Compared to many hunting dogs, there is not a lot of information in standard dog sites about the German Wirehaired Pointer or their hunting abilities.

This is mainly due to them being a relatively new breed. While known in Germany in the late 1800’s the exact origin is as lot more murky. They were bred to be a all round hunter on any terrain in Germany. The idea was to get the best hunting skills of the pointer poodle and foxhound – but not necessarily incorporate these breeds directly into the dog.   They are actually bred from the Deutsch Drahthaar dog breed.. while other sites suggest that the wirehaired pointer is a cross of thet German Shorthair Pointer, Griffon and Stichelhaar (cross of Pointer, Foxhound, Pudelpointer, and Polish water dog) and the Pudelpointer (cross of Poodle and Pointer).

They were meant to be a super dog that would hunt on land and water in any condition after any prey.

They share similarities with the more common German short-haired pointer (but had different founding stock) they are also larger in body, head shape and temperament

You can see from the many founding breeds that this dog will have many diffeent hunting traits in its bloodline. The major ‘improvement’ that breeders were seeking over the standard shorthaired pointer was that the coat would allow them to hunt in greater (cold) weather extremes and the roughness of the coat would protect them from ripping their skin that would often happen with the short haired pointer when running through thick scrub.

German wire haired pointer HUNTING SKILLS

• All of the ones from the founding breeds, but in particular:
• Great ability to point and retrieve on land and in water
• Great endurance (which becomes a problem when they are used as a domestic pet dog)
• This dog is a prolific swimmer (a lot of the standard poodle skills )
• Because of the great utility of this dog they are often preferred for Search and rescue
• This dog comes from some independient hunting stock so training needs to be firm but fair. They love completing tasks and mental stimulation and without this or without direction can get up to mischief on a hunt or at home.

German wire haired pointer at home

If you have a lot of time and are active and jog and swim daily and can talk your dog on these adventures then get a German wire haired pointer.

The dogs have an independent streak and are a hunter, so you will want to introduce them slowly to the family and probably not have cats or other small animals.

These dogs are loyal with a great personality, but again that can change if they are not sufficiently exercised. The world is a work task for them and they love to please, so make sure that if you get injured you still have plans to be able to daily take your dog out on a social off lead explore.

It is worth noting here, that with many high energy high endurance hunting dog breeds, you might be better off having another breed that looks similar for your home, but has less exercise requirements. It might sound a stretch but a lab cross schnauzer has a similar look to these dogs, albeit they are usually a bit smaller.