German Shorthaired Pointer | Dog Breed Facts and Information - Wag! Dog Walking (2024)

Purpose

general hunting

Date of Origin

1600s

Ancestry

german bird dog, spanish pointers, bloodhounds

Brushes for German Shorthaired Pointer

Brushing Frequency

Activity Level

Rec. Walk Mileage Per Week

14 miles

Minutes of Activity Per Day

90 minutes

Cups Per Day

2.8 cups

Daily Cost

$1.20 - $1.40

Monthly Cost

$34.00 - $45.00

6 Months

12 Months

18 Months

Pastimes

Josey, in her younger years, was an adequate pheasant hunter, a killer of squirrels, a fun dog to be play with and train.

2years, 10months ago

Pastimes

Need lots of exercise! Not a breed for non-active owners. Talks a lot and has separation anxiety!

6years, 6months ago

Pastimes

The best breed I have worked with--but you have to have lots of room. I live in a rural subdivision, with an acre lot, and 50 acre common area park, and lots of very rural roads, where Cocoa averages about 30 MILES weekly. She is 6 years old now, and averages between 52 and 54 lbs all the time.

6years, 6months ago

Pastimes

The German Shorthaired Pointer can be VERY excitable. They are a sweet, nice dog but definitely need a lot of exercise and need to be run regularly. Walking them can be a bit of a challenge because they pull and like to chase anything that moves. They would be a good running companion and enjoy playing fetch and getting a lot of time outdoors. They are sweet dogs but definitely require a lot of time, care and outside space.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

German Shorthaired Pointers are definitely one of the most intelligent breeds. They are easily trained and very loyal to their family. They have a hypersensitive nose and love sniffing on walks. German Shorthaired Pointers have a lot of energy and could play fetch with a tennis ball for hours on end. They also love swimming. Due to their energy and their propensity to pull, a pronged collar is most ideal for them to wear on walks. Although they love people, German Shorthaired Pointers can sometimes be indifferent to other dogs. Even though they have a lot of energy, at the end of the day they're happy to lay on the couch and get some head rubs.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

The temperament of dogs can be affected by different factors, including heredity, training, and socialization.[4] The German Shorthaired Pointer was developed to be a dog suited for family life, as well as a versatile hunter. Therefore its temperament is that of an intelligent, bold, boisterous, eccentric, and characteristically affectionate dog that is cooperative and easily trained. This breed is smart, friendly, willing, and enthusiastic.[4] The GSP is usually good with children, although care should be taken because the breed can be boisterous especially when young. These dogs love interaction with humans and are suitable pets for active families who will give them an outlet for their considerable energy; they must be avidly run multiple times a week. The breed should be socialized, which includes exposure to different people, sights, sounds, and experiences when they are young.[4] This early socializing will help to ensure that your German Shorthaired Pointer puppy will grow up to be a well-rounded dog. An important part of training would be to enroll your dog into a training class.[4] Most German Shorthaired Pointers make excellent watchdogs. The breed generally gets along well with other dogs, though females appear to be much more dominant during interbreed interaction. A strong hunting instinct is correct for the breed, which is not always good for other small pets such as cats or rabbits.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

Had a wonderful time with this dog very obedient love to run and walk and play very enjoyable time

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

My experience with this breed was that they have a lot of energy and a lot of continuous training that is needed. They are so high maintenance but are quick learners. They do love their exercise and love to get attention. This particular breed is very friendly, protective, and love to have company, as any other pup. It was really easy during the walk to tire them out because you can run and jog with them and they will enjoy it.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

I walked a German Shorthaired Pointer recently that lives on a house boat in Seattle, sharing my name, Max. He was relatively young and obviously a bit frightened of me. Max peed on the floor a couple times when we were doing the dance around the house trying to get his harness on. I think that he was not a fan of sudden movements. The second the harness was attached, we were ready to be on our way. He was excited to get outside and get some fresh air. Pointers are happy dogs when exercising. They will gladly return a ball you throw. They like long walks and hikes in the woods. Max was not aggressive towards others and I think that is a good indication of how other Pointers act.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

Kona was extremely high energy. The first time we met she was very stand offish. Very scary attitude. The first walk we had was almost impossible. She saw every single squirrel or bunny that could be found. The pulling towards those animals kept me on my toes. Barely. German Shorthaired Pointer is a two handed walk. Keep tight control. The GSP did not listen. She constantly fought for control. I walked her on a recurring basis for well over a month or two. She became a little more controllable as the walks went on. The GSP was so excited when I came to the house each time. It took time to get her calmed down so that I could get her leash on. I am not saying that the GSP is a bad dog. That is far from it. She is very lovable after the walk. She just needs to get some energy out on a daily basis.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

Walking this pup was an adventure. He pooped in a bush and liked sniffing everything. He had lots of energy and loved the ocean air. We got to walk along a pier and he didn’t seem afraid at all to walk above the sand. He was very friendly and wanted to say hi to the other people who would pass by. He gave kisses and loved being pet. When we got home he didn’t want me to leave. I enjoyed walking him and I would love to walk this breed again

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

Lots of energy. Especially during fetching, he was completely addicted to the ball. So much so that when I try to hold the ball while walking, he will continually jump up at my hand to try to get it. Overall, quite responsive though. I could let him off the leash and although he might get distracted by a puddle or smell from time to time, he stayed focused on my commands. Great personality. Very loving and not aggressive. From the first time I met him, he was never hostile towards me. Over-excited, but never aggressive. His size is also pretty ideal. I've also never seen him act aggressively towards other dogs. In fact, he isn't typically interested in socializing with other dogs. He will whine a little but rarely barks. He would rather focus on fetching the ball. While walking, he stays focused on the path ahead and will only stop occasionally to smell. He is pretty dependent on attention. He always has an excess of energy when I greet him and whines with sadness when I leave. He definitely has separation anxiety. Makes it hard to leave him :( Grooming wise, his short hair seems to make him not too messy of a pet. He was well trained, so I imagine the owners took the time to make sure he was trained properly.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

I had a good experience walking a German Shorthaired Pointer. He was very excitable and was more than ready to get going on his walk! Very intelligent…he knew exactly what to do when it was time to get ready. He seemed pretty skittish on the walk and was distracted by every smell and noise. He didn’t pull too much, though, and clearly loved being outside in the snow. It was so cute to see him jump around and play. He had lots of energy and didn’t seem to tire during our short 30 minute walk. When we finally got home, he knew it was time to go back in his crate but I could tell he didn’t want to! After some love and bribing with a bone, he finally wandered back in.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

The German Wirehaired Pointer that I walked was SO ready to go the moment that I arrived. I got her suited up, leashed, and out the door with relative easy. She was very interested in sniffing everything and this combined with her seemingly endless energy made her quite the puller. Despite her lack of leash skills, she had been otherwise trained quite well and could easily run through the basic tricks. She was very alert and bright-eyed, but is not altogether personable upon the first meeting. I suspect that if she had a regular walker that she could really bond with that her skills could improve quite rapidly. She's obviously smart and has the motivation and energy in order to absorb new information quite easily.

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

All of them have had a LOT of energy! Also they're very smart! While this one dog was boarding with us, he had to have a cage within a cage just to keep him contained. He was very smart and didn't want to be contained and he could always find a way to escape. He had a lot of energy and was always running around! He didn't really play with the other dogs but he chased them. For the most part he was the fun police, if other dogs were having too much fun he would go and try and break it up haha! Even after a full day of playing with dogs he still had a lot of energy I would throw the ball about twenty times and he still wasn't tired. That was his favorite past time probably! Whenever he saw me playing fetch with another dog he would start whining and his cries were soooo dramatic it was so funny. He had so much personality! But usually with this breed that I've experienced is that they have a lot of energy and instead of playing with other dogs they just run and sniff and maybe chase here and there but are very smart and will try and break away from being contained!

6years, 5months ago

Pastimes

Theo has been a great running, hiking, hunting, road tripping, camping, and overall adventurer. He has adapted to everything we have thrown at him, moving from an apartment to a house out in the country, multiple week long road trips, and having young children hang on his neck. He isn't as hyper as a lot of shorthairs I have seen, he seems to be pretty calm (maybe from all the exercise) and gets along great with dogs and people. He seems to know which ones to leave alone. He doesn't chase wild animals unless given the "okay" command. I did have to put a lot of training into him so that he wouldn't chase or ignore commands. I grew up with shorthairs and know they can be a handful if not properly trained. Walking on a leash is still a process, some days he doesn't pull and other days he needs a few reminders of where he is supposed to be. He is still a dog after all. Overall I love the breed they have such soft eyes and big hearts.

6years, 3months ago