KENAI
Slovakian Wirehaired Pointer

The breeds · gun dog · versatile

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 320

Slovakian Wirehaired Pointer.

Continental pointing dog of braque type (FCI Group 7, Section 1.1, with working trial), a post-war Slovak creation from the Cesky Fousek, German Wirehaired Pointer and Weimaraner (the AKC page's history; the standard carries no history): 'must be fit and able to work on the plain, in the woods and in the water and especially to work after the shooting, searching and retrieving wounded game'. An HPR (hunt, point, retrieve) breed in the UK and a NAVHDA recognized versatile breed in North America.

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.

26 / 24INHeightdogs 25.6, bitches 23.8. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
50–65LBWeight, all linesbreed 57.5 lb (50 to 65).
1HRSExercise, every dayRoyal Kennel Club band: 'Up to 1 hour per day'. 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 25.6 in (24.4 to 26.8) · bitches 23.8 in (22.4 to 25.2)

Breed clubFédération Cynologique Internationale, 1996

Center is the midpoint (60.5 cm). The AKC page prints 22.5-26 in for females, a top above the standard's; the standard is used.

Weight

57.5 lb (50 to 65)

Breed clubAKC

The FCI standard prints no weight ('Size' only). Single registry source; fewer than three sources behind this value. Center is the midpoint.

Coat

Undercoat 'down short and fine', normally lost in summer; topcoat about 4 cm, harsh, straight and flat; longer, softer hair on the lower muzzle forming a moustache, marked oblique hair above the eyes, short harsh hair on forehead and occiput, short soft hair on the ears, a very hairy tail. Colour 'grey' (brown-shaded sable) in lighter and darker shadings, with or without white markings on legs and chest, or grey with larger markings or speckling

Breed clubFédération Cynologique Internationale, 1996

The RKC lists grey and grey roan as breed-standard colours; the AKC coat band is wiry, short.

Shedding

Shedding 2 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 · About 4 cm harsh flat wire coat over a short fine undercoat that is normally shed in summer

DerivedFédération Cynologique Internationale, 1996

Derived from the standard's coat description: a medium double coat = 3 (the medium band). The summer loss of undercoat is noted by the standard but does not move the band.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

Royal Kennel Club band: 'Up to 1 hour per day'

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band for the import-register breed; the AKC Energy Level band is 4 of 5, so the RKC hour reads as a floor for a working dog.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day (RKC); the AKC: 'happiest doing things with their owner', a partner for hiking, cycling or jogging, with free running in a secure area 'imperative' because 'their hunting instinct is very strong'

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC Energy Level 4 of 5 (between 'Moderate' and 'High Energy'); Mental Stimulation Needs 3 of 5; Trainability 5 of 5; 'lively, happy, and eager to please ... a lot of energy and are very smart but get bored easily'; the standard: 'obedient and easy to train', gallops when working the plain

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

2 of 5 · Royal Kennel Club band: grooming 'Once a week'; coat length medium; sheds, no

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The AKC band is 1 of 5 ('Monthly'), shedding 2 of 5, with text 'minimal grooming', a damp cloth between baths and a grooming mitt or shedding knife in shedding season. The RKC band is the first-choice source and gives 2 (weekly brush). The two registries disagree on whether the breed sheds; the standard says the undercoat is lost in summer.

Grooming

Minimal: a damp-cloth wipe between baths, a grooming mitt or shedding knife when the undercoat drops, nails every four weeks (RKC: once a week)

Breed clubAKC

The work

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

Role

Continental pointing dog of braque type (FCI Group 7, Section 1.1, with working trial), a post-war Slovak creation from the Cesky Fousek, German Wirehaired Pointer and Weimaraner (the AKC page's history; the standard carries no history): 'must be fit and able to work on the plain, in the woods and in the water and especially to work after the shooting, searching and retrieving wounded game'. An HPR (hunt, point, retrieve) breed in the UK and a NAVHDA recognized versatile breed in North America

Breed clubFédération Cynologique Internationale, 1996

BASC: designed 'as a largish, powerful hunting dog that found and pointed game, he would then retrieve tenderly to hand from land and water', with emphasis on work after the shot. The RKC names the same three ancestors (Czech Pointer, German Wire Haired Pointer, Weimaraner); the FCI standard itself prints no historical summary.

Primary game

Upland game found and pointed on the plain and in the woods, then retrieved; the breed was built for the Slovak hunter who wanted one dog 'capable of executing a wide range of prey be it from land or water'

EditorialBritish Association for Shooting and Conservation, 2024

No source names a single bird; the standard names terrain (plain, woods, water), not species. Editorial source for the game list.

Also used on

Waterfowl retrieved from water; wounded game tracked and retrieved after the shot; 'small mammals to hares and even deer' (BASC)

EditorialBritish Association for Shooting and Conservation, 2024

The standard: 'especially to work after the shooting, searching and retrieving wounded game'.

Range

Medium-close: the breed's founders tested for about 30 paces ahead and 80 to each side of the gun, a dog that 'did not range too far'

EditorialBritish Association for Shooting and Conservation, 2024

One editorial source; fewer than three sources behind this value.

Search pattern

Bred for a dog that 'did not range too far (the Czech test rules looked for a dog seeking at 30 paces in front and 80 paces to each side)'; the standard: 'at work on the plain the dog gallops', movement 'balanced, lively'; 'a sensitive side to him and cannot be pushed into working for you'

EditorialBritish Association for Shooting and Conservation, 2024

Editorial source for the pattern; the standard supplies the gait. The UK club's working tests are run under HPR rules.

Field trial standard

In the UK the breed runs in HPR gundog working tests and field trials under Kennel Club rules; the breed club's annual Gundog Working Test is its main event, with shot-over, steadiness, spring pointing, water and tracking training days. In North America a NAVHDA recognized breed tested on field search and pointing, water retrieving and tracking. The UK club's health page and the RKC set no field or health qualification for breeding; the club 'strongly recommends' breeders endorse registrations until BVA/KC hip scoring and an assessment of conformation and temperament are done

Breed clubSlovakian Rough Haired Pointer Club (UK)

The Slovak parent club's breeding rules (Klub chovateľov slovenských hrubosrstých stavačov) were not opened; in its homeland the FCI 'with working trial' classification means a working qualification is part of breed championships.

Water work

Water work is in the standard's definition of the breed: able 'to work on the plain, in the woods and in the water'; BASC: retrieves 'from land and water'; the UK club runs a summer water training day for non-swimmers to experienced dogs; NAVHDA judges water retrieving and duck search

Breed clubFédération Cynologique Internationale, 1996

Cold water

3 of 5 · Harsh 4 cm wire coat with a short fine undercoat; the standard: 'must be fit and able to work on the plain, in the woods and in the water and especially to work after the shooting, searching and retrieving wounded game'; BASC: 'retrieve tenderly to hand from land and water'

DerivedFédération Cynologique Internationale, 1996

Derived from coat (fci_std) and water work (fci_std, basc_spotlight, navhda_breeds). A wire coat shorter and thinner than a German Wirehaired Pointer's; 3, a versatile dog that retrieves from water rather than a cold-water specialist.

How common the problems are

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

Hip dysplasia

No Slovakian Wirehaired Pointer row in the OFA hip, elbow or any other table (too few North American evaluations to publish; the breed entered the AKC Foundation Stock Service in 2018). UK BVA/KC hip scores to date range from 4 (2/2) to 29 (14/15) with a breed average of 10 (srhpc_health)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Recorded so the absence of an OFA figure is visible; no percentage is claimed. The UK figure is a club-reported BVA/KC score summary with no n printed, not a percent dysplastic, so it is not entered as the center.

Most common disorders

The UK club: 'current health reports are less than 3% of the breed total' and the RKC has no breed-specific points of concern (Breed Watch category 1); a small number of idiopathic epilepsy cases reported through the club's surveys, cause unknown; BVA/KC hip scores 4 to 29, breed average 10. The AKC: 'a generally healthy breed', with breeders screening for elbow and hip dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy and cataracts. BASC calls it 'one of the healthiest gundog breeds'

Breed clubSlovakian Rough Haired Pointer Club (UK)

Club and registry statements only; no VetCompass, UK survey prevalence, insurer or OFA figure exists for this breed. The club runs general, skin and longevity surveys whose results are not published on the page.

More

akc bands

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

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.

No KENAI kennel lists the Slovakian Wirehaired 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. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Slovenský Hrubosrstý Stavač, Slovensky Hrubosrsty Stavac, Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer, Wirehaired Slovakian Pointer, Slovakian Wire-Haired Pointing Dog, Slovak, SWP, SH

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