German Wirehaired Pointer History Around 1850, the incidence of political revolt, together with improvements in the shotgun and the cartridge, spurred the business of hunting to such degree that everybody, regardless of class distinction, took to the hunt. The number of sportsmen, as a result, doubled, more dogs were bred, and the hunting breeds became more specialized; continental sportsmen, always seeking the best, sought an all-purpose dog that could hunt in varied terrain - and the Pointer emerged. One of these, the Deutsch-Drahthaar (German Wirehair), was native to Germany. In its early stages, the Deutsch-Drahthaar Club catered to all varieties of wirehaired pointing dogs, separating only later into categories depending on purpose. Most of the early wirehaired Pointers represented a combination of Griffon, Stichelhaar (both mixtures of Pointer, Foxhound, Pudelpointer, and Polish water dog), Pudelpointer (a cross of Poodle and Pointer) and German Shorthair. The Germans preferred an extra-rugged hunter capable of working on any kind of game on any terrain to a specialized hunting breed. They continued to breed the distinctive traits of Pointer, Foxhound, and Poodle until they had created what is today the German Wirehair, a constitutionally tough, courageous breed who pointed and retrieved equally well on land and in water. Coat has always been one of the most emphasized and important features of the breed, representing the breed's all-weather quality; it is to large extent water-repellent and shields the body from rough cover while maintaining the skeletal outline. Although the GWP had become a favored sporting dog in Germany many years earlier, it was not admitted into the German Kartell for dogs until 1928. The breed was imported into the US in the 1920's, and in 1953, the German Drahthaar Club of America was formed. The breed was admitted into the AKC in 1959, when the parent club was officially changed to the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America.     The coat of the German Wirehaired Pointer is weather-resistant in every sense of the term, and it is to large extent water-repellent. It is straight, harsh, wiry, and quite flat-lying. One and one half to two inches in length, it is long enough to shield the body from rough cover, yet not so long as to hide the outline. The German Wirehaired Pointer was imported into the United States in the 1920's and admitted into AKC's stud book in 1959. Most of the early wirehaired Pointers represented a combination of Griffon, Stichelhaar, Pudelpointer, and German Shorthair. The Pudelpointer was a cross between a Poodle dog and an English Pointer bitch, while the Griffon and the Stichelhaar were composed of Pointer, Foxhound, Pudelpointer, and a Polish Water dog. Thus, it is easy to appreciate the different hunting skills incorporated in the wirehaired Pointers of a century or more ago. The German Wirehaired Pointer was first bred as a result of increased popularity in hunting in order to accommodate demand for new breeds. The German Wirehaired Pointer works equally well in land and water, in part due to the unique coat. The coat of the German Wirehaired Pointer, the breed's most distinctive feature, is dense enough in the water to protect against harsh cold, but it sheds in the summer to the point of veritable invisibility.