Nineteenth-century German Hunters required a dog with a good nose that would point within a reasonable distance for a man hunting on foot. The dog needed to retrieve both fur and feather, from water or land, and also be a fine tracker. The German breeding incorporated the Old Spanish Pointer, Hounds of St. Hubert, the Foxhound, other hounds, and eventually the English Pointer, which made it faster and more energetic. Today's German Shorthaired Pointer is the successful result of the German hunter’s efforts. The German Shorthaired Pointer is a versatile hunter and an all-purpose gundog capable of high performance in both field and water. He is a fine natural retriever, an excellent companion for a hunter on foot, and requires little training. The German Shorthaired Pointer is an ideal dog for the weekend hunter who also wishes to own a bright, agreeable family companion and watchdog. Due to the breed's natural ability, German Shorthaired Pointers are campaigned successfully in the show ring, obedience and tracking trials, field trials, and hunting tests.

Appearance
The German Shorthaired Pointer is lean, athletic, and graceful yet powerful with strong hindquarters that make it able to move rapidly and turn quickly. It has moderately long flop ears set high on the head. The German Shorthaired Pointer’s muzzle is long, broad, and strong, allowing it to retrieve even heavy furred game. Its profile should be straight or slightly Roman-nosed; any dished appearance to the profile (such as seen in the Pointer) is incorrect. The German Shorthaired Pointers eyes are generally light hazel in colour. Its tail is commonly docked, although this is now prohibited in some countries.

Character
The German Shorthaired Pointer is an intelligent, bold, and characteristically affectionate dog that is cooperative and easily trained. Shyness, fearfulness, over submissiveness, aloofness, lack of biddability, or aggression (especially toward humans) are all incorrect traits. The German Shorthaired Pointer is usually very good with children, although care should be taken because the breed can be boisterous especially when young. These dogs love interaction with humans and appreciate active families who will give them an outlet for their energy. Most German Shorthaired Pointers make excellent watchdogs. The breed generally gets along well with other dogs. A strong hunting instinct is correct for the breed, which is not always good for other small pets such as cats or rabbits. With some training, however, it is not unusual for this highly intelligent breed to quickly discern what is prey and what is not, and the German Shorthaired Pointer can live quite amicably with housecats and the like.
 

Temperament
The German Shorthaired Pointer is an energetic dog. If not given a sufficient amount of exercise, both mental and physical, this dog breed can become frustrated. The German Shorthaired Pointer is a family dog, but sometimes it can be aggressive with small pets due to the hunting background. If raised properly with other pets though, the German Shorthaired Pointer can be trained to leave them alone. Loyal and protective, he loves all family members equally, especially if they are carrying the leash, car key, gun or Frisbee. They are very people-oriented, and not happy if isolated from the family. The German Shorthaired Pointer is considered to be an independent dog breed.

Exercise/Training
The German Shorthaired Pointer needs plenty of vigorous activity. This need for exercise (preferably off lead) coupled with the breed's natural instinct to hunt, means that training is an absolute necessity. The German Shorthaired Pointer’s distinctly independent character and superior intelligence makes this breed best suited to experienced owners who are confident and capable handlers. Playing and obedience are very good types of mental exercise. 15 minutes obedience and playing with your German Shorthaired Pointer will be more useful for the dogs exercise then an hour walk on the leash can provide.

Color
The German Shorthaired Pointer's coat is short and flat. It should have a dense underful protected by stiff guard hairs that makes the coat water resistant and better suited to cold weather than that of the English Pointer for example. The color can be a dark brown, correctly referred to in English as liver (incorrectly called chocolate or chestnut), black (although any area of black is cause for disqualification in American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club sanctioned shows), or either color with white. Commonly the head is a solid or nearly solid color and the body is speckled or ticked with liver, white or black, with saddles or large patches of solid color. Roan coats are also common, with or without patching. While the German standard permits a slight sandy coloring ("Gelber Brand") at the extremities, this is extremely rare, and a German Shorthaired Pointer displaying any yellow coloring is disqualified in AKC and CKC shows.

Grooming
The coat of the German Shorthaired Pointer needs only a very little grooming and coat maintenance. A good nutrition and regular brushing keeps the proper coat shine and the skin healthy. Bathing doesn’t harm the coat of the German Shorthaired Pointer as long as you use a good quality shampoo that doesn't dry the skin and coat and is formulated for a canine coat. The ears of the German Shorthaired Pointer should be kept clean and regularly inspected as well.

Any breed described as "good with children", the dog must be accustomed to children. Any dog that is not well socialized with children will not behave predictably around them. As with all dogs, they should never be left alone with young children.