The pointer has always been bred to be a hunting dog. This particular ancestry means that they require the ability to run around all day tracking prey to be successful in their roles.
These facts do not just go away when you take them in and have them as regular indoor family pets. They just have been bred to have a lot of natural energy! Take the border collie for instance. A lot of families with border collies today do not have any need for them to herd anything maybe except the children. This does not stop them from herding things, other animals, and people naturally.
They have always needed that energy in the past and owners will now have to adapt to that fact. Even if they are left in a fenced in backyard for the day, being cooped up and bored can cause that constant buzzing of energy, fueled by their need to run, chase, and stretch their muscles, to build up and bubble over.
This is when they tend to channel that energy into less creative outlets. They chew and bark, and dig. Exercise is the key to calming down a pointer. They are superb athletes and need to be treated as such. You never know how much is going to be enough each day, so be prepared to practice some patience. Tossing a ball in the backyard is rarely going to be enough to get your pointer calm.
You need to take them on runs, bike rides you on the bike with your pointer running alongside you , or let them loose to wander big open fields away from noise and distractions. A bit stubborn and easily distracted, but also very sensitive, the English Pointer responds well to patient obedience training that includes food rewards and praise rather than jerking around.
Keep in mind that the inheritance of temperament is less predictable than the inheritance of physical traits such as size or shedding. Temperament and behavior are also shaped by raising and training. If you simply want a pet for your family, and don't have the time or inclination to take your dog running or hiking or biking, or to get involved in hunting, I do not recommend this breed unless you adopt an older adult with a mellow temperament.
An expert researcher and author of 15 books about dogs, she loves helping people choose, train, and care for their dogs. Dog training videos.
Sometimes it's easier to train your puppy or adult dog when you can see the correct training techniques in action. The problem is that most dog training videos on the internet are worthless, because they use the wrong training method.
I recommend these dog training videos that are based on respect and leadership. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be copied, displayed on another website, or distributed in any way without permission from the author. I took Zsa Zsa on a 2. Little ZZ needs to lose a few kilos. After 2. We are lucky that their breeder runs kennels.
It is very hard to find kennels, I agree with you. I am SO glad to have found someone who knows how crazy Pointers can be. She takes vigorous runs on the week days for an hour and on the weekends I take her to an open field where she runs for 3 hours and she still has enough energy for a half marathon. My friend recently took her on a 9 mile run and she was tired, but still had the energy to wrestle with our lab. My friend tells me that male Pointers start to chill out at around 8 years old; female Pointers earlier.
In fact, Zsa Zsa is low energy in the house as she snoozes more than Zeph. But Zeph — well he runs and runs as is still active at 9. Thankfully, we have large paddocks so I open the gate and Zeph and Zsa Zsa run and run.
Around 8. The zaniness is part of their charm but you have to take on the responsibility of meeting their play and exercise needs. What colour is she? Hi, thanks for the great info about pointers! I have to say pointers are my favourite breed, but I am worrying that I might not be the best owner for such a dog. That means our pup would have to stay alone at home for about 6 hours a day on weekdays…I am willing to take a few weeks off work to train a puppy, but sooner or later I would have to go back to work.
I am looking forward to a dog that would love to accompany me while jogging and mountain biking, as well as a dog that would enjoy agility, frisbee and other dog sports. He would get daily exercise before and after work, and maybe a min walk before bedtime.
Do you think such a situation would suit a pointer? If not, could you advise me on a breed that would better suit my lifestyle? Thanks, Marin. But I can advise on Pointers within the context of what you say. An apartment with a small yard is not ideal.
If you walk before bedtime, I find this tires them out. Zeph and Zsa Zsa run around like mad things for around 2 hours a day but we are on a farm, so they have the room. Main thing is — plan the walking, exercise and socializing activities and it could work.
If you put the effort in, I can tell you that Pointers are the most loyal, affectionate and intelligent dogs. They do like their couch time. Both Zeph and Zsa Zsa like to lounge around for a few hours a day too. So we are welcoming our baby girl home just before Easter. And will call the company as soon as we move into our new house so we can have it all set up for when Miss Rosie arrives.
We are really looking forward to our new family member. In your experience is this a bad thing? Love to hear your opinion. Thanks Sarah and Family. Hello Sarah What wonderful news that you are about to about embark on life with an English Pointer! In answer to your questions — we still use the Innotek invisible fence system and are very happy with it nearly 4 years later. Zeph who was trained with the Innotek system is very respectful of fences and Zsa Zsa learnt from him where to go and where not to go.
Your second question about timidity — Zsa Zsa is quite a timid young lady and compared to Zeph loves to lounge around and just chill. You are calling her Miss Rosie? I had to do a double-take on the name as one of my horses is called Miss Rosie hahaha! Hi, my husband and I are about to get our 1st pointer puppy in about 3 weeks. At first, she will live inside in the laundry, but when she gets bigger we would like to have her outside. Most of the time there is only myself here.
My grandchildren visit once or twice a week. We have a large yard in a quiet area of town. I am at work for 6 hours a day, Monday — Friday. I do usually come home for lunch. I am happy to take her for walks after work and on weekends. Do you think that will be enough exercise. Hello Deb are you getting your puppy from an English Pointer breeder? I can tell you, in my experience, this breed does require a lot of exercise and also they are very family-oriented.
They love to be with their humans — so being left for long hours per day may not be ideal. However, if you come home for lunch and take your Pointer on long walks every day and on weekends, then it should be fine.
Zeph and Zsa Zsa have a large fenced property to run around and if you have a large yard, that should be fine. Because they are so family-oriented, your Pointer might fret. But I would certainly talk about this with the breeder. A great blog with some useful comments. Not bad really! We are now collecting 2 new puppies next week from the same breeder here in Perth Western Australia. Thank you for sharing the information. Robin sorry to hear you lost your wonderful Pointer.
Can you share with us any tips on food or exercise? Are you getting a male and female Pointer puppy? We are getting a boy and a girl. They are 7 weeks old. Our previous pointer was quite fussy and would only eat the best cuts of beef. Never fed him processed food. We did try once and he turned his nose up at it! I think he was spoilt before we adopted him from my brother-in-law, who was posted overseas. We exercised him whenever we could, at least 1 hour a day, and always took him out with us.
After all, he was part of the family. We are now stuck on choosing names for the 2 impending arrivals…Bonnie and Clyde? Julia and Kevin! As you can see, we need some inspiration. Any suggestions would be welcome. Julia and Kevin gives it away if you are. Me too but living in NZ now. You are echoing what I say on this blog — I believe that you should not feed your pets English Pointer or otherwise any processed food. Like your previous Pointer, Zeph and Zsa Zsa have a raw meat diet. They have homemade dog biscuits made from good stuff.
They get turmeric, coconut oil and rolled oats. Anyone interested in their diet — just hit the English Pointer tag in the word cloud on the home page of this blog.
And, of course, you exercised your Pointer for one hour a day as they need to be. Pointers are energetic, powerful dogs. They also love to be part of the family. Hence, your Pointer lived to Let us know what you eventually call your new Pointers. No, I am a Pom. My wife is from Perth and she dragged me back here when we had our 2 boys. Not that I regret that, but I do miss english pubs and walks in the countryside…perfect for Pointers!
All the best, Robert. Our family had the pleasure of sharing our lives with a Dalmatian when I was but a boy.
It was a pleasure, he was a little bit of a rouge and got into a fair bit of mischief but he was loyal as anyone could ask. We where his pack and he ours. It took us some time to agree on a dog, my wife and me took numerous breed selection surveys with the results always cast between English and German Short haired pointers. We have a family of 2 children and 3 cats. We chose the Pointer because of its reported friendly disposition and even temperament toward people and pets.
We wish for a member of our family and not an individual in our yard. Its a pleasure to read your post and affirm our decision. It is our hope that the Pointer will assist in this regard. In addition your selection of dog food. We have always fed our animals as well as we have ourselves is there anything that you would avoid liver was noted above.
How often do you feed them? How do you make your doggy biscuits i. What is their staple meal? Do you give them raw bones to chew? Hello John Thank you for leaving your comment. Congrats on your decision to get a Pointer. You will not regret it. I have had seven dogs before Zeph and Zsa Zsa and can honestly say I would never own another breed other than an English Pointer. They are affectionate, kind, loyal and LOVE to be part of the family. We decided to get two Pointers — male and female — because we wanted them to run and play together.
Zeph is protective of Zsa Zsa. As for dog food — nothing processed. As puppies, they had three meals a day but when about 6 months, I eased that back to breakfast and dinner. Their main meal is dinner. Staple food is raw meat — chicken, beef, venison, fish — mixed in with this is organic rice, quinoa, vegetables, pasta, yoghurt.
Just vary the mix of rice, veges, oils etc. Raw of course, bones should never be cooked. Helps to keep their teeth clean.
Please ask any more questions you might have and I look forward to hearing about your new pup or pups. I wanted a dog I could run with and I have gotten that plus some with her.
She just turned 6 months and has LOTS of energy, and love to share with my family. She is very smart and has learned so much since she joined us.
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