Old Spanish Pointer

In 1644, Alonso Martínez de Espinar described the forerunner of the modern pointers as "a very hard-working animal, with an inexhaustible agility which endures running from morning to night without stopping. Some are so light that they seem to fly above the ground and skillfully tracking and stopping at the spot where the bird is which is being hunted by those behind them."[1]

Although Spain is the origin of the pointing dogs, the British most often mentioned the Spanish Pointer and brought the dogs to England in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2] Stonehengue, a pointer cinófilo scholar, wrote in the late 19th century, that the dog was selectively bred to be faster by only using lighter and faster specimens.

David Taylor, a veterinary who runs an international veterinary organization, stated that the Spanish Pointer was introduced in Britain and crossed with Greyhounds and English Foxhounds, resulting in the English Pointer.[3][4]

Similarly, in Germany in the 17th century, the German Shorthaired Pointer was the result of crossing German hounds, Spanish Pointers and Bloodhounds.

The pachón navarro is generally seen as the dog breed most closely resembling the Old Spanish Pointer.[5]

The Spanish Pointer by John Buckler (c. 1799). Currently, this painting is in the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut, US.

The oldest recorded painting of the Spanish Pointer in England is a painting by Peter Tillemans, created in 1725.

Stories report that during the Spanish Civil War, a Portuguese merchant took one Spanish Pointer from Spain and gifted it to Baron Bichel of Norfolk.

The dog exist in Spain under the name Perdiguero de Burgos.

According to Williams, the British found the dog to have some defects:

"They came to the conclusion that this breed had to be remodelled. The English wanted more speed, more temperament, and enough endurance to be able to withstand a full day's hunting and also to condition the dog to work both in flat terrain and difficult terrain and keep the hobby of hunting and energy for each day, in total was only to preserve its ability to finesse nose. To achieve this, they were crossed with several breeds, especially the foxhound breeds, were made numerous attempts. Carefully they selected individuals to continue reproduction. Disappeared the fat head with the big ears and stayed with the head having now one, a dry head, lower with fine ears. Expressive and always a dark shade eyes and the nose more square with cut straight and dark and with large open nostrils. It is a noble head the very broad chest of Old Spanish Pointer, stayed narrower, but more background. Some that left the freest lungs and therefore with more capacity. The ribs of the old dog were more rounded and now being less curved gave more freedom to the muscles."[6]

• Pointing breed

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