to complete the recipe for the ideal dog! Although this practice was not particularly something to be shouted from the rooftops, it is to what we owe the incredible characteristics of some of our modern-day breeds, including the Pointer.
THE POINTER’S RANGE OF SKILLS
The Pointer owes a good deal of the respect it enjoys among hunters to the popularity of what was called “wing-shooting” or shooting the game in the air. To accomplish this, a dog had first to locate the birds by scent and then alert the hunter to their presence by standing at point. When the hunter approached, or upon signal, the dog would flush out the covey and set the birds to wing. Although many breeds were accomplished at perhaps one of these skills, few could compare to Britain’s Pointer in the excellent manner in which they performed the entire range.
Perhaps the question of the Pointer’s country of origin will never be satisfactorily answered, but there is no doubt that the gene pool of its descendants is certainly diverse. Breed historians acknowledge that at least four crosses to other breeds were employed to bring about the Pointer as we know it today. The four breeds credited are the Greyhound, the Bloodhound, the Foxhound and, more surprisingly, the Bull Terrier.
This original painting of a Spanish Pointer by renowned dog artist Reinagle appeared in The Sportsman’s Cabinet in 1803.
At first reading, these crosses may seem to be somewhat bizarre choices. However, you will see how these crosses made perfect sense in our forefathers’ attempt to produce the ideal hunting dog. You will also see that these astute breeders had to take a bit of the bitter for the sake of the sweet. There are a number of problems resulting from these crosses that continue to haunt the breed today, many generations later.
This photo, circa 1930, was captioned “Pointers at School on the Moors.”
Nancolleth Billy Mischief was the name of this dog bred by Mrs. F. A. Rowe in 1931.
Rock of Ballymoy, a Pointer of the 1930s, was bred by Mr. G. Davies and owned by Mrs. M. V. Christian.
His Grace the Duke of Montrose was a renowned Pointer expert who owned one of the most important kennels in the breed. Two Pointers of his breeding are shown (foreground) in this photo taken at the 1930 Ulster Gun Trials.
REMARKABLE!
One of the most remarkable Pointers in the breed’s history was the dog Drake, who had been bred by Sir R. Garth and sold by him at what was then considered a “staggering figure” to Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price of Wales. The dog was then at the advanced age of seven years but was said to work the field far better than even puppies of the highest class. The speed at which he worked was such that he sent up a cloud of dust when he stopped to drop to the scent of game.
Let us look first at the Greyhound cross. There can be no doubt that the use of Greyhound blood gave the modern Pointer its speed, elegance and grace. The short sleek coat harkens back to the breed’s Greyhound ancestor, as does the long, well-arched neck, graceful underline and turn-on-the-spot agility. On the other hand, the Greyhound cross can plague the breeder with excessive refinement of head. A narrow front and rib cage, a tilted pelvis and excessive loin arch are also undesirable characteristics that sometimes appear in the Pointer.
The Pointer is not alone in its use of the ancient Bloodhound for its highly developed scenting ability and robust constitution. The undesirable features that accompanied those highly desirable Bloodhound characteristics, however, were the plodding movement, long rounded ears andstraight underline, with which Pointer breeders are still forced to contend.
Foxhound blood was also incorporated for scenting ability and easy maintenance. The well-developed rib cage and relentless endurance were positive assets as well. Such advantages were not without their price, however, as round bone, plain heads, long ropy tails carried vertically and houndy underlines plague the breed to this day.
There are probably few breeds more alert or persistent and determined than the Bull Terrier, and this is what the early Pointer breeders sought. However, the barrel chest, the overly broad front and the hard-bitten terrier eye and expression were contributions the Pointer did not need.
Despite such problems, the Pointer breed rapidly took shape, and the future of the breed was certainly given a major boost in the right direction by the aristocratic names who took up the breed: Lord Lichfield, the Duke of Kingston, Lord Mexborough and the Earl of Lauderdale, just to name a few.
Four early dogs are generally given credit for laying the foundation for all that was to come in the breed: Brocton’s Bounce, Stater’s Major, Whitehouse’s Hamlet and Garth’s Drake (who was said to be one-eighth Foxhound) were the names that dominated Pointer circles. Eng. Ch. Ranger, a dog owned by Mr. Newton, became the breed’s first bench champion, winning three first prizes at England’s premier events—Leeds and Birmingham in 1861, and the final award at Chelsea in 1863. Eng. Ch. Flash gained her title at Birmingham in 1865. The first field trial champion was Drake, born in 1868, bred and owned by Sir Richard Garth. Henry Sawtell bred and owned the breed’s first Dual Champion, Faskally Brag, who was also a sire of significant impact.
Stainton Startler was born in 1932 and won his first Challenge Certificate in 1933 at the Scottish Kennel Club Show.
Pennine Prima Donna, born in 1931, is not considered a champion despite having won 12 Challenge Certificates and even Best in Show (BIS) at Crufts.
In the end, British stockmanship produced an elegant animal, strikingly painted and blessed with exquisite balance and proportion. Of crucial importance was his unmatched ability to perform in the field. Here was a tenacious hunter willing to meet the demands of any job assigned to him. Descriptions such as “a paragon of the pointing breeds” and “a non-stop hunting machine” reverberated throughout the hillsides, sounding loud and clear across the English Channel to the rest of Europe and then across the Atlantic to America.
Jake’s Carolina Boy, an American-bred Pointer of the 1930s. He was owned by Miss Claudia Lea Phelps and won the Amateur Derby Stakes, held by the Pinehurst Field Trials Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
POINTERS IN THE UNITED STATES
English settlers coming to America, a country overflowing in game and open land, no doubt brought their superb hunting dogs with them, thus the beginning of the Pointer in America can be traced to pre-Colonial times. The first documented importations of Pointers began in the late 1870s, notably those of the newly formed Westminster Kennel Club, including their trademark dog Sensation, and the St. Louis Kennel Club, which imported a fast field
