The German Roughhaired Pointer, more commonly known and internationally recognized as the Deutsch Stichelhaar is a medium-sized
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 ...
of
pointing dog
Pointing dogs, sometimes called bird dogs, are a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name ''pointer'' comes from the dog's inst ...
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 ...
.
History
In the early 19th-century there were several varieties of rough-haired pointers found throughout Germany, with few attempts at standardising them as breeds. At some point in the development of the German Roughhaired Pointer
old German shepherd dog blood was introduced; the word stichelhaariger in the breed name translates to rough-haired, reflective of this blood. Nearly extinct by the middle of the century the Roughhaired Pointer was saved through the efforts of a single breeder and in the second half of the century serious attempts were made to standardise the type and by the end of the century it was accepted as a district breed.
The German Roughhaired Pointer has never been as popular as the other German pointer breeds and is rarely if ever seen outside of Germany.
Description
The German Roughhaired Pointer is a medium-sized breed; their appearance is very similar to the more numerous
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
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (also called the Korthals Griffon and the Griffon d'arrêt à poil dur Korthals in France and Quebec) is a breed of dog used in hunting as a gundog. It is sometimes considered to be Dutch in ancestry, due to ...
. Their overall appearance is robust without being overly heavy. The
breed standard
In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...
states they stand between , with dogs standing between and bitches between .
The principal difference between the breed and the German Wirehaired Pointer is the head. It is heavier and broader, a trait it inherited from its shepherd forebears; it has hanging ears and particularly long eyebrows that give it an almost threatening appearance. The breed's stiff, harsh and bristly coat is usually long; they can be solid brown, brown roan or light roan in colour. Some have a white patch on their chest whilst some roan examples also have brown patches in their coats.
The breed is known to be particularly aggressive towards predatory animals and wary of strangers.
See also
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Dogs portal
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List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties and dog type, types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stichelhaar (Dog)
Gundogs
FCI breeds
Dog breeds originating in Germany
Rare dog breeds