The breeds · gun dog · versatile

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 117

German Longhaired Pointer.

Versatile working gundog that needs 'the required abilities for all work in field, water and forest and for working well before and after the shot'.

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.

25 / 24INHeightdogs 25.4, bitches 24.2. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

55–80LBWeight, all linesbreed 66 lb (55 to 80).

2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day (RKC band). 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 (23.6 to 27.6) · bitches 24.2 in (22.8 to 26)

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 117, 2014

Center is the midpoint of the FCI ideal band (61.5 cm). Same FCI 117 standard the AKC/UKC registry population is bred to. Both sources shown (Chad, Oct 8 2026: show every source).

Weight

66 lb (55 to 80)

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 117, 2014

Center is the FCI average; low and high are the AKC breed-page range (an AKC summary; AKC has no standard for this FSS breed), so a filter finds the dog under either. Both sources shown (Chad, Oct 8 2026: show every source).

Coat

'The greatest importance is attached to correct coat': neither excessively long nor too short; 3 to 5 cm on back and sides, close fitting, sleek, firm, smooth or slightly wavy, dense with good undercoat; may be longer on the underside of the neck, chest and belly; ears wavy and feathered; feathering on the back of the legs with breeches, significantly shorter below the hock; too much feathering not desired. Colours: self-coloured brown; brown with white or speckled markings; dark roan; pale roan; mottled; brown and white; fawn markings occasionally as a throw-back to the hounds

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 117, 2014

Longer hair as beard, bushy eyebrows and curly coat are listed faults. RKC coat length: medium. AKC describes a long coat with dense guard hairs and a moderate undercoat.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · 3 of 5: medium-length (3 to 5 cm) close-fitting coat with good undercoat and feathering

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 117, 2014

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

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)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

UK figure for the shared FCI 117 standard population, registered by The Royal Kennel Club as 'German Longhaired Pointer'; not a figure for AKC/UKC dogs measured in the US.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

UK figure for the shared FCI 117 standard population (RKC, 'German Longhaired Pointer').

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC band; coat length medium)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

UK figure for the shared FCI 117 standard population (RKC); 'More than once a week' = 3 on the 1 to 5 scale. The AKC page scores Coat Grooming Frequency 1 on its own scale, so the two registries disagree; RKC band used per the playbook.

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

UK figure for the shared FCI 117 standard population (RKC).

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 needs 'the required abilities for all work in field, water and forest and for working well before and after the shot'

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 117, 2014

FCI 117 utilization clause. AKC describes it as Continental Europe's version of a setter: a pointing dog with full tail and long coat.

Primary game

Upland birds, with the breed's affection for swimming making it a waterfowl dog as well

Breed clubAKC

AKC: 'the GLP's affection for swimming and, therefore, waterfowl hunting'. One registry source; a club statement was not reachable. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Cold water

4 of 5 · 4 of 5: dense close coat with good undercoat and a well coated belly; the FCI bloodline summary includes a water dog and the utilization clause requires work in water

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 117, 2014

Derived from coat and the FCI utilization clause; AKC notes the breed's 'affection for swimming'.

How common the problems are

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

Most common disorders

OFA eye evaluations (ECVO): 61 dogs, 72.1% normal, 27.9% abnormal, 0.0% breeder option; OFA's per-finding rows were not extracted, so no disorder is named

StudiedOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Registry evaluation statistics, small n (61), owner-submitted so skewed toward breeding stock; do not read as population prevalence. RKC lists the BVA/KC/ISDS eye scheme and the BVA/KC hip scheme as Best Practice for the breed, and says no points of concern specific to the breed have been identified for judges (Breed Watch). Fewer than three sources behind this value.

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

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.

USEye evaluation (OFA publishes a German Longhaired Pointer ECVO eye table, n 61); no hip or elbow row, and the AKC Sporting Group health testing page lists no CHIC requirements for the breedOFA / ACVO eye exam · Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, breed statistics data service (the data behind ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/): hips and elbows, all evaluations on file, read Oct 5 2026

UKHip testing for hip dysplasia (Best Practice per RKC)BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme · The Royal Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z: German Longhaired Pointer (the UK registry's name for the FCI-117 breed; exercise band, grooming band, coat length, Breed Health schemes)
UKEye testing (Best Practice per RKC)BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme · The Royal Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z: German Longhaired Pointer (the UK registry's name for the FCI-117 breed; exercise band, grooming band, coat length, Breed Health schemes)

No KENAI kennel lists the German Longhaired Pointer 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.

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. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: GLP, German Longhair, Deutsch Langhaar (FCI title; separate DLV-registry row)

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your german longhaired pointer, on the record.

Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.

Get the app