The Pointer
Many
have referred to this as the English pointer when;
in fact its correct title is the pointer. The
term English was added with the emergence of the
European pointing dogs to distinguish one from
another but to the purist it was and still is the
original pointer, used extensively by people like
the 18th century author and diarist,
Colonel Peter Hawker.
This is an elegant
dog of graceful lines and an excellent nose.
Unlike the European breeds of pointers, this is not
a natural retriever although they can be
successfully taught to retrieve. To use
a pointer on a grouse moor is truly an experience.
To watch them range until a mere dot in the
distance, to locate and hold a bird on point and
then to flush on command is a sight to savour.
The stance immortalised in paintings and engravings
is that of the classic gundog that is certainly
familiar to all involved with shooting sports
The origins of the pointer are a
little sketchy but it seems likely that the pointer
is a descendant of dogs referred to as “partridge
dogs” by Brumetho Latini, an Italian exiled in
France around 1260. The links to the partridge
dog are tenuous but we can be certain that the links
to the Spanish pointers that were introduced into
Norfolk in the South East of England in the early
1700s are more reliable and that these are the
forerunners of the pointer of today.
