I’m a veteran show dog handler. People have been paying me to exhibit their dogs in breed conformation shows for more than 30 years now. I think in all those years, I’ve probably come close to showing just about every dog breed the AKC recognizes, or at least it seems that way. Some breeds seem to have a better chance of winning the big prizes than others. I guess that’s because they’re so popular with the public and the judges.
10k runs/walks can be a lot of fun, they raise a lot of money for charities, and those long walks or runs are good for you, too. But have you ever considered bringing your Pointer along with you, to walk by your side while you’re raising money for charity?
I train and board dogs for a living. I own my own boarding kennel, and I’m here to tell you I’m always thrilled when one of my boarding clients walks through the door with a Pointer. These dogs are the best when it comes to boarding, whether they’re just staying with me overnight or they’ll be here for a week or two.
If you own a Pointer, you probably already realize that some of these dogs can be a bit difficult to housetrain. It’s not that they don’t want to please you, because they most certainly do. If you housetrained your dog as a puppy, it probably just took a little longer than expected because of his short attention span and the way Pointers can get distracted by birds and so forth. At any rate, you finally got through it, just like I did. The funny thing is, now that my dog is fully housetrained, I’m wondering how he can “hold it” for so long!
I’m not a hunter, but I sure can’t convince my Pointer of that. Let me explain, because I guess that sounds kind of weird … My husband and I live in a golf community where new homes are still being built. In addition to our homes we have two golf courses and a number of other activities on the grounds to keep us residents busy. In fact, the golf courses are why we moved here a few years ago. But in addition to these amenities, we also have a lot of birds in the area.
I guess you’d describe me as a middle-aged guy. I wanted a Pointer because I thought I’d take him out hunting. Well, that didn’t work out, although it wasn’t the dog’s fault. As it turns out, I can’t hit the broad side of a barn, so I gave up that idea pretty quickly.
You’ve probably already done some reading about Pointers, so you already know they have a lot of great personality traits. They’re gentle, kind, bright and friendly, and they’re very good around kids. Pointers are not overly territorial, either, so they even get along great with other dogs! They’re also incredibly easy to groom. In fact, all they really need is a monthly nail trimming and an occasional bath and ear wash.