German Shorthaired Pointer Trivia
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39 free German Shorthaired Pointer trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
This German Shorthaired Pointer trivia quiz covers the Deutsch Kurzhaar from the Old Spanish Pointer and the net-and-falcon hunts of the princely courts through the Hühnerhunde of the early 1800s, the Hannover standards of 1879, the 1897 stud-book and Prince Albrecht zu Solms-Braunfels' rules. It leans on the FCI standard itself for the details a fancier should know: heights, the 42 teeth, the ram's nose versus the dish-face, 'bird of prey' eyes, roan patterns, docking and the temperament clause. There are questions on the AKC's figures and 'perfect pointer' label, the 2016 Westminster Best in Show, the breed's place among the HPR versatile gundogs, its work on blood trails and in police nosework, health predispositions, the Weimaraner's years as a 'blue Kurzhaar', the Vizsla connection, and Robert B. Parker's Pearl. Questions run from easy to expert with the difficulty shown on each one, and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its citation. If you enjoy it, try our Dogs and Weimaraner quizzes next.
30 of 39 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the German name for the German Shorthaired Pointer?
Deutsch Kurzhaar
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.
Q 02Which physical trait helps the German Shorthaired Pointer swim well enough to retrieve from water?
Webbed feet
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.
Q 03All of Europe's pointing breeds are said to derive from which now-extinct breed?
The Old Spanish Pointer
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.
Q 04Before firearms, how were the ancestors of the German Shorthaired Pointer used in bird hunting?
With nets or falcons
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.
Q 05Which kind of dog did German breeders cross with their early pointers to create the German Shorthaired Pointer?
A scent hound
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.
Q 06Which nobleman compiled the breed characteristics and judging rules for the German Shorthaired Pointer?
Prince Albrecht zu Solms-Braunfels
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.
Q 07According to the FCI standard, the invention of what in 1750 made a pointing dog 'even more required'?
The first double-barrelled gun
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.
Q 08America's first recorded litter of German Shorthaired Pointers was born in Montana in 1925 on which holiday?
Independence Day
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.
Q 09At American Kennel Club shows, the German Shorthaired Pointer is judged in the same group as which breed?
The Labrador Retriever
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.
Q 10In 2016 a three-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer achieved what?
Best in Show at Westminster
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.
Q 11Like a Dalmatian, a ticked German Shorthaired Pointer puppy is born looking how?
White apart from its patches
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.
Q 12Which word does the American breed standard use for the German Shorthaired Pointer's brown coat colour?
Liver
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.
Q 13What do breed guides say a German Shorthaired Pointer tends to become when it gets too little exercise?
Q 21For hunting purposes, the FCI standard says the GSP tail is docked to about what?
Half its length
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.
Q 22Which instinct can send a German Shorthaired Pointer bolting off the lead or scrambling over a garden fence?
Prey drive
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.
Q 23Which nasal profile does the FCI standard consider a serious fault in the German Shorthaired Pointer?
Destructive
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.
Q 14A German Shorthaired Pointer can look full-sized at six months, but what do breed guides say lags years behind?
Its grown-up behaviour
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.
Q 15Owners are told not to exercise a German Shorthaired Pointer for an hour around meals to guard against which emergency?
Bloat
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.
Q 16The GSP coat comes in brown or black in which three patterns?
Solid, white with coloured head, and roan
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.
Q 17How does the standard describe the texture of the GSP's dense, short coat?
Rough and hard to the touch
It is somewhat thinner and shorter on the head and ears.
Q 18What colour eyes does the FCI standard call ideal for the German Shorthaired Pointer?
Dark brown
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.
Q 19Under the FCI standard, a German Shorthaired Pointer's body length should be what, relative to its height at the withers?
Slightly greater
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.
Q 20Which bite do both the FCI and American standards require of a German Shorthaired Pointer?
Scissor
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.
A concave 'dish-face'
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.
Q 24What nose colour does the FCI standard require unless the GSP's coat is basically white?
Brown (black on black coats)
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.
Q 25How does the FCI standard describe the German Shorthaired Pointer's forefeet?
Round to spoon-shaped
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.
Q 26Which gait does the FCI standard say is not desirable in a German Shorthaired Pointer?
Pacing
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.
Q 27The FCI standard for the GSP notes that yellow tan markings are what?
Permissible
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.
Q 28The FCI standard values the darker roan GSP because its even mixture of colour and white gives what?
An inconspicuous exterior for hunting
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.
Q 29The FCI lists the German Shorthaired Pointer as a breed subject to what kind of test?
A working trial
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.
Q 30The German Shorthaired Pointer was bred to follow what in order to find wounded game?
A blood trail
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.