Pet Healthipedia

Other names/Nicknames:

• Deutscher Drahthaariger Vorstehhund

Country/Date of origin:

• Germany
• 1900’s

Height:

• 22 to 26 inches

Weight:

• 45 to 70 pounds

Personality:

• Even-tempered and sensible.
• Boundless energy.
• Can become destructive if not given ample exercise.
• More often than not, this is a one-person dog.
• Intelligent and very trainable.
• Very suspicious of strangers.  Much more so than the German Shorthaired Pointer.

History;

German sportsmen do not favor a specialist hunter.  They want a dog that can do it all.  The German Wirehair can.  With great skill it does the work of a pointer, a retriever and a spaniel.  It tracks, points, and retrieves on land and water.  In a land where hunting for the table was important, it was bred not for speed or drive, but rather for thoroughness.  In the early 20th century, German sportsmen created a dog that would do all that the German Shorthaired Pointer could do but would have a coat more suited to working through brambles and briars.  In 1928, the new creation (obtained by adding some Pudelpointer and Wirehaired Pointing Griffon bloodlines to the German Shorthairs) was admitted to the German Kennel Club.  It was first introduced to the United States in the 1920’s with its brother breed but did not gain entry into the American Kennel Club stud books until 1955.

Body Type:

• Medium-sized, well-balanced, gun dog.
• Males and females differ considerably in size.
• Broad, hanging ears are not altered.
• Tail is docked to about 40% of its original length.
• Webbed feet to assist in water retrieving.

Coat:

• Coat is harsh and double.  Excellent water repellent qualities.
• Eyebrows, mustache, and beard are required.
• Allowable colors are solid liver or any combination of liver and white.
• Black and white coloration is permissible in Europe but not in the United States.
• Medium grooming requirements.
• Seasonal shedding of undercoat.

Health and Wellness:

• Hip dysplasia.
• Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).
• von Willebrand’s disease.
• Follicular dysplasia.

What you should know:

• Likes to roam.
• Noisier than most hunting breeds.
• Good with kids.