Pointers are trained to search for game, and to indicate that they
have found the same by standing motionless in front of it, and, when
it has been shot, to carry the game to the huntsman. Several kinds of
pointers are known, such as smooth, longhaired, and bushyhaired
pointers. The smoothhaired pointers are better for hunting on high
land, whereas the longhaired or bushyhaired dogs are better for low,
marshy countries, crossed by numerous streams, etc. Mylord, the dog
represented in the annexed cut taken from the _Illustrirte Zeitung_,
is an excellent specimen of the longhaired pointer, and is owned by
Mr. G. Borcher, of Braunschweig, Germany.
[Illustration: THE LONGHAIRED POINTER, "MYLORD."]
The longhaired pointer is generally above the medium size, powerful,
somewhat longer than the normal dog, the body is narrower and not
quite as round as that of the smoothhaired dog, and the muscles of the
shoulders and hind legs are not as well developed and not as
prominent. The head and neck are erect, the head being specially long,
and the tail is almost horizontal to the middle, and then curves
upward slightly. The long hair hangs in wavy lines on both sides of
his body. The expression of his face is intelligent, bright, and
good-natured, and his step is light and almost noiseless.
The pointer is specially valuable, as it can be employed for many
different purposes; he is an excellent dog for the woods, for the
woodsman and hunter who uses only one dog for different kinds of game.
The intelligence of the German pointer is very great, but he does not
develop as rapidly as the English dog, which has been raised for
generations for one purpose only. The German pointer hunts very
slowly, but surely. It is not difficult to train this dog, but he
cannot be trained until he has reached a certain age.
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