Currently the German Shorthaired Pointer breed parent club, the GSPCA, disallows a dog with a black coat to compete in the AKC conformation ring. There have been devoted individuals working hard to change that. The breed standard as set by the GSPCA is able to be changed to include the black coated dog, but such a change requires an approval of 2/3's of the members in good standing whose valid ballots are timely submitted. This issue has failed to reach approval. Though we are disappointed with the "oh-so-close" result, the failure will not stop what we are doing with the dogs in our kennel. We have been successful in producing an ideal hunting dog, and will simply wait for a time when our black dogs are allowed to enter the show ring to prove their mettle.
Noteworthy News - The German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America sent out ballots on March 21, 2008 regarding a proposed change to the breed standard to allow the black coat color. The wording of the proposed change was different from the last time the change was voted on, and appropriately refelcted that a tri-colored dog is not acceptable. Here at Wind River's Kennel we asked for your support in voting for the change. The black coat color was an original part of the breed in Germany. Also, a black dog can currently compete in any AKC venue except conformation. Our goal is to fully recognize the black colored dogs and their impact on the breed by allowing them to finally compete in the show ring. Unfortunately, the proposed breed standard change did not pass. Ballots were counted at the GSPCA Annual Meeting in early May, 2008, and it was noted that the issue did not receive the requisite 2/3's vote.
Click Here for more information, genetically speaking, regarding the black coat color. This information comes straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, as the link takes you to the GSPCA website. There you can find scientific information regarding the black coat color in the GSP breed. Worthwhile items to note - the liver color is recessive to black. Please be aware that at Wind River's Kennel, because of this scientific fact, we have never bred a black male to a black female. This practice ensures that even in the black puppies that we produce, there exists a recessive liver gene that can be brought out by continued breeding to liver colored dogs. This practice also ensures that in each litter we produce, each puppy has a 50/50 chance of being black or liver. Therefore, by adhering to sound breeding practices, we eliminate the possibility that the dominant black trait will ever extinguish the liver trait.
A paid advertisement was recently run in the Shorthair Journal outlining Facts and Fiction regarding the black color within the breed. That write-up can be viewed here.
