JUDGING CONFORMATION FOR FIELD ABILITY: THE GERMAN WIREHAIRED POINTER
A dog that isn’t balanced (equal angles—front and rear) will have inefficient movement and will tire out more quickly than a dog that is balanced, regardless of the amount of angle the dog has. Now, what about the all-important coat that breeders are con- stantly preaching about? Picture the dog with beautiful, long fur- nishings running through the sagebrush, thick brambles, or field of cockleburs. The hunter who owns that dog will spend the evening pulling, brushing, and cussing his dog’s coat. Or maybe there’s snow on the ground and it’s cold—the long furnishings will collect snowballs, possibly even between the toes, causing the dog to go lame. And when the dog with the soft coat goes into the freezing lake for a retrieve, the cold water will instantly hit his skin, making him very cold and very likely to stop working. The dog with the soft coat will also suffer more cuts and scratches, because tough brambles will cut right through his coat and to his skin. What about the dog that’s standing in your ring with the short- er, but wiry, coat and minimal furnishings? When he runs through the field of cockleburs, the burrs won’t stick to his coat, and the one or two persistent burrs that stick to him will most likely get pulled out by the dog himself while he’s riding in his crate at the end of the day. The hunter with this dog will be able to enjoy the evening relaxing with his dog. What if the shorter-coated dog has to do a water retrieve? Well, his wiry, dense coat will repel the water, similar to a Labrador Retriever (or a duck.) He will shake off the cold water when he gets to the shore and will be happy to continue hunting. And if he’s running through the snow, you can be sure he won’t be col- lecting “snowballs” in his coat! And his dense coat will act as a shield against the tough brush, so he won’t be all cut-up at the end of the day. And, let’s talk temperaments a while. Our ideal hunting dog will have a bold, confident personality so that he can work inde- pendently, at a distance from the hunter. A needy, insecure dog will stay too close to the hunter to be of any use in the field at all. And what about that dog that jumps out of his skin when he hears a loud noise outside the ring? He’s most likely sound-sensitive, which
“A dog that isn’t balanced (equal angles—front and rear) will have inefficient movement and will tire out more quickly than a dog that is balanced, regardless of the amount of angle the dog has.”
212 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2022
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