{"id":3231,"date":"2021-02-03T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/?p=3231"},"modified":"2025-04-04T20:17:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T00:17:45","slug":"the-euro-pointer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/?p=3231","title":{"rendered":"The “Euro” Pointer"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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By Edgar Castillo<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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History reveals that this bird dog should be renamed to show its true <\/span>countries <\/span><\/span>of origin.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Let us start with the origin of <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> Pointer. Just because \u201cEnglish\u201d is in the description, it does not mean the dog originated in England. The English will probably tell you, yes, citing the old British policy to \u201cMake the world England.\u201d Think more along the lines such as the canine was \u201ccreated\u201d or refined on the British Isle. If an English Pointer could speak, it would tell you the same thing in a profound British accent. To their owners, we can refer to them as English Sympathizers, the Pointer is the unquestioned aristocrat of the sporting dog world. The dogs carry themselves proudly with their stiff tails in the air. There is no question about it\u2026the breed was born to hunt birds. Now don\u2019t get me wrong; the English Pointer is a great bird dog. I\u2019m just throwing it out there that maybe it should be renamed to a more suitable label that explains the dog\u2019s eclectic, yet murky origin.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/p>

Pointers are gun dogs, bred and developed for their ability to find various wildfowl or upland game. In their performance, Pointers are tasked with aiding bird hunters with the following skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

  • Pointing<\/b> \u2013 The dog finds and indicates through pointing the location of birds.<\/span><\/li>
  • Honoring<\/b> \u2013 The dog stops immediately at various distances, usually in a pointing stance, upon observing a bracemate on point.<\/span><\/li>
  • Retrieving<\/b> \u2013 Pointers are not expected to be natural retrievers but are often trained and expected to find dead or wounded game. Some owners from other bird dog hunting breeds will say, for an English Pointer to retrieve a bird would be beneath them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>

    As with almost anything relating to history, origins are always debatable. The least common belief is that the Pointer, or should we say a \u201cform\u201d of Pointer was already present in England since medieval times. I can see it now, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table pursuing wildfowl or other game across the English countryside in the forests of Camelot. Throw in Robin Hood for good measure, pulling his bow back jettisoning an arrow into a flying wild Cornish game hen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    Apologies for going down a bunny trail\u2026let\u2019s get back on track and get back on <\/span>point<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Records can trace back the Pointer in England as far back as 1650. Two stories claim how the Pointer came to be in Great Britain. The first, tells of a tale that in 1713, British (Shocker!) Army officers brought Spanish Pointers (an extinct breed now referred to as Old Spanish Pointer) home upon returning from the War of Spanish Succession. The Spanish attest that during the 17<\/span>th<\/span> and 18<\/span>th<\/span> centuries, travelers from Spain introduced the Spanish Pointer to the English mainland. Maybe both happened! There\u2019s even a story going around that the dog was brought over by a Portuguese merchant. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    The Spanish will try to tell you \u201ctheir\u201d pointer is the ancestor to almost <\/span>all<\/span><\/span> pointing dogs. They back up their claim with evidence from Roman writers who corroborated the existence of dogs used for hunting birds, coming from \u201cHispania\u201d in the first century! Further proof of the long history of pointing dogs within Spain occurs centuries later when Muslim conquerors arrived and found Spanish pointers being trained by monks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Perro de Punta Espanol \/ Old Spanish Pointer (1915) Wikipedia Commons<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    But hold on my Spanish compadres! Many will say there is proof the Spanish Pointer was actually modified in France and Italy before the canine ever made its way to jolly ol\u2019 England through the likes of Espanola.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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    Now it\u2019s Frenchie\u2019s turn for a shot at the \u201cpointer\u201d title. France\u2019s pointing dog has existed since the 15<\/span>th<\/span> century. The Braques Francais breed came in two sizes, large and small. For centuries, the dog was taken to other countries and crossed with other breeds. Its origins can be attributed back to my Spanish ancestors descending from what else, the Old Spanish Pointer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Braque Francais<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Leave it to the Italians to commemorate their pointing dog, the Bracco Italiano, through what else\u2026art! The breed forever etched onto paintings and writings dating back to the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. An ancient breed originating in Italy considered an antecedent of many of today\u2019s modern sporting dogs, more specifically European pointing breeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Bracco-Italiano<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    No matter the dog\u2019s origin and various claims, for when it arrived in England, hunters and handlers concluded the breed needed to be remodeled. The dog needed to become \u201cEnglish\u201d. In their eyes, the Spanish pointer needed to be improved, therefore the dog was crossed with at least four breeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    This quartet of hunting dogs included Greyhounds, Foxhounds, Bloodhounds, and Bull Terriers. Each of these dogs possess unique qualities that eventually resulted in <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> English Pointer. The dog\u2019s refinement brought speed and more athleticism, thus shaping the Pointer we know today. Many will argue the process was more complex and involved but I\u2019m trying to keep this, simple folks! I\u2019m merely arguing a change in the breed\u2019s name, not the DNA.<\/span><\/p>

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    \u00a0<\/span>The 1860s brought the Britannic Pointer to \u201cMerica\u201d by sporting American men eager to hunt birds over the noble of gun dogs. \u201cBird dog\u201d is the term commonly used to describe ALL pointing dogs, setters, and even retrievers \u2013 but once here in the U.S.A, the \u201cRedcoat\u201d immigrant dog quickly loses its English designation and begins to be referred to as simply \u201cPointer\u201d, particularly south of the Mason-Dixon line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    But as soon as someone asks what kind of pointer, owners quickly reattach \u201cEnglish\u201d back into the title. I counter and say that the pointing dog be renamed the \u201cEuro Pointer\u201d. This new designation would not affect the hunting canine\u2019s capability in its mastery of finding upland game. In fact, it allows the whole continent of Europe and each individual country to lay claim and rally behind the pointing dog\u2019s emergence and fame.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>


    Just as the European nations united in December 1995 to create a union among the countries to adopt a new name and replace the various and confusing monetary units\u2026the euro. This new currency allowed all of them to unify under <\/span>one<\/span> name. Addressing the English Pointer, which really isn\u2019t from England, as the \u201cEuro Pointer\u201d, would allow each country to proudly assert the Pointer\u2019s various birthplaces. However, I would like to add that being of Spanish descent, the name <\/span>euro <\/span><\/i>was officially adopted IN Madrid. Buena suerte cazadores de aves!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    The \"Euro\" Pointer <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    History reveals that this bird dog should be renamed to show its true countries of origin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[131,132,82],"class_list":["post-3231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hunting","category-lifestyle","tag-dog","tag-pointer","tag-upland-hunting"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Europointer1.png","acf":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3231"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13464,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3231\/revisions\/13464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feathersandwhiskey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}