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Draadharige Duitse Staande Hond

Vorstehhund

History

The history of the German Shorthaired Vorstehhund starts with the dogs which were used for the hunt with nets on feathered game, especially in the Mediterranean countries, and in combination with falconry. Via France, Spain and Flanders the Pointers came to the German courts. The most important distinctive feature of these dogs was their pointing performance. After the first double-barreled gun was made (1750), a pointing dog was even more required. In full sight of the dog "game birds in flight" were shot. That was the beginning of the transition from a mere pointer to a versatile gundog. As a fundamental basis for the structure and development of the breed the " Zuchtbuch Deutsch Kurzhaar" (Studbook) has been published since 1897. It was Prince Albrecht zu Solms-Braunfeld who compiled breed characteristics, judging rules for conformation and finally also simple trial regulations for hunting dogs. Today the German Shorthaired Vorstehhund still passes through the filter of elaborated breeding- and trial regulations.
The standard stipulates the constitution of the German Shorthaired Vorstehhund, as a versatile hunting dog, which enables him to perform all requirements in connection with hunting activities, even when advanced in age.

GENERAL APPEARANCE A dog of noble and balanced appearance, the conformation of which ensures strength, endurance and speed. Proud attitude, smooth outlines, lean head, well carried tail, firm shiny coat and well reaching, harmonious strides emphasize its nobility.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS Length of body should slightly exceed height at withers.

NECK Length in harmony with general appearance of the dog, progressively thickening towards the body. Very muscular and slightly crested nape. Tight fitting skin of throat.

BEHAVIOUR AND CHARACTER Firm, balanced, reliable, restrained temperament, neither nervous nor shy or aggressive.

HEAD Lean, well defined, neither too light nor too heavy; as to strength and length it matches the substance and the sex of the dog.

CRANIAL REGION Moderately wide, flatly rounded skull, scarcely pronounced occipital bone, frontal furrow, not too deep set noticeable superciliary ridges.
Stop Moderately defined.

FACIAL REGION Nose * Somewhat protruding. Nostrils sufficiently wide, broad and mobile. Basically brown. A flesh-coloured or spotted nose is only permissible in dogs with white as basic colour.
Muzzle Long, broad, deep and strong in order to enable the dog's correct carrying of game. Viewed from the side the bridge shows a slight curvature in all transitions from a nobly constructed ram's nose to a slight rise above the straight line - more prominent in males. A totally straight nasal bridge, although still acceptable, is less attractive; a concave bridge (dish-face) is a serious fault.
Flews Tight fitting, not too pendulous, good pigmentation. The naso-labial line slopes almost vertically and then continues in a flat arch to the moderately pronounced corner of the lips.
Mouth/teeth Strong jaws with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite. The upper incisors should reach over the lower incisors without gap and should be positioned vertically in the jaws. 42 sound teeth, in accordance with the teeth formula.
Cheeks Strong, well muscled.
Eyes Of medium size, neither protruding nor deep set. The ideal colour is dark brown. Eye-lids tight fitting.
Ears Moderately long, set on high and broad, flat and without twisting hanging down close to the head, bluntly rounded at the tip. Neither too fleshy nor too thin. When brought forward they are supposed to reach more or less the corner of the lips.

BODY Topline * Straight and slightly sloping.
Withers Well defined.
Back Firm and muscular. Vertebral processes should be covered by muscles.
Loin Short, broad, muscular, straight or slightly arched.
Transition from back to loin tight and well knit.
Croup Broad and long enough, not abruptly slanting, but slightly slanting towards the tail, well muscled.
Chest Somewhat deeper than broad with well defined forechest, with the sternum reaching back as far as possible. Brisket reaches down to elbows. Ribs well sprung, neither flat nor barrel-shaped. False ribs well reaching down.
Underline With elegant arch, slightly tucked up towards rear and dry.
Tail Set high, strong at the root and then tapering, of medium length. Half way docked for hunting purposes. At rest hanging down, in movement horizontal, and neither carried too high above the backline nor extremely bent. (In countries where tail docking is prohibited by law, the tail can remain in its natural shape. It should reach down as far as the hocks and be carried straight or slightly sabre tail fashion.)

FOREQUARTERS General * Viewed from the front, straight and parallel, viewed from the side, the legs are well placed under the body.
Shoulders Shoulder-blades well laid back, well attached to chest, and strongly muscled. Shoulder-blade and upperarm well angulated.
Upper arm As long as possible, well muscled and dry.
Elbows Close but not too tight to body, neither turned in nor out, well set back.
Forearm Straight and sufficiently muscled. Strong bone, not too coarse.
Pastern joint Strong.
Pasterns Minimal angulation of pastern and forearm, never standing upright.
Front feet Round to spoon shaped, with well closed and adequately arched toes. Strong toenails. Tough, resistant pads. Feet set parallel, neither turned in nor out in stance as well as in movement.

HINDQUARTERS General * Viewed from behind straight and parallel. Good angulations in stifles and hocks, strong bone.
Upper thigh Long, broad and muscular, with good angulation of pelvis with femur.
Stifle Strong, with good angulation of upper-and lower thigh.
Lower thigh Long, muscular with clearly visible tendons. Good angulation between lower thigh and hocks.
Hock joint Strong.
Hocks Strong, vertical.
Hind feet Round to spoon shaped, with well closed and adequately arched toes. Strong toenails. Tough, resistant pads. Foot set parallel, neither turned in nor out in stance as well as in movement.

GAIT Well extended strides, with forceful propulsion from the hindquarters and adequate reach of the fore limbs. Front- and hind legs moving straight and parallel. The dog is carrying himself in a proud attitude. Pacing gait is not desirable.

SKIN Close and tight, not wrinkly.

TEXTURE OF THE COAT Short and dense, rough and hard to the touch. Somewhat thinner and shorter on the head and ears, not remarkably longer at the underside of the tail. Should cover the whole body.

SIZE Height at the withers Dogs 62 to 66 centimeters.
Bitches 58 to 63 centimeters.

COLOUR 1- Brown without markings.
2- Brown with faint white or splash markings at chest and legs.
3- Dark brown roan, with brown head, brown patches or specks. The basic colour of such a dog is not brown with white or white whith brown, but the coat shows such an even intensive mixture of brown and white which results in that kind of inconspicuous exterior of the dog ever so valuable for the practical hunt. At the inner sides of the hindlegs as well as at the tip of the tail the colour is often lighter.
4- Light brown roan with brown head, brown patches, specks or without patches. In this colouring the white hair is dominating the brown hair.
5- White with brown head markings, brown patches or specks.
f. Black colour in the same nuances as the brown, respectively the brown roan colours. Yellow markings are permitted. Blaze with splash marked flews are permissible.

FAULTS Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded, should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Faults in attitude not according or typical to gender.
Muzzle too short.
Flews too heavy or too thin.
Ears too long, too short, too heavy, set on too narrow or twisted.
Eyes too light. Yellowish "bird of prey" eyes.
From the total of 4 P1 and 2 M3 only two teeth may be missing.
Loose skin at throat.
Slight roach back.
Rump too short.
Hindquarters too straight.
Chest too deep.
Elbows turned in or out. Feet turned in our out; forelegs standing close or wide.
Slightly bow-legged, cow-hocked or close hocks.
Tail strongly bent or carried too high above the topline.

SERIOUS FAULTS

Clumsy, lymphatic, coarse conformation.
Snipy muzzle, concave bridge of the nose (dish-face).
Marked stop. Flesh-coloured or flecked nose (except when basic colour of coat is white). Pincer bite or partial pincer bite (For dogs older than 4 years a so-called pincer bite due to age shall not affect evaluation as long as a "Deutsch*Kurzhaar-Club" has certified that at a previous show a correct bite was confirmed). Distinct roach back, slight swayback.
Considerable lack in depth of chest.
Poorly developed forechest. Ribs too flat or barrel shaped.
Distinctly turned in or turned out elbows. Weak and down on pasterns.
Pastern totally vertical. Flat feet. Spread toes.
Clumsy gait. Distinctly cow hocked or bow-legged, in stance as well as in movement.
Overbuilt hindquarters.
Deviation of more than 2 centimeters from the given height at the withers.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS Distinctly non-typical gender characteristics.
Absence of more than 2 teeth from the total of 4 P1 and 2 M3.
Absence of 1 tooth or more teeth other than P1 and M3. Non visible teeth have to be considered as missing except when certified by a "Deutsch-Kurzhaar-Club" that at a previous show or trial their existence was confirmed.
Overshot and undershot bite, way mouth as well as all intergrades.
Excessively loose eyelids, ectropion, entropion, distichiasis (double row of eyelashes).
Excessive swayback, malformation of the spine.
Any malformation of the chest, e.g. "clipped sternum" (short sternum blanding abruptly into the abdominal line).
Rear dewclaws and front dewclaws.
Cleft palate and hare lip.
Any surplus teeth arranged outside the dental arch.

Note Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.