The German Shorthaired Pointer Dog’s Appearance
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Height at the withers: Males 58 – 64 cm, Females 53 – 59 cm
Average weight: Males 25 – 32 kg, Females 20 – 27 kg
The German Shorthaired Pointer has a noble look. They are strong and powerful, yet athletic, always on the alert which are just some of the reasons why they have always been so highly prized as working dogs in the field. They are well-proportioned and boast having nice broad heads. When viewed from the side, they have well-defined stops which are enhanced by a dog’s charming eyebrows.
Muzzles are moderately long rising slightly from the tip to a dog’s forehead a trait that is more pronounced in males than in their female counterparts. They have well developed lips without them being too over hung. Their noses are brown or black depending on the colour of a dog’s coat and they have wide open nostrils. Eyes are medium in size and can be various shades of brown to match a dog’s coat colour. GSPs always have an intelligent, gentle look about their eyes.
Their ears are set high being broad and hanging close to a dog’s head without having a pronounced fold in them. They are rounded at the tips and quite long, reaching to the corners of a dog’s mouth when they fall forward. The German Shorthaired Pointer has a strong jaw with a perfect scissor bite where their upper teeth neatly overlap their lower ones. Their necks are quite long and well-muscled being slightly arched and thicker at the shoulders than at a dog’s nape. Shoulders are muscular and sloping. Their front legs are lean, straight and well-muscled without showing too much bone.
The GSP has a very athletic body with a deep chest that’s not too wide. Ribs are also deep and very well sprung being nicely let down which adds to a dog’s athletic appearance. They have wide and slightly arched loins and wide, long croups with dogs having level backs that gently slop towards the tail. Bellies are nicely tucked up. Their hindquarters are powerful and strong with dogs having broad, wide hips that fall away to the tail. Back legs are well muscled and strong with well-developed thighs. Their feet are compact and well-padded with close knit toes and strong dark nails. They have moderately long tails which are thicker at the base before tapering to the tip which dogs carry horizontally or just below the level of their backs.
When it comes to their coat, the German Shorthaired Pointer boasts having a short, close lying coarse coat with the hair being slightly longer under their tails. The accepted breed colours for Kennel Club registration are as follows:
- Black & White
- Black & White Spotted
- Black & White Spotted & Ticked
- Black & White Ticked
- Liver & White
- Liver & White Spotted
- Liver & White Spotted & Ticked
- Liver & White Ticked
- Liver Ticked
- Solid Black
- Solid Liver
Gait/movement
When a German Shorthaired Pointer moves, they do so elegantly with a smooth and light action covering a lot of ground when they do. The faster they move, the more they single track with their front legs having a far reach gait and a lot of propulsion from behind.
Faults
The Kennel Club frowns on any sort of exaggeration or departure from the breed standard and would judge any faults on how much they affect the overall health and wellbeing of a GSP as well as their ability to perform and work.
Males should have both testicles fully descended into their scrotums and it is worth noting that dogs can be a little lighter or heavier as well as slightly shorter or taller than stated in the Kennel Club breed standard which is given as a guideline only.