Pointer puppies

About the Pointer

The Pointer was developed in Britain to find game birds and freeze on point until the gun caught up, and the job is still visible in the way it moves and holds itself. It is a clean lined, athletic dog of about 20.4 to 34 kg standing 58 to 71 cm, with a short glossy coat, and it commonly lives 12 to 15 years. Pointers are even tempered and good natured, hard driving in the field and generally easy going once they are settled indoors.

The exercise requirement decides whether this breed works for you: an hour or more of real running every day, plus a securely fenced area, or the dog becomes restless and destructive. Grooming is a weekly brush. Training comes easily because the breed wants to work with people, though a young Pointer matures slowly and is silly for a couple of years. It suits runners and shooting households, and it is a poor fit for a flat or a sedentary home.

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a Pointer puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.

Health worth knowing about

Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.

• Hip dysplasia, which breeding stock should be x-rayed for
• Eye disorders, found by an ophthalmologist evaluation of breeding stock
• Bloat and gastric torsion, a surgical emergency in deep chested dogs
• Ear infections, caught by checking the drop ears each week

From Pointer breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/pointer/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

Your Pointer puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a Pointer.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 20.4 to 34 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Other large breeds

Previous: Plott Hound · Next: Polish Hunting Dog