The pointer is a canine athlete developed for hunting and an outdoor life. With great concentration and stamina and a keen nose for game, it is considered the perfect gun dog. A superb tracker of game birds, the pointer hunts with head held high, tail extended straight behind, and that their nose sensitive to the slightest scent. When it detects game, it freezes instantly with its leg raised as though in mid stride. The rigid pose indicates the direction of prey to the Hunter, who can then flesh out his target.

Some dogs have been known to remain in this stance for several hours at a time, visibly trembling with enormous tension of the point. Alert and graceful, the pointer makes an excellent bird dog. With its smooth, effortless stride, it can rapidly comb the area surrounding the Hunter, slowing to a stork as it senses the presence of game stop Partridge and Woodcock are favorite prey on land, but snip our its specialty in marshes.

Though it will plunge in without hesitating, the pointer is not comfortable in water and does not retrieve after the game is shot. But these rugged dogs can tolerate extreme heat and fatigue. The pointer is hare-footed, giving it a very light step, essential for approaching game unnoticed. The pointer proves that a working dog can also be a handsome animal.

Intelligent and obedient, it learns quickly and is easy to train. It is a hard working dog and devoted to its master, but can nonetheless exhibit a sensitivity verging on nervousness. While hunting lands are dwindling and the value of the pointers work declining, the breed is, fortunately, far from disappearing.