Dog Breed Guide
German Wirehaired Pointer
Profile
- Size
- Large
- Country of origin
- Germany
- Origin
- 19th century
- Bred for
- Versatile hunting
- Height
- male 61 - 68cm (24 - 27in), female 57 - 64cm (22 - 25in)
- Weight
- 23 - 32kg (51 - 71lb)
- Life span
- 12 - 14 years
A hunting dog with a harsh, wiry coat and furnishings that look like a mustache, beard and eyebrows. Under the coat is a dense undercoat that repels water and protects the dog from cold water and thorny brush. Liver (brown) and white is the most common color.
Smart, brave and highly driven to work, it is loyal and affectionate with its family but wary of strangers and has the makings of a watchdog. It also has an independent streak and likes to think for itself.
As an all-purpose gundog that works on land and in water, it has very high exercise needs. A setting where it can run hard every day and swim is ideal. The wiry coat sheds relatively little and is not much trouble to care for.
Good to know
In German it is called the Deutsch Drahthaar, "German wire-hair." It was developed in late 19th-century Germany by crossing the German Shorthaired Pointer with wire-coated gundogs such as the Pudelpointer and griffons. A harsh coat was chosen so that it could work on rough ground, in thorny thickets and in cold water.
In Germany it remains extremely popular as a working gundog. German breed clubs still hold to a policy of breeding only dogs that pass rigorous tests of real hunting ability, not just appearance.
The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1959. The German Wirehaired Pointer bred in the United States and the Drahthaar bred in Germany share the same ancestors but are now sometimes treated as separate lines.