The Deutsch Drahthaar was developed in Germany during the
early 20th century as an all-around
hunting dog. Several different breeds went into the creation of the Deutsch Drahthaar
in order to bring together breeds skilled in tracking, pointing, and retrieving on both land and water, including
the short haired Pointers, Pudlepointers, Griffon, and Stichelhaar dogs. Dogs
that are accepted into the breeding program in Germany must pass both a
physical examination and a performance evaluation. The evaluation to allow a Deutsch
Drahthaar to breed includes analysis of the dog’s desire to recover and retrieve
game, the ability to point, and the skills to follow the trail of wounded game,
such as rabbits and deer. The Deutsch Drahthaar breed is the immediate ancestor
of the German Wire Haired Pointer, and the
two are often confused for one another. This is hardly surprising as the two
are nearly identical in both appearance and genetics, but the German Wire Haired
Pointer, as listed in the American Kennel Club standard,
has been bred in the United States separately
from the Deutsch Drahthaar since the 1950s, without the same regulations or
restrictions as its predecessor. German
Wire Haired Pointers as registered with the AKC are not registerable with the
official Verein Deutsch-Drahthaar in Germany, however,
some Drahthaar dogs have been imported from Germany and are then registered as
German Wire Haired pointers with the AKC. While the physical differences between
the two are relatively slight, the temperament of the Deutsch Drahthaar is
sharper and more aggressive than that of the German Wire Haired Pointer, particularly toward other animals.