dogage.co
LargeSporting Group

German Wirehaired Pointer

The German Wirehaired Pointer was developed in late-1800s Germany as a rough-coated all-purpose gundog, combining pointer stock with pudelpointer and griffon bloodlines.

Calculate German Wirehaired Pointer age
Lifespan13 yrrange 12–14
SizeLargeSporting Group
Weight50–70 lb22.7–31.8 kg
Senior at6 yrgeriatric at 10

Gallery (3)

About

About the German Wirehaired Pointer

The German Wirehaired Pointer was developed in late-1800s Germany as a rough-coated all-purpose gundog, combining pointer stock with pudelpointer and griffon bloodlines. The coarse wire outer coat protects the dog in thorny cover.

Aging

How German Wirehaired Pointers age

RVC VetCompass data places median lifespan at 13.0 years (n=700). Hypothyroidism on OFA screens sits at 9.2% — notably elevated — alongside typical retriever-family elbow dysplasia rates near 2.4%.

Lifespan deep-diveAvg 13 yr · range 12–14Senior careSenior at 6 · geriatric at 10Common health issues6 tracked conditions
Physical

Physical characteristics

Weight
50–70 lb(22.7–31.8 kg)
Height
22–26 in(55.9–66 cm)
Coat type
Wire
Colors
LiverLiver & WhiteBlack & White
Temperament

Temperament

How German Wirehaired Pointers tend to show up around their people, other dogs, and the world.

energeticeagerintelligentaffectionate
  • Energy
  • Trainability
  • Good with kids
  • Good with other dogs
  • Shedding
Health

Common health issues

Full health profile
  • Moderatetypical onset ~5 yr

    Hypothyroidism

    Description and veterinary guidance for Hypothyroidism land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

  • Low prevalencetypical onset ~2 yr

    Elbow Dysplasia

    Description and veterinary guidance for Elbow Dysplasia land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

  • Low prevalencetypical onset ~7 yr

    Cataracts

    Description and veterinary guidance for Cataracts land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

Exercise
90min
per day

German Wirehaired Pointers are high-output dogs — plan for 90 minutes of daily activity across a mix of walks, off-leash play, and purposeful work.

Related

Related breeds

Breeds with a similar size and group profile, for readers comparing options.

Compare

Compare German Wirehaired Pointer to another breed

Pick any of the 200 breeds in the library and we'll open a side-by-side comparison.

Start typing a breed name.

References

Sources

Lifespan and health figures on this page are drawn from the peer-reviewed and organizational sources below.

  1. AKC breed standardAmerican Kennel Club breed page

    Breed size, weight range, height, AKC group, origin, coat type, and temperament baseline.

  2. RVC VetCompassRoyal Veterinary College VetCompass life-table research (McMillan et al. 2024)

    UK primary-care records; source for the median-lifespan and mortality figures.