4 years for the breed, slightly above the average of 12.5 for all dogs. [ 13 ] The breed has some genetic predisposition to neurological diseases including coccygeal muscle injury , GM2 gangliosidosis , hemivertebrae , pyogranulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis and sensory neuropathy . [ 14 ] : 4 Other disorders associated with the breed include cataract , cranial cruciate ligament rupture, eversion of the cartilage of the nictitating membrane , hereditary lupoid dermatosis , progressive retinal atrophy , nasal carcinoma , oropharyngeal neoplasia , Von Willebrand's disease and XX sex reversal . [ 15 ] : 116–118 [ 16 ]