JUDGING THE German Shorthaired Pointer
by Patte tituS, debbie KinG & ChriSty FeatherSton German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America
J udging the GSP should be simple because the breed is not extreme and does not place emphasis on one or two specific attributes. It is first and foremost an athletic, hard work- ing gun dog and should be considered as such when its structure and movement are being evaluated. A medium sized breed, the Shorthair should be balanced front and rear with every aspect of its structure care- fully thought out for it to do the multiple jobs for which it was developed. Temperament is of utmost importance for a dog to work well with people and oth- er dogs. Th ey should exhibit confidence, intelligence and a willingness to please. In the field, they should show a keen enthusi- asm for work, with assertive, bold and for- ward movement. Confident dogs will not exhibit nervousness, tucked tails or be shy. In the show ring, look for the confident dog moving with a purpose. Fault finding when judging potential breeding stock is non-productive both in the ring and in the whelping box; rather, look for the positives, i.e. breed type and soundness when moving. As you view the whole dog, look for size, balance and pro- portion. Is the bone in proportion, does the headpiece fit and correct for the dog’s sex? Note length of neck and legs in pro- portion to the body. Does it have a short firm back, correct tail set, tight feet, well let down hocks and is the dog in good condition? Underline and top line should not be parallel even on the dog that is slightly longer than tall. Th ere should be a slight slope from the base of the tail up to the withers and the coat should feel harsh to hand. Th e Head section of the Standard con- tains a lot of information, but the GSP is not a “head” breed, rather the attributes in this section are to produce a functional head with distinctive breed type. You are not looking for planes or boxes, descriptive terms in other sporting breed standards. Th e stop a ff ect is created by eyebrow place- ment and not within the bone structure.
Sophia flying around the agility course.
200 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , O CTOBER 2014
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