Old Danish Pointer

While the Old Danish Pointer’s history is not known for certain, it is widely accepted that around 1710, Morten Bak began cross breeding gypsy dogs with local farm dogs. Bak lived in Glenstrup, Denmark located near Randers and Hobro. After carefully breeding for eight generations, the resulting dogs were named Bakhounds. These dogs were uniform in coloring, being white and brown piebald. Researchers think that the local farm dogs used to develop the Old Danish Pointer were Bloodhounds and Squire Scent Hounds. Squire Scent Hounds directly descended from the St. Hubert Hounds. The gypsy dogs are thought to have been Spanish Pointing Dogs and other scent hounds of Spanish influence. These dogs were developed to be a versatile bird and gun dog. Once the breed was established, they went through several name changes such as the Old Danish Chicken Dog, Gammel Dansk Honeshund, Old Danish Bird Dog, Old Danish Pointing Dog, Altdanischer Huhnerhund, Ancien Chien d’Arret Danois. With so many different names, there was a lot of confusion over his official breed standard until all standards were combined together to create one standard that listed all of his names. He was officially named the Old Danish Pointer in the 19^th century. The Old Danish Pointer was on the brink of extinction in the mid-20^th century. With the effort of several devoted breeders, the Old Danish Pointer was kept from becoming extinct and has gained in popularity throughout Denmark. The American Kennel Club recognized the Old Danish Pointer as a part of the sporting group in 1884. The Old Danish Pointer was officially recognized by the United Kennel Club in 2006.