Breed Priorities – The German Wirehaired Pointer

This article is not intended to promote fault or part judging. Nor is it to imply that any characteristic called for in the standard is unimportant. Judging, and breeding, is about prioritizing and about what the judge or breeder will forgive. Discussing priorities can help in learning how to better evaluate a breed. Questions, Comments, or Concerns? Contact AKC Judge Ms. Nikki Riggsbee at Email: nriggsbee@aol.com

BY NIKKI RIGGSBEE

German Wirehaired Pointers were developed in Germany in the late 1800s. It is a rugged, versatile hunting dog that can work in different terrains. This medium sized breed is known for his distinctive protective wire coat with facial furnishings.

Other breeds include coat descriptions in the breeds’ names in addition to others that also use “wirehaired”: curly-coated, flat coated, griffon, hairless, wire, smooth, and soft coat. I wondered how important German Wirehaired Pointer experts would consider the coat which is part of the breed’s name.

Thirty-three GWP breeder-judges and mentors were found and invited to participate in a survey on their breed. Twenty-eight agreed to do so. This response was promising, but only sixteen completed surveys were returned. It is a sufficient number to produce a reasonable result, but it was less than half of the number of experts invited. Thanks so much to those who found the time to contribute.

Those who took the survey averaged over thirty-two years in the breed. Those who were judges have been adjudicating the breed for nearly seventeen years on average. Many of those have judged their national and other GWP specialties.

Prioritizing Virtues

The survey included a list of breed virtues taken from the German Wirehaired Pointer standard for the experts to prioritize from the most important to the least important. Here is the list of GWP characteristics in sequence by the experts’ average ranks, with 1 being the most important.

1. Outer coat straight, harsh, wiry, flat lying, 1” to 2” in length
2. Angles of the hindquarters balances that of the forequarters
3. Movement: good reach in forequarters and good driving power in hindquarters
4. Sound reliable temperament
5. Shoulders well laid back
6. Body a little longer than high, as ten is to nine
7. Chest deep, capacious
8. Back line showing a perceptible slope down from withers to croup
9. Scissors bite
10. Muzzle fairly long, nasal bone straight, broad, parallel to top of skull
11. Thighs strong and muscular
12. Hips broad, croup nicely rounded
13. Feet round, high arched, toes close, pads thick and hard
14. Tail set high, carried at or above horizontal when alert
15. Eyes brown, medium size, oval, overhung with medium length eyebrows
16. Ears rounded, not too broad, hang close to head

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Posted by Alex on Apr 29 2018. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.