German Longhaired Pointer

Long-coated bird dogs have been used in the German states for centuries, developed from old European water dogs and hawking spaniels that pointed game for nets and falcons before the shotgun made pointing a shooting technique. Regional strains varied widely in size, colour and style, and there was no single type until German hunters began to organise their breeding in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Deliberate selection under a written scheme began in 1879, when a group of breeders agreed a standard at a show in Hanover, and a breed club, the Deutsch-Langhaar-Verband, followed in 1893. The founders' aim was a versatile dog rather than a specialist: one animal that could quarter and point in the field, track wounded game through woodland, and retrieve waterfowl. Crosses with setters were used sparingly to refine the coat and the pointing style while keeping the heavier German frame.

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale accepted the breed definitively in 1954 and places it in Group 7 among the continental pointing dogs. The Deutsch Langhaar remains uncommon even in Germany, accounting for well under one percent of registrations, and it is rare elsewhere; The Kennel Club recognises it in the Gundog Group and the American Kennel Club lists it in the Foundation Stock Service. The German parent club still requires performance testing before a dog can be bred, which is the main reason working ability has been preserved.

This is a substantial gundog: males stand roughly twenty-four to twenty-eight inches at the withers and females about twenty-three to twenty-six, with weight commonly between fifty-five and eighty pounds. The build is strong and muscular rather than light, with a long head, a moderate stop, a broad nose and long, wide, high-set ears that hang flat against the head. The tail is carried level, well feathered, and is often docked in countries where that is still permitted.

The coat is the defining feature: firm, close-lying hair of about an inch and a half on the body, with a dense undercoat, and clear feathering on the ears, the backs of the legs, the underside and the tail. Colours are brown, brown with white markings, brown roan in light or dark shades, and trout-coloured patterning, and small white patches on chest and toes are acceptable. The coat is genuinely weatherproof, which is why the breed works comfortably in cold water and thorny cover.

The Deutsch Langhaar has a reputation for being the steadiest of the German pointers. It is even-tempered, sociable with people and dogs, notably attached to its own family, and less prone to the restless intensity that can make a Kurzhaar or a Vizsla hard work in the house. Breed club literature emphasises a calm and friendly disposition, and sharpness or nervousness is treated as a fault.

That calmness is relative, not absolute. This is a dog bred to hunt all day across fields and marsh, and it has both the stamina and the drive to match. Without real exercise and something to think about it becomes restless and destructive, and its hunting instinct means an unfenced garden or a poor recall will end with the dog following its nose across the countryside. Small pets and poultry may be treated as game.

Toward strangers it is friendly but not effusive, and it will bark to announce arrivals without much interest in confrontation, so it is a reasonable alarm dog and a poor guard. It bonds closely to one household and does not enjoy long solitude. With children it is usually patient and reliable, though a large, enthusiastic gundog needs supervision around small ones.

The breed exists to be a complete hunting dog. It quarters ground methodically and points game birds, holds steady to the flush, takes a blood trail after the shot to find wounded deer or boar, and retrieves tenderly from thick cover and cold water. German testing systems assess exactly these tasks, and a Deutsch Langhaar is expected to demonstrate them before it is bred from, which keeps the working type intact.

In countries where it is kept as a companion, its versatility translates well to modern dog sports: field trials and hunt tests, tracking, scentwork, obedience, agility and dock diving all suit it. It also makes an excellent long-distance walking, running or hiking partner. It is not suited to apartment living or to owners who want a low-exercise family dog, however handsome and steady it looks.