Home / Breeds / German Roughhaired Pointer
German Roughhaired Pointer
Driven, intelligent, steady and companionable. From Germany.
Sportingmedium breedGermanyStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the German Roughhaired Pointer
Germany produced the German Roughhaired Pointer, a medium sized pointing gundog bred to quarter open ground at speed, find game birds by scent and point them rock steady. Give a pointer miles and a job and it is a gentleman; give it neither and it will invent employment.
History
Pointing breeds were developed across Europe wherever sportsmen hunted birds over open ground, and each region kept its own stamp of the type. The FCI recognizes the breed, and its standard is the reference used across most of the world.
Personality
Driven, intelligent, steady and companionable is the record's Roughhaired Pointer, the Deutsch Stichelhaar: Germany's oldest rough coated pointing breed, developed in Frankfurt from old German bristle coated gun dogs, kept deliberately distinctive and sharp. Stichelhaars are confident, capable and strong minded, with more edge than the softer French braques and a famous loyalty to their handler. Puppies are bright, bristly charmers; adults are impressive, devoted partners. Owners describe the craftsman of the German pointers: nothing decorative, everything functional, including the devotion.
Temperament and traits
Energy (5/5)
Trainability (4/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (3/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Usually good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: Not ideal
Coat and care
Coat: Harsh, wiry double coat of medium length with a beard and prominent eyebrows, resistant to weather and thorns alike. It sheds lightly and needs occasional hand stripping.
Colors: Standard colors: brown, brown roan or light roan, with or without white chest patch and brown patches.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. The short coat is nearly wash and wear; the work is in the exercise column, not the grooming one. Check feet and pads after hard country days.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
An hour is a floor and the record's range runs to two: the German Roughhaired Pointer, the Deutsch Stichelhaar, is the oldest and rarest of the German wirehaired pointers, a bristly coated versatile gundog bred for field, forest and water. Give a pointer miles and a job and it is a gentleman; give it neither and it will invent employment, in the overview's warning. Field training, running, hiking and swimming fill the programme. Puppies build up gradually. Check feet and pads after hard country days, per the care notes. A worked Stichelhaar is a steady, companionable house dog.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes, working through the harsh, bristly coat; dead coat is plucked by hand as needed to keep the weather armour working. The care notes call the coat nearly wash and wear, and the work is indeed in the exercise column: the grooming bill is time outdoors, not in the salon. Check feet and pads after hard country days. Ears take weekly checks after water work, nails need trims and teeth benefit from brushing. Puppies need kind foot and coat handling habits.
Training and daily life
Training
Roughhaired Pointers are capable pupils with a train score near this site's top, learning the full versatile discipline, pointing, tracking and water retrieving, under reward based, structured training with clear rules. They have a reputation for sharpness with game and stubbornness when bored, so keep standards high and sessions purposeful. Priorities are recall proofed against game, a reliable delivery, a settle, lead manners, and socialisation that keeps the confidence social. Owners describe a serious, talented colleague rather than a pet.
Living with a German Roughhaired Pointer
The German Roughhaired Pointer suits active, experienced rural households that want the rarest German wirehair: an original, characterful versatile gundog. Driven and intelligent afield, steady and companionable at home in the record's words, good with children, usually good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, it rates apartments as not ideal because the ranging engine needs country. Expect a dog that bristles, literally and figuratively, with competence. Owners describe the connoisseur's German: the oldest wirehair, tough, devoted and entirely serious about the day's hunting.
What a German Roughhaired Pointer costs
Food cost
About $39 per month for a typical 62 lb adult eating roughly 3.6 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 60 to 120 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $36 to $65 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $462 for food and $432 to $780 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 8 to 10 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 18 to 22 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 29 to 36 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 41 to 52 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 48 to 62 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 55 to 70 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 55 to 70 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation, foot and coat care habituation, protected joints while growing and early bird game foundations built as manners. Adolescents are at maximum ranging energy and assertiveness, and field training plus structure carries the household through. Adults enjoy a long, vigorous prime: twelve to fourteen years. Keep feet checked after hard days, weight lean and the work coming. Senior status arrives around ten: twice yearly checks with hip and eye awareness, joint friendly exercise and continued gentle quartering. Old Stichelhaars stay steady, devoted and companionable.
Health
Hip and elbow scoring and annual eye checks are the backbone of gundog health testing, and most gundog breeds also have DNA tests for the conditions found in their lines. Ask the breeder for the full panel, not just a vet checked claim.
Conditions to know about
- Hip and elbow dysplasia: Hip and elbow scoring is the backbone of gundog health testing, per the record. Ask the breeder for the full panel, not just a vet checked claim, in the record's direct advice.
- Eye conditions: Annual eye checks complete the backbone named in the record. Ask for current certificates for both parents.
- DNA screened conditions: Most gundog breeds also have DNA tests for the conditions found in their lines, per the record. Ask which panels the breeder runs and see the results.
Facts follow the German Roughhaired Pointer breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for German Roughhaired Pointer owners
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German Roughhaired Pointer questions
How long do German Roughhaired Pointers live?
A typical lifespan is 12 to 14 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a German Roughhaired Pointer?
Food for a typical adult runs about $39 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $36 and $65 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are German Roughhaired Pointers good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a German Roughhaired Pointer need?
Plan on 60 to 120 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
What does Stichelhaar mean?
Bristle hair: the Deutsch Stichelhaar's harsh, bristly coat is the breed's signature, tougher and more upright than the Wirehaired Pointer's. It is the oldest German rough coated pointer, predating the Drahthaar.
Stichelhaar or Drahthaar, what is the difference?
German wirehair cousins: the Stichelhaar is the older, rarer, bristlier dog with a reputation for a sharper edge. The Drahthaar is the bigger, more famous versatile. Both are elite, demanding gundogs.
Are Stichelhaars good family dogs?
Yes, for experienced active families: driven, steady and companionable in the record's pattern, with a strong character. The exercise and hunting drive are elite level.