Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer (Slovenský hrubosrstý Stavač, Ohař)

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is multipurpose sporting dog, which was created after World War II in the Czechoslovakia. This proficient pointer and retriever quickly earned the worldwide recognition among hunters for its exceptional adaptability and complaisant demeanour. It’s also noted to have a well-balanced temperament so it has prospects of becoming a fabulous family dog.

Photo: © Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Club (Provisional)

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is fairly newly developed breed, which originated in Slovakia in the late 50s of XX century. In the post-war years hunting began to slowly reclaim its former meaning although the old ways of hunting were acknowledged as out-dated. The necessity of creating a new, more adaptable and universal hunting breeds became really urgent and stimulated lots of breeding experiments.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer was the result of combined breeding efforts of several avid hunters headed by Kolomana Slimaka. At that period the Weimaraner was considered one of the best gundogs so it was utilised as the foundation for their breeding program. It was mated with the German Wire-Haired Pointer and the Ceski Fousek and after a few generations of try and error the goal of inventing a perfect hunting dog was finally accomplished.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer soon acquired the reputation of an ultimate hunter’s companion, which is able to function equally effectively on land and water. Being a highly skilful tracker this dog could find even a subtle scent and follow it with necessary determination and consistency. The dense coat served it as an excellent protection when it hunted in bushy terrains. Hunters depended on this dog also as an excellent retriever both of wounded and fallen quarry. Despite its primarily working purposes this sweet-tempered breed became moderately popular as a companion animal in its native country.

Initially the Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer was mistakenly attributed to the variety of the Weimaraner and was nicknamed as the Rough-Haired Weimaraner. This misinterpretation was fixed in 1975 when it was excluded from the Weimaraner classification.

Due to its incredible popularity as a hunting dog the breed was accepted to the Slovakian Hunters Union soon after its creation. In 1982 it eventually gained recognition of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). Currently this gundog is still regarded as a highly valuable companion for any hunter who likes diverse hunting experience.

Apart from being a supreme hunting dog the Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is highly prized as an affectionate and loyal companion dog. The breed tends to act lazy and calm once its exercise requirements have been correctly met. It enjoys giving and receiving attention from all family members and commonly develops especially touching attachment to children. However, this dog should be timely socialised in order to learn to control its vigorous temperament in interaction with too young children.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is generally polite but somewhat reserved with unfamiliar people. It’s usually excited at the perspective of acquiring a new friend and it’s very open and active in expressing its joy and friendly feelings. An under-socialised specimen can experience some communicational problems and can become overly shy or nervous in the presence of a stranger. Thanks to its attentive nature and alertness this breed can be charged with the duty of a watchdog. At the same time it certainly lacks essential fierceness to become an effective guard dog.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is usually well-behaved with other canines as long as it has been introduced to their company since an early age. The breed will welcome an opportunity to have a permanent playmate among other dogs although it also thrives in the role of a single dog. This dog is an inborn hunter so it’s rather aggressive towards non-canine animals. It can accept a household cat as a part of its pack provided they have been reared together. At the same time the breed will chase and kill any moving object, which even slightly resembles a prey.

The most common problems for the breed include:

· discospondylitis;

· steriod responsive meningitis arteritis (SRMA);· immune system problems;
· cancers;
· metaphyseal osteopathy;
· canine hip dysplasia;
· idiopathic epilepsy;
· eye problems.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer’s grooming won’t take much of your precious time. It posses rough, thick coat, which is distinguishable for its self-cleaning nature. It’s essential to bathe this dog as rare as possible since water can strip natural oils, which help to protect it from adversary weather.

In order to maintain the dog’s coat free of mats and tangles its owner should weekly brush it with a firm bristle brush. He also should pay proper attention to such typical maintenance routine as nail trimming and teeth brushing.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is a highly trainable breed due to its obedient nature and cleverness. This dog is also an eager learner and loves to have a task, which occupies its quick mind. A confident and imposing trainer will be able to teach it really complex commands and even sequences of commands.

But bear in mind that the breed is an expert in hunting so some interesting smell can easily draw its attention from training. For better results the handler should keep the training sessions short and fun. The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer won’t put up with rough-housing and usually reacts to it either with wilful behaviour or with fearfulness and grudge. It demonstrates willingness to please only if motivated with reward-based training methods.

The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer is an indefatigable and hard-working gundog, which should receive enough chances to expend its supplies of excessive energy. A daily long and vigorous walk is a must for this dog although it definitely needs more intensive exercises in order to stay calm and laid-back indoors.

This breed can become an outstanding companion for a jogger and it will greatly appreciate an occasional opportunity to swim in some local pond. The Wire-Haired Slovakian Pointer will fit in with the life in a city apartment only if it gets proper amount of physical activity. An under-exercised specimen is prone to become restless, destructive, extremely vocal, over-exited or demonstrates other patterns of undesirable behaviour.