The German Longhaired Pointer is a German

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

gundog Gun dogs (gundogs) or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the wing (in flight). The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and sk ...

. It is closely related to the other German pointer breeds, the

German Shorthaired Pointer The German Shorthaired Pointer or is a German breed of continental pointing dog of Braque type. It originated in the nineteenth century in what is now Germany. It is of medium size, and is an all-purpose gun dog suitable for hunting and retrie ...

, the

German Wirehaired Pointer The German Wirehaired Pointer is a medium to large-sized Griffon (dog type), griffon type dog breed, breed of dog developed in the 19th century in Germany for versatile hunting. It became a leading gun dog in Germany in the later part of the 20th ...

and the

Large Münsterländer The Large Münsterländer or Großer Münsterländer is a modern German breed of continental pointing dog of spaniel type. It originated in Westphalia and Lower Saxony, and is named for the Münsterland region of northern Westphalia. It shares ...

Description

Appearance

It should be muscular, elegant, and athletic. It should not be bulky or cumbersome, and it should be able to move with great speed and freedom. It has moderate bone, but has substance, and must never look frail or weak. Like all German pointers, they have webbed feet. Puppies in their early years must be monitored for aggression.

Coat and color

The coat is medium length, about long on the body, with the feathering somewhat longer. The coat is slightly wavy, but must not be curly. It is not silky or soft, but rather firm and shiny. It always has a double coat, with the undercoat being quite dense, but not so profuse as to make the guard hairs stand out from the body. The color is solid brown with white permitted on the chest, paws, and down the top of the muzzle, or dark brown roan, with large patches of solid brown, especially on the head, ears, back, and base of the tail.

Size

The GLP is between at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

for males, and for females. It weighs approximately .

Gait

The strides should be long and free, with strong drive from the hindquarters, and good reach from the front.

Temperament

GLPs are a kind, gentle, friendly, and intelligent breed. They are very affectionate, and may experience

separation anxiety Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is an anxiety disorder in which an individual experiences excessive anxiety regarding separation from home and/or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (e.g., a parent, caregive ...

. They only make good pets when properly exercised, as they need a "job" to do, and do not adapt well to a sedentary life. The GLP is an excellent family pet, as it enjoys playing with children. It is very sociable with dogs.

Care

The GLP is very trainable, and loves to work. Because of this, it needs large amounts of exercise daily, needing more than most pet owners can give. It is not well suited for urban life, as it thrives on having plentiful room to run and swim. Its ideal setting would be in a rural area, with an active owner who hunts with the dog on a regular basis. GLPs need a moderate amount of grooming about once or twice a week. They are highly intelligent, very trainable, and athletic, traits which make them suitable for many

dog sport Dog sports are competitive activities specifically designed for dogs. Dogs typically participate in sports with the help of owners, although some dog sports do not require human participation. A 2015 survey found that dog owners of all classes pa ...

s, especially

field trial A field trial is a competitive event for gun dogs. Field trials are conducted for pointing dogs and setters, retrievers and spaniels, with each assessing the different Dog type, types various working traits. In the United States, field trials a ...

obedience Obedience, in human behavior, is a form of "social influence in which a person yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure". Obedience is generally distinguished from compliance, which some authors define as behavior infl ...

, and

agility Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's position quickly and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, and endurance. More specifically, it ...

Health

Because they are quite rare in most parts of the world, GLPs are unprofitable to irresponsible breeders such as

puppy mill A puppy mill, also known as a puppy farm, is a commercial dog breeding facility characterized by quick breeding and poor conditions. Although no standardized legal definition for "puppy mill" exists, a definition was established in ''Avenson v. ...

s and

backyard breeder Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation (using best linear unbiased prediction and other methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior ...

s, and do not have any

genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosome abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

s prevalent in the breed. Their ears are mildly prone to infection, a problem which is easily avoided by cleaning the dog's ears on a regular basis, as well as after swimming.

History

The GLP was developed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for use as a pointer. It was originally a rather slow dog, and was crossed with

setter The setter is a type of gundog used most often for hunting game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. In the UK, the four setter breeds, together with the pointers, usually form a subgroup within the gundog group as they share a common fun ...

s and English Pointers in the 19th century to improve speed. It was very stubborn and temperamental, and has since been bred for a steady, friendly temperament. It was first shown in 1878 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, at which time the first breed standard was written. Breeders then began to focus their efforts on producing dogs that performed equally well in the field and the show ring, an endeavour continued by breeders today. Function became preferred over form. As Karl Brandt, an early expert and theorist on this breed and its precursors, wrote in the ''llustrierten Jagdzeitung'' (1883) that: "At field competitions (trials), which should be part of breeding programs, the dogs will hopefully prove that they have not lost their natural hunting ability during the years when only looks dictated breeding" (''i.e,'' pre 1878.) five genealogical sires, constituting separate but parallel lines, are within the Longhair breed. Like most of the longhaired pointing breeds, the breed is descended from the point spaniel. One of the oldest of the "versatile breeds", it is but one of a few that disallow black as a color. The black-and-white

Large Munsterlander Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...

was split off from this breed after the black-and-white coloration was removed from the breed standard. It is a multipurpose field dog that combines: pointer, retriever (including water work), setter and tracker (of wounded game). Breeding lines have been recorded in the Foundation Stock Service since May 2010; and effective July 1, 2011 the breed is approved to compete in AKC Performance Events.

References

External links

German Longhaired Pointer
at

DMOZ DMOZ or DMoz (stylized dmoz in its logo; from ''directory.mozilla.org'', an earlier domain name) was a multilingual open-content directory of World Wide Web links. The site and community who maintained it were also known as the Open Directory P ...

German Longhaired Pointer Club
* * {{German dogs Dog breeds originating in Germany FCI breeds Gundogs Pointers Rare dog breeds