Pointer
The dog the pointing stance is named for: it freezes with one foot up and holds it until released. Bred for wide open going, and it covers ground fast.
Overview
The Pointer, sometimes called the English Pointer, is the classic pointing breed: it locates game and freezes, one foreleg raised and the body rigid, indicating direction. The behaviour is instinctive rather than trained, and puppies point at eight weeks.
It was developed in England from the seventeenth century and it is built for covering enormous ground at speed, which is the practical thing to understand about owning one.
Temperament
Even tempered, affectionate and enormously energetic. Pointers are good with children, sociable with other dogs, and they are not guard dogs.
They are sensitive and respond badly to harsh handling. They are also relentless: a Pointer was bred to quarter a moor all day and it does not settle without real exercise. They can be aloof with strangers and they are gentle in the house once tired.
Care and grooming
A short hard coat, a weekly rub down, moderate shedding. Very easy.
Hip dysplasia, entropion and cherry eye occur. Neurotropic osteopathy, a rare inherited condition, is documented in the breed. Twelve to seventeen years is unusually long for a dog this size.
Living and exercise
Two hours a day minimum with room to run flat out.
They have thin coats and feel the cold. This is a superb dog for a runner, a rider or a rough shooter, and a genuinely poor one for anyone with a small garden and a busy schedule.
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