Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Pointer Breed Overview
- History of the Pointer Breed. Where Pointers came from
- What the Pointer Looks Like
- How Much is the Pointer Puppy?
- Best Pointer Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Pointer
- Pointer Growth
- What Colors do Pointers Have?
- The Temperament of the Pointer
- Pointer Litter Size
- How Fast Pointers Can Run
- Good Names for Pointers
- How Intelligent are Pointers?
- How Popular are Pointers with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Pointers and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Pointer
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Pointers
- Other Things to Know About Pointers
Pointer Breed Overview
The Pointer is a medium-sized dog.
The adult Pointer stands 1 foot, 11 inches to 2 feet, 4 inches tall at the .
The Pointer belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Pointer, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game. Some sporting dog breeds such as Retrievers, which were built for swimming, were bred to hunt waterfowl in water.
Whereas sporting dog breeds like setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds were bred to hunt quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest on grasslands.
Many Sporting Group breeds have thick, water-repellent coats that protect them from harsh hunting conditions.
The fact that the Pointer belongs to the Sporting Dogs group is one of the reasons why Pointers have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Pointer is generally described as:
- Active
- Affectionate
- Amiable
- Even Tempered
- Kind
- Loyal
History of the Pointer Breed. Where Pointers came from
Pointers are a type of gun dog that is used to finding game birds.
The Pointer is a descendants of the English Foxhound and was originally bred in England in the 17th century.
They were bred to point out where the game was hiding, as well as to retrieve the bird once it was shot.
Pointers were first brought to America in the late 1800s and have since become one of the most popular breeds of gun dogs.
They are known for their hunting ability, as well as their loyalty and affectionate nature.
Pointers make great companions for both hunters and non-hunters alike.
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What the Pointer Looks Like
Pointers are medium to large sized dogs that were originally bred for hunting.
They have a lean, muscular build and are known for their athleticism.
Pointers are also distinguished by their long, pointed noses.
This feature gives them their name, as it allows them to sniff out game more effectively.
Pointers come in a variety of colors, but the most common are black and white, liver and white, and orange and white.
They are loyal and affectionate dogs that make great companions.
Pointers are relatively active dogs, and they need plenty of exercise to stay healthy and happy.
If you`re looking for a dog that will keep you active, a Pointer may be the perfect breed for you.
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How Much is the Pointer Puppy?
The average price of a Pointer puppy is $890. The price of a Pointer puppy ranges from $800 to $800.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Pointer. These factors include what health records the Pointer puppy has, the lineage of the Pointer puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Pointer based on the many factors that determine the price of the Pointer puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Pointer puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Pointer breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Pointer Breeders
We have researched reputable Pointer breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Pointer breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Debra Freidus
Puppy Price: $1500.00
AUNDI GRONDAHL
Puppy Price: $1,500
Lee Ann Stagg–Penpoint Pointers
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Playlist
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Racecity Pointers
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Pointer
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Pointers included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Pointer named Max that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Pointers like Max on pefinder.com.
Russ is the name of another Pointer (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Pointers that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Pointer Growth
New Pointer owners need to know about the growth of their Pointers. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Pointer will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Pointer early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Pointer puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Pointer at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Pointer
What Colors do Pointers Have?
Pointers come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- Gray / Blue / Silver
- White / Cream
- Brown / Chocolate
- Black
- Red / Chestnut / Orange
- Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
- Merle (Blue)
- Bicolor
Pointers come in the following lovely secondary colors in addition to their primary colors:
- White / Cream
- Brown / Chocolate
- Red / Chestnut / Orange
- Black
- Yellow / Tan / Blond / Fawn
- Gray / Blue / Silver
The Temperament of the Pointer
The temperament of the Pointer based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Pointer for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Pointer here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Dog Directed Fear | 9.7 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 9.7 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 54.3 percent |
| Energy Level | 54.0 percent |
| Excitability | 49.0 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 48.1 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 41.3 percent |
| Prey Drive | 29.6 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 23.5 percent |
| Stubbornness | 19.6 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 17.9 percent |
| Stranger Directed Fear | 11.5 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 0.3 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 0.0 percent |
Pointer Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 83 different Pointer birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Pointers can have is 7 puppies. Also, the Pointer can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 12 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Pointer will have depends on factors such as the age of the Pointer, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Pointer will have and how the litter size of the Pointer compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Pointers Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 72 different Pointers, the average speed of the Pointer is 24.3 mph (39.1 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Pointer ran in a race is 28.79 mph (46.3 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Pointer is 17.67 mph (28.4 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Pointer compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Pointers
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Pointer ranked by popularity:
- Dude
- Fisher
- Mac
- Preston
- Snoopy
- Spooky
- Remy
- Watts
- Dennis
- Jake
How Intelligent are Pointers?
| Pointer | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 43 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 25 To 40 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Pointer has an obedience intelligence rank of 43 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Pointers in the `Average Working/Obedience Intelligence Dogs` category.
This means that Pointers tend to learn new commands after 25 to 40 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Labrador Retriever | 7 |
| German Shorthaired Pointer | 17 |
| English Cocker Spaniel | 18 |
| Belgian Malinois | 22 |
| Manchester Terrier | 32 |
| Bedlington Terrier | 40 |
| Kuvasz | 42 |
| Finnish Spitz | 43 |
| Boxer | 48 |
| Ibizan Hound | 53 |
| Akita | 54 |
| Skye Terrier | 55 |
| Pug | 57 |
| Maltese | 59 |
| Chinese Crested | 61 |
| Dandie Dinmont Terrier | 62 |
| Lhasa Apso | 68 |
| Pekingese | 73 |
| Bloodhound | 74 |
| Chow Chow | 76 |
How Popular are Pointers with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Pointer.
The popularity of the Pointer averaged over the years is Number 115 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Pointers and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Pointer is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Pointer puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Pointer breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Pointers for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Pointers here.
How to Take Care of Pointer
To take good care of your Pointer, you need to make sure that you groom your Pointer regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Pointer regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Pointer`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Pointer daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Pointer.
Also, you need to feed your Pointer high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Pointer from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Pointer and how much food to feed the Pointer at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Pointer has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Pointer needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Pointers
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Pointer.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Pointer:
- German Shorthaired Pointer (81 percent match with Pointer). Learn more about the German Shorthaired Pointer here.
- English Springer Spaniel (75 percent match with Pointer). Learn more about the English Springer Spaniel here.
- Field Spaniel (77 percent match with Pointer). Learn more about the Field Spaniel here.
- Flat-Coated Retriever (75 percent match with Pointer). Learn more about the Flat-Coated Retriever here.
Other Things to Know About Pointers
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Pointer that you need to know about the Pointer breed: