Pointers are an interesting breed of dogs that has been around for some time now. Here are some interesting facts worth reading about Pointers. It is interesting to learn that Pointers are considered to be the oldest breeds of sporting dogs. Proof of this can be seen in the paintings of Pointers that have been seen since 1500. It is said that the first likeness of a Pointer is a pencil sketch of its head. It was done by an Italian, Pisanello. There are other renditions of a Pointer in a painting by Titian and a picture by Bassano in Madrid.
If you own a Pointer, and you take it hunting with you, remember that when it points, it should never be called to. Instead, it should be encouraged with the word "gently" with which the Pointer stands still until you get your fowling-net ready.
It was during the last years of the eighteenth century that the first "sin" against the Pointer was committed when it was first mated with a foxhound. And the person who promoted this mating was Colonel Thornton. It was known that he kept foxhounds and Pointers so that he could mate a Pointer bitch with a foxhound to produce a dog he had called "Dash".
With the advancement in the types of guns that were used in hunting, there was a need in producing dogs that ran faster and kept with the pace of the gun. This was so that the pace of hunting could remain consistent. It was while keeping this point in mind that the famous English breeder worked on several aspects to create the Pointer we know today. After a series of adaptations, blends, and improvements here and there that it was possible to create the Pointer we have today.
The most famous pioneer English breeders of Pointers were Thomas Webb Edge, J.C. Antrobus, Sir Vincent Corbet, George John Legh, Sir Richard Garth, and George Moore. However, when Thomas Webb Edge died in 1844, it was on the 1st of October that his breed of dogs were sold at a public auction. During this sale, a line of well established Pointers were distributed amongst the famous Pointer breeders of that era.
The first dog show of the country was held in Newcastle on Tyne, in 1859. This dog show was held well before the Kennel Club was founded and was organized exclusively for Pointers and Setters, running simultaneously with a poultry show. The winner of this dog show was a liver and white dog.
The first Pointer that had ever won a field trial in England was the magnificent dog, Brockeon's Bounce. However, the first Pointer champion at field trials was an outstanding performer in the field of the latter nineteenth century, "Sir Richard Garth's Drake". He was born in 1868.
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