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Deutsch Drahthaar

The breeds · gun dog · versatile

UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 98

Deutsch Drahthaar.

Versatile working gundog that 'must be usable for all the work in the field, in the woods and in water before and after the shot' (FCI 98 utilization clause); in practice points, retrieves fur and feather on land and from water, blood-tracks wounded game and drives game from cover, the subjects of the VDD/JGHV tests.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13YRMedian lifespan12.5 to 13.6, measured on real dogs.
25 / 24INHeightdogs 25.4, bitches 23.8. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
45–70LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 62.5 lb (55 to 70); breed bitches 52.5 lb (45 to 60).
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day (RKC band for the German Wirehaired Pointer, the UK name for FCI 98). The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 25.4 in (24 to 26.8) · bitches 23.8 in (22.4 to 25.2)

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 98, 2002

Center is the midpoint of the FCI range (60.5 cm). UKC: females 22 to 25 inches.

Weight

dogs 62.5 lb (55 to 70) · bitches 52.5 lb (45 to 60)

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2024

Center is the midpoint. Single registry behind this value.

Coat

Wirehaired, harsh, flat lying and dense; outer coat approximately 2 to 4 cm with a dense, water-resistant undercoat; shorter but dense on lower legs, brisket, belly, head and ears; pronounced eyebrows and a harsh beard; sparse coat lacking undercoat is a severe fault

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 98, 2002

UKC: 'wiry and very harsh, of medium length, and thick, with a close fitting undercoat'. Note the FCI coat (2 to 4 cm) runs longer than the AKC GWP standard's one to two inches at the top of its range.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · 3 of 5: medium-length harsh double coat with dense undercoat

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 98, 2002

Derived from the FCI coat description (medium double = 3).

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13 years (12.5 to 13.6)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

SHARED FCI-98 FIGURE. The UK Kennel Club's German Wirehaired Pointer is the FCI standard 98 breed, which FCI titles 'Deutsch Drahthaar (German Wirehaired Pointer)'. VDD-registered dogs are not separately identifiable in the UK data, so this is the best available measurement for the FCI-98 population, not a VDD-specific one. The same row is shown on the german-wirehaired-pointer entry. Teng et al. 2022 does not include the breed under any name.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day (RKC band for the German Wirehaired Pointer, the UK name for FCI 98)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-98 band; see median_lifespan_yr note. VDD-GNA describes the breed as 'a passionate hunting dog with industry and endurance'.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-98 band (RKC lists the breed as German Wirehaired Pointer).

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC band for the German Wirehaired Pointer, the UK name for FCI 98)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-98 band; 'More than once a week' = 3 on the 1 to 5 scale.

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Shared FCI-98 band.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Versatile working gundog that 'must be usable for all the work in the field, in the woods and in water before and after the shot' (FCI 98 utilization clause); in practice points, retrieves fur and feather on land and from water, blood-tracks wounded game and drives game from cover, the subjects of the VDD/JGHV tests

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 98, 2002

FCI 98 utilization clause is the quoted sentence; the task list (point, retrieve fur and feather, blood track, drive) comes from the VDD-GNA test descriptions (vdd_gna_tests), not the standard. VDD-GNA: 'a dog that can be used universally for a full range of tasks and as a dog for the work after the shot'. UKC: 'expected to point his game on land, retrieve from water or retrieve a rabbit if shot'.

Primary game

Upland birds and waterfowl, with fur (hare, rabbit, fox) and wounded big game tracking as required test subjects rather than sidelines

Breed clubVDD-GNA

Read from the JGHV test content (HZP: feathered and furred game drags, duck search; VGP: fox retrieve over obstacle, 400 m blood track). The VDD system does not name a single primary species; 'primary' here is KENAI's reading of what the tests weight. The club states the system 'weights the work of the dog after the shot more heavily'.

Also used on

Blood tracking of wounded deer and boar (VSwP 20- and 40-hour tracks); fox and other fur; driving game in forest

Breed clubVDD-GNA

Range

Medium: the search is judged for cooperation with the handler in field and forest, not for distance

Breed clubVDD-GNA

No published range figure; characterization rests on the JGHV search and cooperation subjects. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Field trial standard

JGHV/VDD tests, each dog judged against a standard by three judges: VJP (spring, young dogs: tracking, nose, search, pointing, cooperation, gun soundness; 12-point scale), HZP (fall: adds water work with duck search and blind retrieve, fur and feather drags to 300 m, obedience, gun sensitivity on water), VGP (two-day utility: field, water, forest including fox retrieve over a 70 to 80 cm obstacle, 400 m blood track aged 2 to 5 hours, steadiness, obedience; Prize I to III), VSwP (blood tracking specialty). Breeding requires a passed VJP, HZP/Hegewald, VGP or VSwP with at least 'sufficient' in tracking and independent water search, plus proof of no gun sensitivity and no game shyness

Breed clubVDD-GNA

vdd_gna_tests and vdd_breeding_regs. This is what makes the Drahthaar its own row: the test system is a breeding gate, not an optional title.

Water work

Mandatory: a dog cannot be bred without at least a 'sufficient' predicate in Independent Search in Water with dense cover; HZP and VGP include a duck search behind live duck and water retrieves with a shot fired

Breed clubVDD Breeding Regulations (Zuchtordnung), 2019

vdd_breeding_regs and vdd_gna_tests.

Cold water

4 of 5 · 4 of 5: dense water-resistant undercoat under a harsh wire jacket; water work is mandatory in the breed's tests (HZP and VGP) and a sufficient water search is required to breed

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 98, 2002

Derived from coat plus the VDD test and breeding requirements (vdd_gna_tests, vdd_breeding_regs).

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

Hereditary concerns the VDD breeds against: hip dysplasia (HD-frei, grade A or B, required to breed), shoulder osteochondrosis (OCD-frei required since Jan 1 2012), elbow dysplasia (ED-frei stamp; HD, OCD and ED all named as breeding-excluding skeletal diseases), bleeding disorders (hemophilia B, von Willebrand disease), epilepsy-like seizures, entropion/ectropion, dentition faults, malformed or deficient sexual organs (cryptorchidism) and temperament faults (gun shy, game shy, gun sensitive)

Breed clubVDD-GNA

No prevalence figures published on the pages opened; this is the club's list of what it screens and excludes, not a disorder ranking. No VetCompass or UK survey table exists under the Drahthaar name (UK data are filed under German Wirehaired Pointer). Fewer than three independent sources.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Deutsch Drahthaar yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Deutsch Drahthaar against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
DD, Drahthaar, German Drahthaar (UKC name)

Every breed, read the same way.

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