39 Fun Facts About German Shorthaired Pointer

What is the German name for the German Shorthaired Pointer?

Deutsch Kurzhaar simply means German short-hair, because Germany names its pointers by coat: the Langhaar is the long-haired cousin and the Drahthaar the wire-haired one.

Which physical trait helps the German Shorthaired Pointer swim well enough to retrieve from water?

Webbed feet make it a natural water dog, and most Shorthairs love a swim: guides tell owners with a pool to expect the dog to hop in too.

All of Europe's pointing breeds are said to derive from which now-extinct breed?

The Old Spanish Pointer died out, but not before it spread through France and the Low Countries to the princely houses of the German-speaking world.

Before firearms, how were the ancestors of the German Shorthaired Pointer used in bird hunting?

With nets or falcons: the dog froze on the hidden birds, which let the hunter creep up and throw a net over them before they could fly.

Which kind of dog did German breeders cross with their early pointers to create the German Shorthaired Pointer?

A scent hound: the cross gave a dog that froze on birds a tracker's nose as well, the start of the all-in-one hunting dog German sportsmen wanted.

Which nobleman compiled the breed characteristics and judging rules for the German Shorthaired Pointer?

Prince Albrecht zu Solms-Braunfels set them down, and Germany's kennel club calls his rules the basis of the breeding regulations Shorthairs there must still meet.

According to the FCI standard, the invention of what in 1750 made a pointing dog 'even more required'?

The first double-barrelled gun meant birds could be shot in flight in full view of the dog, which began the shift from a pure pointer to an all-round gundog.

America's first recorded litter of German Shorthaired Pointers was born in Montana in 1925 on which holiday?

Independence Day: Dr Charles Thornton of Missoula had read about the breed in a sporting magazine and sent to Austria for a female already in pup, and she delivered seven on July 4.

At American Kennel Club shows, the German Shorthaired Pointer is judged in the same group as which breed?

The Labrador Retriever: the AKC sorts breeds by their original job, not their homeland, so the Sporting Group gathers the pointers, setters, spaniels and retrievers bred to help a hunter find and fetch game birds.

In 2016 a three-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer achieved what?

Best in Show at Westminster came as a surprise: CJ beat Rumor, a German shepherd ranked America's number one show dog, and she came back a year later to win it herself.

Like a Dalmatian, a ticked German Shorthaired Pointer puppy is born looking how?

White apart from its patches: the flecks only come in over the following weeks and go on filling in for months, so not even the breeder can tell at birth how heavily marked a puppy will end up.

Which word does the American breed standard use for the German Shorthaired Pointer's brown coat colour?

Liver, alone or with white, was for decades all the American show ring allowed: any area of black disqualified a dog there until 2023, although Germany had long accepted black Shorthairs.

What do breed guides say a German Shorthaired Pointer tends to become when it gets too little exercise?

Destructive: a dog bred to hunt all day takes its boredom out on the house, yet vets say the same Shorthair makes a fairly calm housedog once it has had a long daily run.

A German Shorthaired Pointer can look full-sized at six months, but what do breed guides say lags years behind?

Its grown-up behaviour can take two years or more to arrive, which leaves owners with what the American breed club calls an adult-sized dog with a teenage brain.

Owners are told not to exercise a German Shorthaired Pointer for an hour around meals to guard against which emergency?

Bloat, in which the stomach swells with gas and can twist shut, threatens deep-chested breeds, so owners feed several small meals and keep the dog quiet for an hour either side of eating.

The GSP coat comes in brown or black in which three patterns?

Solid, white with coloured head, and roan, a fine mix of coloured and white hairs, are all accepted, but white has a limit: the American standard disqualifies a dog that is solid white.

How does the standard describe the texture of the GSP's dense, short coat?

It is somewhat thinner and shorter on the head and ears.

What colour eyes does the FCI standard call ideal for the German Shorthaired Pointer?

Dark brown is preferred on both sides of the Atlantic, and the American standard goes further than faulting light eyes: a dog with china or wall eyes is disqualified outright.

Under the FCI standard, a German Shorthaired Pointer's body length should be what, relative to its height at the withers?

Slightly greater: the FCI wants a body a little longer than the dog is tall, whereas the American standard is looser and also accepts a Shorthair that is square.

Which bite do both the FCI and American standards require of a German Shorthaired Pointer?

A scissor bite, the upper incisors closing tightly over the lower, is the only one accepted: the American standard penalises even a perfect level bite and disqualifies an extreme overshot or undershot jaw.

For hunting purposes, the FCI standard says the GSP tail is docked to about what?

Half its length is the working dog's cut, but the FCI adds that where docking is banned the tail stays natural, and Britain's Kennel Club now describes both docked and undocked tails.

Which instinct can send a German Shorthaired Pointer bolting off the lead or scrambling over a garden fence?

Prey drive: bred to hunt, a Shorthair is razor-sharp on squirrels, birds and rabbits and may bolt or scale a wall after one, so breed guides insist on a lead or a high, secure fence.

Which nasal profile does the FCI standard consider a serious fault in the German Shorthaired Pointer?

A concave 'dish-face' is faulted by the FCI, American and British standards alike: the wanted profile is a slight ram's nose, stronger in males, and even a straight bridge is only tolerated.

What nose colour does the FCI standard require unless the GSP's coat is basically white?

Brown (black on black coats), so the nose always matches the dog, and pigment matters: a flesh-coloured nose is a severe fault under the FCI standard and disqualifies a dog outright in the American ring.

How does the FCI standard describe the German Shorthaired Pointer's forefeet?

Round to spoon-shaped, with tight, well-arched toes and tough pads, and the same standard lists the opposite, flat feet and spread toes, among its severe faults.

Which gait does the FCI standard say is not desirable in a German Shorthaired Pointer?

Pacing, where both legs on one side swing together, is unwanted, but the standards split on what is wanted: the FCI asks for legs moving straight and parallel, the American one for legs that converge at speed.

The FCI standard for the GSP notes that yellow tan markings are what?

Permissible under the FCI standard, yet the same marking ends a show career in America, where a Shorthair with any area of tan, red, orange or lemon is disqualified.

The FCI standard values the darker roan GSP because its even mixture of colour and white gives what?

An inconspicuous exterior for hunting is prized, not required: the same standard also accepts light coats in which white predominates, as the American and British standards do.

The FCI lists the German Shorthaired Pointer as a breed subject to what kind of test?

A working trial: the FCI classes the Shorthair as a versatile hunting dog, so looks alone are not enough, and its standard says the breed still passes through a filter of breeding and trial regulations.

The German Shorthaired Pointer was bred to follow what in order to find wounded game?

A blood trail: the Shorthair was meant to work fur as well as feather, so after the shot it had to put its nose down and track a wounded deer or fox to where it lay.

German Shorthaired Pointers are used in law enforcement for what kind of work?

Nosework such as drug detection suits a dog bred to hunt by scent, and in the United States the TSA counts Shorthairs among the breeds it trains to sniff out explosives at airports.

A German Shorthaired Pointer named a Dual Champion holds a show championship and which other AKC title?

Field Champion: few Shorthairs manage both, and the breed club prizes each Dual Champion as a sign that show dogs and field dogs are still one breed.

Why do continental gundogs like the GSP traditionally have docked tails?

They were bred to work in dense cover, where a long tail is torn by brush and thickets, whereas the pure pointers and setters of open country kept theirs.

Which breed did German breeders cross into the early Shorthair to give it more speed and style?

The English Pointer was the finishing touch: earlier crosses had already built the hunting dog, and the English dog came afterwards to add the speed and elegance hunters felt it lacked.

In Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels, what is every one of the detective's German Shorthaired Pointers called?

Pearl: the dogs grow old alongside the detective as the series goes on, and each time one is replaced the newcomer takes the same name.

How did German breeders save their best Shorthaired Pointers during the Second World War?

Sent them to neighbouring countries: the war took such a toll on German kennels that breeders moved their stock abroad to keep the Shorthair alive, and afterwards had to rebuild it across the gaps left behind.

Which sled dog did Scandinavian racers cross with the German Shorthaired Pointer to create the Eurohound?

The Alaskan husky: Shorthairs were already popular in Scandinavia for pulling pulk sleds, so racers bred them to imported huskies, and the cross then spread across Europe and back to Alaska.

The German Shorthaired Pointer is an affectionate family dog, so why do breed guides warn homes with small children?

It is too boisterous for toddlers, yet guides say the same energy makes it a great playmate for older, active children who know how to behave around a dog.

Which cousin of the German Shorthaired Pointer far outnumbers it in Germany's own puppy registrations?

The German Wirehaired Pointer has about twice as many puppies registered at home each year, the reverse of America, where the Shorthair is by far the more popular of the two.