why do pointers point? Are they the only breed that points? I was told I had a half boxer and half doberman dog. But she looks more like a pointer, I have noticed she always puts her paw up when she stops walking. I thought she was injured at first but noticed it is not always the same paw and she runs and walks fine. She love to run and jump. I have never had a dog like her. I am wondering if the mom somehow mated with a pointer and the owner was just not aware of it. Or do boxers or dobermans do the same? I would appreicate your feed back. Thanks, barbara:)

Many breeds of dogs point, not just pointers:

They point due to being selectively bred for that trait, for use in hunting.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_breed for more info.

Pointers are carefully bred and trained to emphasis a behavior that already existed and you see in in other dogs. Most dogs can be trained to fetch, even if they are not retrievers. So the dog could be half pointer, or just do a little pointing.

However, you are correct, a female in season can mate with more than one dog. Many people have an unpleasant surprise after mating a female with a male they choose, she goes and mates with another male. The father of the litter she delivers may any one of the dogs she mated with or a mixture. You can be sure of the mother, but unless she was carefully confined, who knows about the father.

There are several unpleasant surprises that can happen when you have an intact female and plan to breed her. That is why I hate to see questions about breeding dogs from people that haven't done their homework. You can't get it right without doing more work than many do. Excuse the sermon, but we fail to educate people about this and then slaughter dogs by the millions for lack of homes.

As to the pointing thing, no - several other breeds point - the hunting breeds of spaniels and of course setters.

Pointing is NOT just stopping with one leg up - it is a tight, stiff nose in the direction of the quarry (gamebirds), and there's not always a leg in the air. The dogs are supposed to stay on the point and wait until the hunter tells them to flush the bird - when they run in and scare the bird into the air for shooting.

Neither dobbies or boxers have anything in their background that would make them instinctually point in the true sense of the word.

-Beth (Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue)

I have never had a dog like this. She seems to get so excited sniffing, she is a high and I mean High jumper, she runs really Really fast, and more often than not when she is standing still she has one of her paw up. I know that a lot of dogs do the things I described above, but the way she does them really stands out to me. Maybe we should start a site were we can post our doggie pics. Lol barbara

You can have your dog tested to find out exactly what breeds it may be. Some are as low as $38. See links below for more information.

http://www.vetdnacenter.com/canine.html
http://www.vetgen.com/
http://www.akc.org/dna/index.cfm

Hey thanks! Good idea. I may just do that. Barbara