The breeds · gun dog · pointing

UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 281

Old Danish Pointing Dog.

FCI 281 utilization: 'Versatile gundog for birds.' Club compendium (Mar 2026): known for its close-ranging search and its ability to work steadily and reliably; calmness, scenting ability, endurance and willingness to cooperate. UKC: a versatile gun dog for a variety of birds; suitable for small as well as large hunting grounds. Wikipedia: pointing dog; the name refers to pointing galliform birds (Danish 'honsefugle'), not to chickens..

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.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

57–77LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 66 to 77.2 lb; breed bitches 57 to 68.3 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 21 to 23.6 in · bitches 19.5 to 22 in

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

'Above 52 cm preferred' is a floor, not an ideal, so no center.

Weight

dogs 66 to 77.2 lb · bitches 57 to 68.3 lb

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

FCI and UKC agree.

Coat

FCI 281: short, dense, somewhat hard to the touch, covering the body entirely; skin not too fine, looser on head and neck forming dewlap and lip folds. Colour white with brown markings, a few large or many small brown specks; brown to dark brown preferred. UKC: short, dense and hard; white with brown markings, or brown roan.

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · 4 of 5: short, dense, hard single-layer coat

DerivedFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

Derived from the FCI/UKC coat description. Derived, not measured.

The work

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

Role

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

Wikipedia is unsourced on the name; FCI/UKC/club agree on bird work.

Primary game

Birds (FCI 281 utilization). Wikipedia: Galliformes, specifically the pheasant family (Phasianidae).

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

Wikipedia statement flagged as needing citations.

Range

Close-ranging, per the club compendium's foreword; FCI 281: suited to small as well as large hunting grounds, keeps contact with the hunter.

Breed clubClub for Old Danish Pointers (Dansk Kennel Klub breed club), 2026

No distance figure is published.

Search pattern

FCI 281: 'During the hunt progressing rather slowly, always maintaining contact with the hunter and accomplishing its task as a pointing dog without creating unnecessary disturbance of the ground.' Wikipedia repeats this wording and adds that the dog is fast and active outdoors.

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

Field trial standard

FCI 281 classifies the breed 'with working trial' (Group 7, Section 1.1). The Danish test rules and pass thresholds were not found on any page read.

Breed clubFCI-Standard No. 281, 1998

See open_gaps.

No KENAI kennel lists the Old Danish Pointing Dog 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. 2 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Gammel Dansk Honsehund, Old Danish Pointer, Old Danish Bird Dog

Every breed, read the same way.

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

All published breeds

Your old danish pointing dog, on the record.

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