6h • Breed of the Week
English Pointer
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The English Pointer is also referred to as Pointer and is a gundog from, you guessed it, England. It is believed that the English Pointer may have originated from the Old Spanish Pointer, which were larger and heavier than the modern Pointer.
In a book titled “The True Pointer and His Ancient Heritage” writers W. Enos Phillips and William Arkwright theorized that the Pointer is one of the oldest breeds and makes a statement based on a 3,000 year old Egyptian tomb in Thebes that has an image of what looks to be a hunting dog with “…a tail or this particular construction” which he, Phillips, points out is similar to the “…proper specimen of today”.
It should also be noted that William Arkwright also has some writings with A.F. Hochwalt about the English Pointer where Arkwright states “The brachs that point (bracchi da ferma) should be spotted and dappled with bright tawny, and have large ears, long muzzle, black nose, feet spurred (spronati), hind legs well bent, and tail fine. To make use of them with the gun, it is necessary that these dogs be steady on point, nor ever flush the game that they have found, so that the sportsman, by carefully circling round his dog with arquebus before the game is sprung, may obtain a shot” (Arkwright, p.53)
**I did mention Brachs/Braques in my GSP entry**
Then there is Danny Seymour, Judges’ Education Chair of the American Pointer Club, who states that the original Pointer was the Spanish Pointer and existed throughout the European continent. This breed arrived in England around 1650 and before the invention of firearms they were used to locate hares for Greyhounds to further pursue.
It is thought that the English Pointer were Spanish Pointers crossed with Foxhound, Greyhound and Bloodhound. In the mid-1800s dog shows were really starting to take off and with that came finding the best of the best within a breed. Due to this efforts were made to refine the breed and part of that refinement was having the breed seek odor in the air rather than on the ground. The slight dished muzzle that is a notable physical characteristic of the breed is commonly called the Arkwright head.
The iconic “point” also has a term: cataleptic which means “a result of the dog’s muscular rigidity and fixity of posture”. The breed’s ability to do this even behind another dog did not go unnoticed. They are even able to do so for extended periods of time which was beneficial, especially in the early age of firearms when reload times were longer than they are now.
The English Pointer was brought to the United States by the mid-1800s and became popular very quickly and for good reason. Even by the age of two months puppies would demonstrate a hunting instinct and pointing ability.
At Westminster’s first show 200 Pointers showed up and were one of the first eight breeds registered in the United States in 1878 and recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1884 when it was founded.
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English Pointer
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