The Pudelpointer Club of North America was formed early in 1972 by men and women who not only wanted to advance the breed in North America, but also to protect it from the fate of many another dog of the sporting breeds - deterioration on the show bench.

Today the club has a membership of 150 and 200(?) Pudelpointers are registered in North America.

The club maintains a close and fruitful liason and exchange with the Verein Pudelpointer Club in Germany.

The Pudelpointer Club does not seek recognition by AKC. An initially optional registration with the Field Dog Stud Book of American Field was eliminated. Clearly there was a great need for better approaches to breeding and developing of quality versatile breeds and dogs.

To preserve the specific characteristics of the Pudelpointer as a versatile hunting dog, to protect the breed against indiscriminate multiplication and to encourage selective breeding, the club drew up stringent breeding regulations. The mechanics of controls and record keeping were also set in motion to administer the program.

The PCNA now maintains its own stud book and produces its own pedigrees.

A litter will be registered only if the breeding was approved in advance by our breeding committee. Basic requirements for approval of a breeding are as follows:

• Dam and sire must be excellent specimens of the breed.
• Absence of hereditary defects including extreme deviations of desired coat standards.
• Certified free of hip dysplasia by OFA, Berlin, or the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Periodically the PP Club issues a list of suggested stud dogs. Any prospective breeder is encouraged to seek the advice of the breed warden in selecting the most suitable sire.

Puppies are sold exclusively to hunters and members of the Pudelpointer Club of North America .

The Pudelpointer will never be a breed of great numbers. The Club through its program rather strives to maintain and improve by means of selectivity consistently good performance of the Pudelpointer as a versatile hunting dog.

The Pudelpointer is a medium-sized dog with a height of 22 to 25 inches at the shoulder and weighing anywhere from 45 to 70 pounds. The color is usually a variation of liver, although some are black, others are light brown or fawn. White markings on the chest and paws are permitted.

The ideal Pudelpointer coat is harsh, wiry and dense but all kinds of variations are possible. Some specimens are almost smooth coated and others have a rather long and woolly coat, but all Pudelpointers should have pronounced eyebrows and whiskered muzzles.

The tail is docked leaving approximately two thirds of its original length.

By nature the dog is friendly, inquisitive, eager to please, with a dash that makes it a pleasure to work with in the field and a co-operative attitude that also makes it a pleasure in the home.

History of the Pudelpointer

The breed has a history of slightly more than 75 years-the parent club in Germany observed its 75th anniversary in 1972, and first appeared in North America in 1956.

As might be gathered from the name, its origins are in the English pointer and the standard poodle, a German rather than French breed, known in its native land as the Pudel, a dog that served many purposes, including work as a retriever.

The beginnings of the breed go back to about 1881 when a Pudel bitch was bred to an English pointer, Tell, owned by Kaiser Frederick III. From that crossing came the first of the line, dogs that it was hoped would have the fire and drive of the pointer, the devotion to master and trainability of the Pudel.

There were 15 original Pudel crosses and a total of 87 pointer crosses. Some of the back crosses to pointers became necessary because of depletion of breeding stock. Such crosses were made only with the approval of a special elected breeding committee.

The first specimen to arrive on this continent was Cati vom Waldhof, imported in 1956 by Sigbot ( Bodo) Winterhelt and H.D. Hume. Since then many other specimens have been brought in, and a careful breeding program followed to maintain the desirable qualities of the breed and control production in North America. Culling has been severe .

The Pudelpointer Club of Canada was founded in 1960, and in 1972 succeeded by the Pudelpointer Club of North America. A group of individuals devoted to keeping the versatile Pudelpointer in its proper place -- by the master's side in the field or by the hearth.

The men behind the selective breeding program that has produced the Pudelpointer of today have always had a dual target-- a dog that could do them proud on the hunt or in the home.

They have sought -- and found -- a dog that will hunt and point upland game, trail wounded birds or furred quarry, retrieve from land or water and also be an unobtrusive fireside companion and watch dog .

The whiskery brown dogs with the sparkling eyes and the tail that is ever ready to wag do not pretend to match the English pointer or setter in far reaching casts, but rather work closer to the gun, checking back with the handler from time to time. But neither are they plodders or dull mechanical workers; there is fire to their field work.

Pudelpointers as a rule are excellent water dogs. They do not quite match the retrievers marking ability but when it comes to working in a difficult marsh in search of downed ducks they have to be rated equal to most water specialists.

They do not make the woods ring with hound music on the trail, although many are inclined to give tongue from time to time when running a trail.

It has been said by some that they have a saint like devotion to their masters, and certainly it would be difficult to fault them for behavior as a household companion.

The well bred Pudelpointer is inborn with a high degree of pointing instinct and most Pudelpointers are natural retrievers.

In short, the whiskery immigrant is the class dog of the versatile category yet a companion dog of which to be proud. The great desire of the Pudelpointer does not cater to the hunter who seeks a slow and deliberate meat dog.