Meet the German Shorthaired Pointer

The active and smart German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) has recently joined the Breed Archive platform.

It is believed that ancestors of the German Shorthaired Pointer were used for the hunt with nets on feathered game. The precise origin of the breed is unclear though, but it is likely that its ancestors include the Spanish Pointer, German bird dogs and an infusion of English Pointer for speed.

The name pointer comes from the dog's instinct to point, by stopping and aiming its body and muzzle towards game. The GSP is a versatile hunting breed, suitable for both land and water, referred as a "jack of all trades" because of its ability to hunt, point and retrieve.

German Shorthaired Pointers are friendly, energetic dogs, willing to please. They are streamlined yet powerful with strong legs and moderately long floppy ears set high on the head.

This elegant hunting dog is strongly represented in the trend sports of canicross and bikejöring, but also in sled dog sport, a sport in which one might not have expected him.