Description and Appearance of the Portuguese Pointer

General Appearance

The Portuguese Pointer is a medium-sized, well-balanced dog with a distinctive "square" face, drop ears, and a docked tail carried pendent when the dog is standing and level with the back or slightly above when the dog is moving. The body of the Portuguese Pointer is almost square, with the correct relationship of height to length of body equaling 10:10½ . The Portuguese Pointer should be evaluated as a working gun dog, and exaggerations or faults should be penalized in proportion to how much they interfere with the dog's ability to work.

Characteristics

The Portuguese Pointer has strong hunting instincts. Puppies often start pointing and retrieving without training by two or three months of age. In the field, the Portuguese Pointer is a tenacious hunter in all sorts of terrain and climate. The dog's affectionate nature is so intense that the Portuguese standard describes it as sometimes "inappropriate and sometimes inconvenient." This devotion, however, makes the Portuguese a joy in the field because no dog delights more in sharing the hunt with its master.

Head

The head is free of wrinkles and proportional to the size of the dog. Viewed from the front, the head gives the impression of being square. Viewed from the side, the stop is abrupt, forming an angle of about 100 degrees between the line of the muzzle and the line of the forehead. There is a slight median furrow between the eyes at the forehead and the occipital bone is not conspicuous.

Skull

The skull is broad and slightly domed. Viewed from the front, the forehead is high, wide, and almost flat. Viewed from the side, the ratio between the length of skull and the length of muzzle is 3:2.

Muzzle

In profile, the muzzle is deep and the bridge of the muzzle is straight. Viewed from above, the muzzle is wide with very little taper from stop to nose. Lips are slightly pendent but not overly thick, with dark pigment. The top lip should fall naturally over the lower without folds or drooping, giving a square appearance to the muzzle when viewed from the side.

Teeth

The Portuguese Pointer has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite
Faults: Overshot or undershot bite.

Nose

The nose leather is black on dogs with darker coats and brown on dogs with lighter coats. Nostrils must be large and open.

Disqualification: Split nose.

Eyes

The eyes are large, oval, and brown in color. Darker color is preferred. They are set close to the surface and on a horizontal axis. Eyelids are tight with pigment to match the nose color. The bony arches over the eyes are well defined but should not be so excessive as to make the skull appear coarse. Expression is bright and intelligent.

Ears

The ears are drop, medium in length (no more than six inches) and set on high. They should be approximately 2½ times wider at the base than the tip, which is rounded. The ear leather is thin and the outer side is covered with short, silky hair. At rest, the ears should hang nearly flat and close to the cheeks. When the dog is alert, the ears will roll forward and may create some wrinkles on the head and face but these wrinkles should not be accentuated.

Neck

The neck is somewhat long but strong and almost cylindrical. It should not be so thick as to appear coarse. The neck blends smoothly into well-laid-back shoulders.

Forequarters

The shoulders are smoothly muscled. The shoulder blades are long and well laid back, with the upper tips fairly close together at the withers. The upper arm appears to be equal in length to the shoulder blade and joins it at an apparent right angle. The elbows are close to the body. The forelegs are straight, strong and sturdy in bone, with strong, short, slightly sloping pasterns.

Body

The body is just slightly longer (measured from prosternum to point of buttocks) than tall (measured from the withers to the ground). The length of the front leg (measured from point of elbow to the ground) equals slightly more than one-half of the dog's height. The back is short, strong, and straight with only a slight downward slope from the withers to the root of the tail. The loin is strong, of moderate length, and slightly arched. The croup is slightly sloping. The ribs extend well back and are well sprung out from the spine, then curving down and inward. The forechest extends in a shallow oval shape in front of the forelegs. The chest is deep, reaching to the elbows, and of moderate width. The deepest part of the chest is just behind the elbows. Tuck-up is apparent but not exaggerated.

Hindquarters

The hindquarters are strong and well-muscled. The angulations of the hindquarters is in balance with the angulations of the forequarters. The stifles are well-bent, and the hocks are well let down. When the dog is standing, the short, strong rear pasterns are perpendicular to the ground and, viewed from the rear, parallel to one another.

Feet

Good feet are essential for a working gun dog. Feet are compact, well-knit, and round to oval in shape. Toes are well arched. Pads are thick and hard. Nails are strong. Front dewclaws may be removed.

Tail

The tail is a natural extension of the top line and is docked to about one-half its natural length or long enough to cover the dog's genital area when the tail is hanging down. The tail is thick and muscular at the base. When the dog is relaxed, the tail hangs down naturally. When the dog is moving or alert, the tail is carried level with the back or only slightly above level. When hunting, the tail may wag laterally. The tail should never curl over the back or be carried between the legs.

Disqualifications: Bob tail; screw tail.

Coat

The coat is short and flat-lying. On the back, the coat is dense and somewhat coarse to the touch. From the back to the abdomen the coat texture and density changes gradually so that the coat under the elbows, in the groin, and inner thighs is less dense and softer. The hair on the head is very short, fine, and soft, and even more so on the ears, which should feel velvety to the touch.

Color

Color may be any shade of yellow or brown. White markings are allowed on the neck or throat; on the legs from the elbow down; and on the abdomen. White may also form a muzzle band and a stripe up the muzzle and between the eyes and ears.

Disqualification: Albinism.

Height and Weight

Desirable height at maturity for males is 22 inches and for females, 20 inches, with an allowable variation of 1½ inches either way.

Desirable weight for a male in working condition is between 44 and 59 pounds and between 35 and 48 pounds for a female.

Fault: Over or under allowable height.

Gait

When trotting, the gait is effortless, smooth, powerful and well coordinated, showing good but not exaggerated reach in front and drive behind. The backline remains level with only a slight flexing to indicate suppleness. Viewed from any position, legs turn neither in nor out, nor do feet cross or interfere with each other. As speed increases, feet tend to converge toward center line of balance. It is recommended that dogs be shown on a loose lead and moved at a moderate speed to reflect true gait. Poor movement should be penalized to the degree to which it reduces the Portuguese Pointer's ability to perform the tasks it was bred to do.

Disqualifications

Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Viciousness or extreme shyness. Split nose. Albinism. Bob tail. Screw tail.