Pointer
The Pointer is the classic English bird dog, put together in the eighteenth century from Spanish pointing stock crossed with foxhound, greyhound and setter blood, to produce an…
About the Pointer
The Pointer is the classic English bird dog, put together in the eighteenth century from Spanish pointing stock crossed with foxhound, greyhound and setter blood, to produce an animal that could find game across huge tracts of open ground and hold it until the guns arrived. It remains the breed by which pointing is measured.
The outline is all about galloping: clean, hard-muscled and racy, standing 63 to 69 cm, with a short, fine, close coat in lemon, orange, liver or black, each usually with white, and tricolours as well. The head has a distinctive dished profile and a high-set ear. A Pointer stud should be sound in front and cover ground with a long, low stride; heavy shoulders are the fault the breed watches hardest for.
Hip scoring under the BVA/KC scheme and an annual eye examination are the two standing requests here. There is no long DNA panel, so the value of a stud enquiry lies in what the owner can tell you about the family: any history of seizures, any deafness, how the older relatives have kept their soundness, and how long they lived. Ask what the breed club currently advises, as that guidance is reviewed from time to time.
Health & breeding
We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Breed Right’s summary — under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard
Health tests for the Pointer
This panel is Breed Right’s summary of the testing that matters for the breed under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard. The Health Standard is the Royal Kennel Club’s guidance for breeders, not a registration rule. It describes tests to ask about — it is not a report on any individual dog. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Best Practice — further tests it recommends
Completing these as well as the Good Practice tests is what the Royal Kennel Club calls Best Practice.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip score (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Total of both hips, 0–106. Lower is better. |
Breed hip median
Breed median 9 (BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme breed statistics 2025 — 5 years, 67 dogs scored). Lower is better. Source · How hip scores work
At stud now
Pointer stud dogs
No Pointer studs are listed right now
When a Pointer on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register is listed at stud, it will appear here.
Also available
Pointer litters
No Pointer litters are listed right now
Litters appear here as breeders list them. Check back soon, or browse other breeds.
