List all of our German Shorthaired Pointer Breeders
This breed of dog is a people dog, he loves to spend time with his humans, large or small, and can fret terribly when parted from them,if not taught at an early age that he will have to spend a certain amount of time with out them in the vicinity.
They are very intelligent and learn quite quickly, good habits as well as bad,but brought up correctly they are a wonderful loyal and loving dog, who can not do enough to please whether you decide to show, work or just have them as a companion he or she will give you many years of enjoyment.
They are above all bred to be a dual purpose gundog ie they find game, point it, flush it and then retrieve it for you, wether it be on land or in water. For this they require a very keen nose (so don't leave your Sunday joint were a GSP can easily reach it, or you will be having egg and chips for your Sunday lunch). They have a style which is breathtaking to see. They must be very biddable, alert and extremely keen worker, but above all very loyal, and not at all nervous.
They are a medium sized dog with good bone formation, they should have a short back (bitches can be a litte longer) but standing over plenty of ground their movement should flow gracefully to go in tune with their long sloping shoulders, deep chest strong hindquarters and good muscle tone, tail well carried and a tight coat these dogs should have what I call a chiselled head, (clean cut) it must not be to heavy (blood hound like) or to light (whippet like) and above all in proportion to the body.
The skull should be fairly broad and moderately rounded. The nasal bone rising to a degree from the nose to the forehead you will find this more noticeable in the males, but it should never possess a definite stop, but when seen from the side view it will have a defined stop due to the placement of the eyebrows. The lips fall away almost plumb from the nose which should protrude slightly, and then continue in a slight curve to the corner of the mouth. Lips well developed, they should not overhang(as say the blood hound). Jaws strong and moderately long, as to enable the dog to pick up and carry Quarry. Dishedfaced (as in Arab horses ) or snipy muzzles (or whippet like) are very undesirable. The nose itself should be from Black to shades of Brown but always to compliment coat colour, broad nostrils, well open and soft.
Their eyes should be gentle and intelligent with an expression that just melts your heart, they should be of medium size and in proportion to the head, and eyelids must close properly. Light eyes are most undsesirable, as they spoil that lovely melting expression. I have found that eyes may be light in young dogs but darken as they get older, but if they are say still light by the age of 2yrs then they will probably stay that way.
Now to the ears they should be set high and wide at the top and rounded at the bottom, they should hang closely to the head, they must not be too fleshy or to thin, but have a short soft coat, and nearly reach the corner ofthe mouth when moved forward.
The mouth of this dog should have good strong jaws and a full denture of teeth with a correct scissor bite ie upperteeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws, overshot and undershot mouths or wry jaws being most undesirable, but the first two faults would not stop it making a good pet, as for the latter it would depend on the serverity.
The neck should be muscular and slighty arched, modererately long and widening to the shoulders, skin should not fit too loosely or it gives the dog a throaty appearance.
Now to the front propulsion, the forequarters, the shoulders should be sloping and very muscular, the top of the shoulder blades to fit closely. I always put two to three fingers in between to check this, as if they are to close the shoulder blades would touch and cause serious problems. the upper arm bone between shoulder and elbow should be long, if not the dog cannot reach out, and will have a peculiar gait. Elbows well laid back neither pointing out or in. Forelegs must be straight and with ample muscle they must also be strong but slightly slope, if they don't do this the dog tends to knuckle over at the knee, hence the term upright in pastern.
Now to the body, the chest must be deep reaching to the elbow or slightly below, it should look deep rather than wide, and well sprung, but in proportion to the rest of the body. Never flat or barrel-shaped. the rear ribs reaching well down to the tuck up of the loins. The measurement of the chest immediately behind the elbows smaller than a hands breadth behind the elbows so the upper arm has reach and freedom of movement, ( this one always amuses me as everybody has different sized hands, so what if you have little dainty hands or on the other scale hand like a lumber jack, well I was once told the average is four inches ,so if you keep that in mind and make sure it is all in proportion it should be ok.
The dog should have a strong short back (bitches can be a little longer) but they must not arch or dip in the middle, the loin should be wide and slightly arched: croup wide and amply long, not too heavy or too sloping, starting on a level with the back then sloping progressively to the tail. Skin should not fit to loosely or fold,(as say a Shar-pei )
Now to the rear or hind quarters, the hips should be broad and falling slightly to the tail, thighs strong but well muscled, stifles well bent and with a good second thigh, the hocks shuold be square to the body and slightly bent, they must not turn in (cow hocks) or out (bow legged) and pasterns must be nearly upright.
Now we come to the footsies, these should be compact, close knit and spoon shaped (but which spoon, teaspoon, soupspoon, or desertspoon) I prefer soupspoon shaped or cat like, well padded, and they should not turn in or out and the toes should be well arched with strong nails, kept well manicured.
Now to the part that tells you whether he is happy or sad, the tail, This starts high and thick then growing gradually thinner, it should be docked too two-fifths to half its length, as is customary in this country. I find that when quiet the tail is carried down and when moving it is horizontal, it should never be held high or bent over the back, but some males, when strutting there stuff around other strange dogs will carry it higher then they should.
Movement in the Germanshorthaired pointer should be smooth and stealth like and as the pace increases from a walk to a trot the legs converge under the body (this is called single tracking) this should be so in all larger gundog breeds. Forelegs should reach well ahead and hindlegs should drive with what I call a strong piston action, covering plenty of ground with each stride.
The jacket on the Germanshorthaired pointer should be short and flat with a coarse feel to it, it can be longer under the tail.
Colours(no tricolours) Solid liver, liver and white spotted, liver and white spotted and ticked, liver and white ticked, solid black with the same variations as liver.
The height in bitches minimum 21ins(53cm) maximum 23ins(58cms) and in dogs minimum 23ins(58cm) and maximum 25ins(64cm) at the shoulders (withers)
Dogs must also have two normal testicles fully down into the scrotum.
Any departure from the afore mentioned points should be considered as a fault, and should be seen to the degree of that.