AKC Sporting Group · No. 9 in 2025
How to identify a German Shorthaired Pointer
The German Shorthaired Pointer is an all-purpose hunting dog with a short, tough coat, ranked No. 9 by the AKC in 2025. Most are liver or liver and white, often ticked, patched or roan. The docked tail is set high, and the broad ears lie flat against the head.
Field marks
These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC German Shorthaired Pointer standard.
- Solid liver or liver and white; black and black-and-white also allowed, in ticked, patched, or roan patterns
- Hair “short and thick,” tough to the touch
- Docked tail “leaving approximately 40 percent of its length,” set high and firm
- Broad ears set fairly high that “lie flat”; almond-shaped eyes
Tell them apart
German Shorthaired Pointer or Vizsla?
Check the color and the nose. A Vizsla is solid golden rust with white only on the chest and toes, and its nose, lips and eye rims match the coat. A German Shorthaired Pointer is usually liver or liver and white, often ticked, patched or roan, which a Vizsla never is.
German Shorthaired Pointer
- Solid liver or liver and white; black and black-and-white also allowed, in ticked, patched, or roan patterns
- Hair “short and thick,” tough to the touch
- Docked tail “leaving approximately 40 percent of its length,” set high and firm
- Broad ears set fairly high that “lie flat”; almond-shaped eyes
- “Golden rust in varying shades”; white only on the forechest and toes
- Nose, lips, eye rims, and eyes all blend with the coat, never a black nose
- “Short, smooth, dense and close-lying” coat
- Thin, silky, long ears with rounded tips; tail traditionally docked by a third, sometimes left natural
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