German Shorthaired Pointer

Born to run…born to reign. In a sporting world dominated by several breeds of utility gundog that are proficient in hunt, point and retrieve (HPR), the German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) stands alone as the premier hunting dog of Europe and the revered national gundog of Germany. Possessed of that indefinable ability to run unerringly on a scent in all types of cover and terrain, then, upon finding the game, slow into a feline crouch and freeze, sculpture-like into stone, the GSP is universally regarded as the near-perfect all-around gundog.

The GSP, like other gundog breeds that evolved during the 19th century, developed when hunting finally became a sport of the common man. For centuries, birds and animals were hunted for both food and sport. The aristocrat pursued small and large game for personal entertainment and challenge, while the ordinary man did so to feed his family and himself. To that end, the scenthound tracked partridge and other game birds, while the hunter followed with netting to throw and snare the birds. The dogs and nets were sometimes used in tandem with a hawk or falcon, which would then capture the birds in flight as they attempted to escape.

HUNTING WITH BIRDS

In many parts of Europe and the Middle East, falcons, eagles and hawks are still used in tandem with dogs in the hunting sport. The dog points and holds the birds, and the falcon is released to circle overhead and wait, swooping down once the birds are flushed. Falconry, however, is against the law in certain countries.

The introduction of the shotgun in the 1800s changed the nature of the hunt for both man and beast. At that time, European aristocracy owned and bred a wide variety of dogs, each type specializing in a different aspect of the hunt, to accompany them on their shoots. Pointers and setters raced ahead of the hunting party, located the game and stood fast. Retrievers followed and picked up game after it was shot. The spaniel breeds worked closely with the hunter, flushing as well as retrieving.

The average citizen could not afford to keep large kennels of highly specialized breeds to perform all of the tasks necessary for a successful hunt; that is, separate breeds to point, to flush and to retrieve shot game. Thus was born a myriad of efforts across Europe to produce a truly versatile hunting dog: one breed to perform all of these tasks.

The practical German hunter-breeder aimed for the ideal one-man dog, one with a superb nose that could locate, point and hold until the guns were at the ready, then, with a gentle mouth, retrieve the bird to hand. Such a dog should also possess great courage and the ability and willingness to stalk and apprehend larger game such as deer, hare or fox. The hunter also demanded a dog with a sound temperament that could bond to his family when not working in the field. These hunters did not want kennels full of dogs for various purposes; in fact, they did not want kennels full of dogs at all. Rather, they aimed for one dog skilled in all of the hunting tasks that they could keep in their homes as family companions.

The two dogs used most commonly to achieve those breeding goals shared the same ancestry as many other European dogs, most being descendants of the St. Hubert Hound and the Old Spanish Pointer, two ancient Mediterranean breeds that reached Europe along with civilization.

Allegedly brought there by the Knights of the Crusaders during the 11th century, the Hounds of St. Hubert can be traced directly back to the famed French monastery. A descendant of the courageous eighth-century staghound, the St. Hubert is the ancestor of all cold-trailing hounds. Like the Old Spanish Pointer, these black hounds were also known in Germany as Schweisshunden, expert cold trailers who possessed exquisite noses and hunted with great persistence. Historic documents and artwork describe the Old Spanish Pointer as a heavy-headed, jowly animal with drooping flews, large bone structure, a slightly rough liver-and-white coat and an often surly attitude. Both breeds were ponderous and slow-moving, hardly worthy qualities to complement the use of firearms on the hunting scene. But the scenting and pointing abilities of both breeds were so superb that both aristocrat and common man set out to add elegance and speed in the hope of reaching their vision of a more versatile pointing dog.

STALKING DEER

German Shorthaired Pointers are still used for stalking deer in many countries. The hunter hangs a wooden baton on a loose rope around the dog’s neck and sends his dog off to find a wounded deer that has been shot. Upon finding the deer, the dog returns to his master, holding the baton in his mouth, and the hunter follows the dog to where his quarry lies. If the dog is unsuccessful, he will come back with the baton still hanging from his neck.

By the late 1800s, Germany, France and England were well into their own pointer breeding programs. The early Germans used the black type to fix one version of the German Shorthaired Pointer. By the mid-1900s, the Scandinavian countries still had some solid blacks; in Australia, that country’s best-known pointer breeder also had a solid black bitch in her program. The United States also had solid liver colors, as demonstrated in one historic painting that hangs in the De Young Museum in San Francisco. All of the countries appeared to strive for wrinkle-free heads with straighter profiles, rounded ears and more leg under the dog.

With the GSP’s regal, intelligent expression, it’s no wonder that royalty was attracted to the breed.

FIELD-TRIAL RULES

The German requirements and regulations for field trials are extremely rigid and demanding. Some field trials are open to international competition, allowing dogs from other countries to compete with the German dogs, making a field championship even more difficult to achieve. In Germany, it is necessary to qualify in performance as well as in conformation, in keeping with the German philosophy that a dog with incorrect structure cannot perform his best afield.

By the late 1900s, Europe saw mixed results in the effort to produce good-looking, properly balanced pointing dogs. The French promoted the Gascon Hound, Genereaux, their prize-winning hound at the 1865 Paris Exhibition. Genereaux was a long-tailed, wrinkle-free sporting dog that easily reminds one of the German Shorthaired Pointer seen today. Germany’s 1871 showing, however, was the ungainly Feldmann I, a tricolor experimental dog bred by Prince Albrecht zu Solms-Brauenfels of the Royal House of Hannover. Feldmann I was a ponderous-looking, short-legged dog with the traditional heavy head and thicker neck, hardly a prime example of the swift and graceful animal for which breeders strived.

Breeding efforts continued throughout Europe and, in Germany, a wide variety of breed types emerged. Proponents of the breeding principle that function follows form believed a dog’s physical construction was primary and that natural ability would eventually follow. They pursued a pointing dog that possessed rounded ears and a classic profile (with no stop), a preference that was held mostly in rebellion against the English Pointer’s small, tight ears and dish-faced head. In their quest for their desired head type, these advocates inevitably produced heavy-bodied, short-legged, awkward dogs that were unable to fulfill the German vision of speed and elegance in the field.

The breeders who believed in function follows form, led by German breeder Karl Brandt, in 1879 convinced the committee to deny Stud Book admission to any pointer who did not carry the desired characteristics, a move that subsequently denied admission to many deserving specimens of the breed.

Into that foray came the highly respected Prince zu Solms-Brauenfels. Having gained valuable experience in his earlier experimental breedings, especially with Feldmann I, the Prince advocated the opposite principle, that of form follows function. Like other wise pioneer breeders, the Prince looked primarily at performance and bred selectively to produce the best performers, using dogs of various type, different breeds and different strains of breeds, believing that once performance was firmly established, one could later select for structure.

The Prince advised the German breeders to use only the best performing dogs for breeding stock. At his direction, many adjusted their breeding decisions and looked solely to ability, with some forward-thinkers, outlaws in German breeding terms, using the English Pointer to enhance the already splendid quality of nose and pointing instinct.

With English Pointer blood, however, came one more element of risk. The cross eventually reduced trailing ability, diminished enthusiasm for the water and diluted courage in pursuit of larger game.

Nevertheless, the determined efforts of the breeders seeking function first produced one of the early solid working German Shorthaired Pointers, named Nero 66 (66 being his number in the Kurzhaar Stud Book), bred by Herr Julius Mehlich. A brown chest-ticked dog with a good nose and showing excellent strength and speed, Nero performed well at the 1881 pointer/setter trial at Buckow. The pointer world again took note of Nero when, two years later, he tied with another brown pointer named Treff 1010 (his all-breed registration number) for first place in the German Derby.

INSTINCTIVE ABILITY

The ability to seek scent to locate game, then to stand rigid at the finding has been bred into the German Shorthaired Pointer for many generations and is a skill that cannot be taught. The dog can be trained to best utilize that natural ability, but the talent is born with the dog.

Following his Derby achievement, Nero and his owner were invited to join a hunting party at the famed Hoppenrade hunting preserve owned by an aristocrat named Herr Schmidt. On that occasion, it was Nero’s famous escapade with a hare that gave birth to the renowned Hoppenrade strain of German Shorthaired Pointers. During the hunt, Nero sped off after a shot hare and was gone so long that the anxious hunting party thought the dog might have been injured somewhere afield. To their delight, Nero finally appeared on the far bank of a fast-running stream, the huge hare clamped firmly in his jaws. The dog then plunged into the racing river waters and fought his way across to deliver his catch to his master. Herr Schmidt applauded the dog’s valiant effort and proudly announced to the jubilant onlookers, From this time on, you are no longer Nero 66; you are Nero v. Hoppenrade! And the name shall be given to all your descendants as well.

TICKING

The ticking on the German Shorthaired Pointer’s coat will appear almost white at birth. Ticking starts to appear between two and three weeks of age.

Thus was born the distinguished line of Hoppenrade German Shorthaired Pointers, whose names can be found behind most modern GSP pedigrees. It is most fitting that Nero’s granddaughter, Erra Hoppenrade 382, earned the number-one spot in the Gebrauchshunde-Stammbuch (German Working Dog Stud Book) after she beat the competition in 1892.

Other Hoppenrade offspring followed in Nero’s famous pawprints, placing in many Derby stakes. Nero’s daughter Flora later produced three influential solid-brown dogs when she was bred to Hektor 64 (Treff ex Diana): two males (Waldin 175, Waldo 174) and the female Hertha. Waldin continued his famous grandsire’s legacy with an impressive performance of his own at a pointer/setter field trial at Buckow. At that trial, the German Emperor was so taken with Waldin’s work that he commissioned the dog’s portrait to be painted by the renowned German artist Sperling.

Although not a water retriever by trade, the GSP is certainly versatile enough to be trained for the task or just to enjoy an occasional swim.

Other Hoppenrade dogs can be found in a great many foundation breed pedigrees. Herr Mehlich’s bitch Holla (Hoppenrade) was the first full-ticked specimen in his line of solid brown, chest-ticked dogs. Holla produced sons Morell 444 (Holla ex Waldin 175) and Maitrank (Holla ex Balsam Hoppenrade), who later became foundation dogs in many pedigrees.

GERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP

The German title Sieger denotes a champion, with Siegerin for the female champion. To achieve that title, a dog must earn three first prizes with a rating of Vorsuglich (Excellent) under three different approved judges at approved shows. It must qualify in performance as well as conformation.

The Kurzhaar Sieger must earn first prizes in the Derby and the Solms, and second place or better in a Klub Utility Search (Verbandsgebrauchsprufung), or Derby or Solms first place plus first place in the Klub Utility Search. The dog must also qualify by running well in the