My Bearded Lady

Many people around the world have a pup as a companion and a friend. We all know the popular breeds that so many of us love; Labs, Poodles, Golden Retrievers, German Shepards, Bulldogs, Beagles, the list goes on. However, today I'll be sharing my experiences of having the privilege 0f owning a more rare and unheard-of dog breed.

This is my dog, Rosie. She is a two-and-a-half-year-old Pudelpointer who likes to get into trouble more often than not. Now many of you reading this who have never heard of the breed may be wondering what they are. Pudelpointers were bread in the 19th Century somewhere in Germany. However, this breed is the result of a trial and error process of breeding The English Pointer and The Poodle. Hence the name, Pudelpointer. The idea behind creating this variation of hunting dog was to get the most out of both breeds, which means the trainability, protective coat, and love of water of The Poodle and the general hunting skills of The English Pointer.

The Pudelpointer belongs to the same family of dogs as other more popular breeds like the English Pointer, German Shorthaired Pointer, Vizsla, and Weinheimer. Plus physically she is a perfect "in the middle" dog if you would. Being a female she weighs about 45-50 pounds with the males weighing about 55-60 pounds. They only shed about one specific time a year and that is when they drop their winter coats when it begins getting warm again. We never had any problems with drooling and she was relatively easy to house train (except when she got excited or scared then she would pee everywhere, but that solved itself as she matured). Finally, how could I forget the signature beard that most Pudelpointers have? Some might say it's their defining feature and that is why Rosie is often mistaken for a boy.

Behavior is one of my favorite and least favorite things about the dog breed. One thing I love about the breed is how vocal they can be. Pudelpointers are known for having a distinguished howl that we call a "roo" and every time she gets excited she "roos" which if you're wondering what that sounds like it is literally like saying "roo roo roo roo". One thing I don't like about the breed but don't mind too much is that they are pretty high-energy dogs. They are always needing activity and are a lot to take care of sometimes. Then again that depends on the mood they are in because sometimes she lays around napping for hours. All in all, they are high energy because they are bred to be high energy and in our case, we wanted a hunting dog so that is exactly what we were looking for.

With Hunting comes once again pros and cons. For instance, a major con is that she will find and bring you the most unwanted present you've ever received in your life. For us, it was an entire deer carcass bone by bone.

However, the pros are that she is a truly great companion to have out on the field when we need her. Being a Versatile Hunting Dog means she can do everything we need in any hunting environment whether that be point, flush, or retrieve.

I would 100% recommend this dog breed to anyone looking to find a hunting dog or just someone who is looking for something a little more unique. These dogs will love you unconditionally and are so willing to please. Thanks for letting me share my story and happy hunting!