The pointers I have seen at shows all seem to be high strung and very timid. Almost uncertain with lack of confidence. This is very different behavior to the shorthairs who are always happy and outgoing.  Just on observation.  I like pointers, but their personality is so different.

Maybe so, but it was pronounced enough in these dogs that I noticed it over and over again.  There is an EP that is now coming to the center where I train, and the poor lady was having a heck of a time because the dog was just overwhelmed and freaked out by all the people and dogs.  Now I understand that if improperly socialized this can happen with any breed, but it just seems that I am seeing allot of EPs with this type of personality issue.  Some of them have been purported to also be good hunters.  I say purported because I have not seen those dogs in the field.

Also I have never seen EPs in the obedience ring where I have seen many of the other breeds, and yes I have even seen a mastiff shown in obedience and the mastiff finished second with a very nice score.

Usually it is politics.  A good example is what has happened to labs.  A good hunting lab does not stand a chance in their breed ring, and a breed ring champion in labs rarely is a good hunter  I have a friend who has bred labs forever and she no longer shows her labs because they can no longer win in the breed ring.  All of her labs though are excellent hunters.  Sad when this happens to a breed.

Thankfully, I have not seen as much of this in the shorthairs.  Many of the show dogs at least get hunt titles, but the breeders I know also do allot of field work and many go for the Dual Champions.  Ringo's sire is a DC and his mother should be a Dual before she finishes her career.  Both kennels breed first for hunting, but they also finish their dogs in the breed ring.

Linda,

DD=Deutsch Drahthaar and DK=Deutsch Kurzhaar, German versions of the German Wirehaired and German Shorthaired, respectively. The English names are exact translations.

Any comparison between the German and English version I have ever come across is so complex I have not been able to quite wrap my brain around it. I grew up in Germany, where they are called Deutsch Kurzhaar, so when friends and family asked what dog Tessa is, I say DK because no one over there knows what a GSP is. To us she's a DK unless we get technical...

Kinda, I really do not like what the breed ring has done to labs. I used to like labs, and still like the field labs.  At this point, they should be split into two different breeds. Goldens aren't much better either.  I just hope we in the shorthair world have sense enough not to follow the same route.

GSP is not a direct translation.
GSP - German Shorthaired POINTER
DK - German Shorthair

When the breed was first brought over and field trialing began the field trailers wanted a dog that was stricktly upland and the DK was bred,mostly, to compete in FTs with water,tracking and versatility at the bottom of most breeders lists,if on the list at all. The versatile bred DK was turned into an EP with a short tail. This is the way,so I'm told, that most American hunters hunt. The look and use of the DK was changed to fit this need. Now, in the last few years I see many hunters and breeders wanting the versatility back. With this returning versatility darker dogs will be needed and bred. Bright white just doesn't do well duck hunting.
Anyway, I'm sure some will have issues with what I wrote.So be it.

The best book I have found on the subject is Der Deutsch-Kurzhaar by Georgina Byrne.  It may be out of print, but if you can get a copy it is a good book on the breed. This book includes:

The Development of the Breed

History and Diversity of the Coat Color and Pattern

Type

Breed Standards Compared

Titles and Qualification

Breed History in Germany, Netherlands, USA, Britain, Australia/New Zealand

Basic Genetics

Inheritance of Defects

Breeding - Theory, Practice

Lots of pictures and an Index of Kennel Names (at the time of the writing)

Okay, the breed is Deutscher Kurzhaariger Vorstehhund, which translates into German Shorthaired Pointer. It's a mouthful so it's shortened to Deutsch Kurzhaar or DK, which translates into German Shorthair, as I said above.

No one says DKV...All the same...it means German, with short hair as opposed to long hair (Langhaar), or wirehair (Drahthaar). People usually know it's a pointer/Vorstehhund so it's often omitted.

In the book I just referenced the very first section is titled: What's in a name?  This section goes into great detail on the origin or the name and how it has changed.  Here is a link to where it can be purchased if anyone is interested.

facks.org/

Notice in the customer reviews that singltrak (Phyllis McNall) is quoted.

I was happy to see you had the chessy in the list.  We have 2 female chessy's and Fred our GSP.  It is a great combo.  Fred has tons of energy and he just bounces it off on the Chessy's.  We have always had CBRs but Fred is our first GSP.  He is just a great dog.  Our Chessy's hunt upland birds and then we do alot of waterfowl hunting, and it gets cold here in Montana so Chessy's are just a good fit.  Chessy's are a calm dog and make great house dogs.  They also require almost no grooming (they blow their coat 1 to 2 times a year and when they do that they shed pretty bad, but the rest of the time they shed very little).  Here's a pic of Roxy and Fred.

Here is the Germany parent club website -- including a brief history, pictures, etc etc -- if you can't read German (like me!) you can select the English link for English translation:

http://www.deutsch-kurzhaar.de/

Dave