German Wirehaired x German Shorthaired Pointer General Chat

Hi,

This is my first post here, so hi everyone. We're getting a German Pointer crossbreed pup in under a week. His mother is a GWP (with a very long coat, much longer than the 'correct' coat for her breed), and his father is a GSP - a very handsome dog who works and shows, and has been used as a stud dog before (with GSP bitches). At the moment, the whole litter look pretty shorthaired, so I don't think he'll turn out like his mother. But do you think he'll have a bit more coat than his father? Previously we've only had English Pointers, and he certainly looks to have more coat than they did at his age, but having never had a German Pointer before, I'd be interested in other opinions/comparisons with the coats of GWPs and GSPs of his age. Here is a link to a googledocs with a picture of him aged 6 weeks, and a picture of the parents.

Of course in the end it doesn't really matter, and I suppose ultimately we'll just have to wait and see how he turns out, but it's fun trying to predict. I'm hoping a little of the wirecoat will come through - without it he will just look like a purebred GSP, I think. I just realised how that sounded and just to clarify: this is not a 'designer' pet (the breed names won't even combine into a cutesy word!), and the breeding was not intentional!

Anyway, opinions anyone?

I thought his coat looked wiry but then checked again and it seems smooth but with an undercoat? Not my breed so hard to say! Would only be a guess at best anyway. It will probably keep changing until he is an adult I would think.

He sounds gorgeous. I couldn't get your photo link to work, but would love to see your pup. I'm a bit of a GSP enthusiast myself! Have you had one before?

There`s not that much difference in the two (apart from the coat) is there?
German Pointers are smashing dogs. Not for the fainthearted or sedentary perhaps, but they do provide endless amusement.

I couldn't get the link to work either (Google error??) - but I was just being nosy!

Snorri

It worked for me, but it took a long time to load. Mega cute.

Sooooooo true!!

Right, odd that it's not working, but I just quickly made myself a photobucket account and made an album with the three pics from the google document, plus one of the whole litter (aged 6 weeks - if you start at the pup at the front and left, then ours is the second pup on his left, if you see what I mean - they all have pretty similar coats though).
Here's the link to the album: http://s1182.photobucket.com/albums/x443/egp09acc/Otto/
Hopefully you'll have more success with that.

No, we've never had a German Pointer before. The family's dog history is: Pointer (poss. German, but unknown) x collie bitch followed by two purebred English Pointer bitches. So we are definitely used to high-energy dogs and have plenty of practice sitting on logs waiting for the pointer to finish 'hunting' - although the two EPs had calmed down by the time they were, ahem, 8 or so. We've also puppy walked 9 1/2 pups for Guide Dogs, various crosses and purebreds of Lab/Goldie/German Shepherd dogs. We researched lots of different breeds after our oldest pointer died this spring, but kept coming back to pointers because they're such beautiful, sweet-natured dogs. We heard that German Pointers had a bit more brain than English Pointers, but still with the fantastic temperament, and, not being concerned about purebred status, thought this litter sounded ideal for us.

Although the GSP and the GWP are indeed similar, I believe there is a lot more to the difference than the coat type. GWPs are generally larger, slightly more heavily built, more of a reputation for being stubborn - the two breeds have different origins, different breeds gone into their makeup, although overlaps exist.

Sooo, all you who have GSPs, how does Otto's coat compare to when your dogs were his age (if you know)?

By the way, @Snorri the Priest: Nice username - I'm a fan of Snorri góði as well.

Gorgeous pics!! I have pasted them below for you.

Here is my pup at the same age. He is a GSP and you can see a difference in the length of their coats already. Your boy is really handsome!

He's adorable! I have to say, GSP's are adorable as pups! Sorry I know nothing about coat genetics, just had to say how cute he is!

He looks really sweet.

9 and a half pups??? Or did I read that wrongly?

rune

Cute pups , noticed they are also docked, and a very short dock too.

P.S can you get GWP`s with a almost completly white coat?

Never seen one so "white" before;-)

He is adorable!

I think it is difficult to say when it comes to coats. I know that with Slovakians, how hairy they are as puppies is generally a good representative of how hairy they will be as adults.

Bo at 9 weeks:



And at 9 months:



Her coat is about the same now at 18 months.

9 1/2 Guide Dog pups, yes (we've done 9, and our 10th is now nearly 8 months, hasn't gone into advanced training - hence we haven't 'finished' her yet).

They are indeed docked - it wasn't our choice and we would have preferred a longer dock, or undocked, but we weren't going to make a fuss about it. The pups were already 3 weeks old when we heard about them, and of course were done very soon after birth. I think because they are an accidental cross-breed litter, and the sire was a working GSP, the owners thought they might go to working homes, so it was best to get them done.

Evidently you can get GWPs with so much white, but yeah, I think they are a lot rarer, and less desirable, than solids or ones with more patches/ticking. The KC breed standard just says 'liver and white, solid liver or black and white' as the acceptable colours. I don't think the mother is the best example of the breed, though.

Well, he definitely looks more thick-coated than the GSP (although I heard that the white hairs are generally longer, and yours is a solid liver, so maybe sleeker than a ticked one?), but not as much as the SRHP. I don't really know how these things work - is it a case of one coat or the other, or could it be something in between? I know that all the Guide Dogs Lab x Goldies I've come across have the Lab coat, with no Goldie feathering/silkiness at all. I suppose it's possible that his coat is a genetic throwback and will be like a GWP, but not like his super-hairy mother's.

I think most likely the coat will stay is it is now...slightly thicker and probably 'harder' to touch than a GSP. Shorthaired genes are dominant, while longer hair genes are normally recessive. That is why most Lab x Goldens look like pure Labs.

Is mum an Andsal dog?

This my first GSP - he was very white

I have a GWP x GSP who is 12months now..... Here are pics of him as a puppy and now so you can see how the coat changes




Mine obviously needs a bit of a haircut soon!
We were surprised at how hairy he got

Feel free to ask if you want to know anything else about mine (Sherlock) seeing as they are the same cross

I take it thats why the dam is almost all white, thought I have never seen one so white before.

I detect a bit of controversy in their clains of " solid black" and "black and white" are these colours not to breed standard.

Just took a look at their website and wondered what the claims of "passionate about black, and whites means"":?