Back to Breed Showcase Home

German Shorthaired Pointer

Masters of the upland, and pretty good water retrievers, too, the German Shorthaired pointer’s slick coat is a breeze to maintain, and as a rule the breed takes training well. Likely a cross of Spanish Pointers, English Foxhounds and German tracking hounds, much of the romance of the breed comes from legends that foundation stock was brought back from the Middle East by Crusaders in the eleventh century. The shorthair has been a recognized breed in Germany since the 1870’s, and was introduced to the U.S. in the 1920’s. The shorthair quickly became popular with hunters who needed one dog to do it all: point, track, retrieve furred and feathered game on land and water … and serve as family companion. As the Germans say, an all-around or everyday dog … ein “gebrauschund.” Most shorthair coats are brown and white: ticked, spotted or patched, some solid brown. Germans like their black-and-white shorthairs, and some are now being imported to America. Look for a cropped tail to distinguish them from English Pointers. That’s the Deutsch Kurzhaar, or German shorthair .Learn more at: http://www.akc.org/breeds/german_shorthaired_pointer/