Canadian Pointer

The Canadian Pointer is an excellent gun dog developed in the late 19th century in the United States. They are medium sized, muscular dogs which are primarily used for hunting upland game. It has some differences when compared to its English Pointer counterparts like a narrower gait, shorter ears, etc. Its tail is curled unlike that of the English pointer and is generally 10-12 inches long.

The Canadian Pointer has a thick coat of about 1 1/2 inches long. This coat helps it hunt in cold weather. This breed comes in three colors. The first is black and white and the other two are dark and light shades of brown and white. Spotting of the same color as the coat is seen mostly on the legs. This dog is easy to groom as the coat is very low maintenance and doesn’t require extra care.

Canadian Pointers are extremely intelligent and know how to get out of any tricky situation. Their keen sense of smell comes of good use during hunting trips. They are very protective of the owner and property. Hence they can be used as watch dogs too. They will have to be trained to socialize with other animals at a young age. It is not a widely bred breed and only has a handful of kennel clubs breeding it.

They are generally healthy but can get the usual health problems like hip dysplasia, epilepsy, etc. Their floppy ears can make them susceptible to ear infections. They can be trained to track, hunt, point and retrieve. It is very energetic and makes a very devoted companion. It loves attention and craves for praises from its owner.

They need a lot of space to roam and don’t like apartment living. They don’t like criticism and respond better to reward based training. As it is an active dog, if it doesn’t get adequate amount of exercise everyday, it can become destructive. It may chew on things, dig and bark and whine incessantly. When it is happy and while greeting its owners, it can be very loud and display its happiness by jumping on them.

When taken for walks, they can follow their natural instinct to hunt which can pose a threat to the animals around. Hence they should be leashed when not hunting. If you can provide enough exercise and have a children at home that it can play with, it can be a wonderful house dog and a great companion. Its intelligence is very useful while hunting and training.

It has an average lifespan of 12-15 years. Although the average height is between 22-30 inches, variations exist depending on the health and diet. Even though it is mostly used as a gun dog, because of its even temperament, it also makes a nice family dog. They are very adaptable to the surrounding and even though they are happy hunting, they will be equally as content lying on your sofa. They like the feeling of belonging to the family and love children.