Unraveling the German Shorthaired Pointer Standard “SHORT BACK… STANDING OVER PLENTY OF GROUND.”
SUBMITTED BY MAXINE D. MOINIER, GSPCA JUDGES EDUCATION COORDINATOR
A ll Breed Standards are open to interpretation by the reader. Even clearly written Breed Standards can be difficult to understand. Standards were often written by horsemen, using terminology suitable for horses but perhaps not for dogs. In the AKC German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) Breed Standard, the statement “ …with a short back, but standing over plenty of ground ” causes much confusion, as it seems improbable that a dog could have both a short back and stand over plenty of ground. To understand the statement, one must consider the whole of the Standard. For example, under General Appearance: “ The German Short- haired Pointer is a versatile hunter, an all-purpose gun dog capable of high performance in field and water. The judgment of Shorthairs in the show ring reflects this basic characteristic. The overall picture which is created in the observer's eye is that of an aristocratic, well balanced, symmetrical animal with conformation indicating power, endurance and agility and a look of intelligence and animation. The dog is neither unduly small nor conspicuously large. It gives the impression of medium size, but is like the proper hunter, ‘ with a short back, but standing over plenty of ground. ’” [Emphasis added.] When reading these sentences: “The dog is neither unduly small nor conspicuously large. It gives the impression of medium size, but is like a proper hunter ‘with a short back, but standing over plenty of ground,’” Georgina Byrne (Der Deutsch-Kurzhaar) describes the GSP by referencing the type of horse used for hunting with pack hounds. The reason for this reference is because, like GSPs, horses used for hunting with a pack of dogs need to be nimble yet powerful. Short-backed horses tend to perform better at this function. How- ever, short-backed horses with straight angulation in the rear (like draft horses) do not. Hence, the likely addition of “standing over plenty of ground” to describe the front and rear angulation required to be an athletic hunting dog.
“THE GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER IS A VERSATILE HUNTER, AN ALL-PURPOSE GUN DOG CAPABLE OF HIGH PERFORMANCE IN FIELD AND WATER.”
314 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2022
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