pointer, breed of large sporting dog developed in England more than 300 years ago. It stands between 23 and 26 in. (58.4-66.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 50 and 60 lb (22.7-27.2 kg). Its short, dense, shiny coat may be solid liver, black, yellow, or orange, or, more frequently, white with any of these colors as markings. The pointer is a scent hunter used for upland game birds. Having located its quarry, it stands rigidly poised with its body and nose facing the game, thus directing the hunter to it. Bred from crosses of foxhound, greyhound, and bloodhound with an early "setting" spaniel, the pointer was originally used to find and point hares, which were then chased and killed by greyhounds. With the rise in popularity of wing-shooting in the early 1700s, the pointer quickly became regarded as an expert gundog, a reputation it continues to enjoy today. The term pointer is also widely used to designate a dog of any breed that characteristically points its quarry. See dog.

Italian pointer: see Spinone Italiano.

Hungarian pointer: see Vizsla.

German wirehaired pointer, breed of large sporting dog developed in Germany in the mid-19th cent. It stands about 24 in. (61 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 60 lb (27 kg). Its harsh, wiry outercoat is flat-lying and approximately 1.5 in. (3.8 cm) long. The woolly undercoat is very dense in winter but thins out in the warmer months. Its color is usually liver and white or liver with white spotting or ticking, while the head and ears are brown. The tail is docked. The German wirehaired pointer is bred as an all-purpose retrieving pointer; its tough double coat allows it to hunt in the roughest underbrush and to withstand the iciest water. See dog.

German shorthaired pointer, breed of large sporting dog developed in Germany in the mid-19th cent. It stands about 23 in. (58 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 60 lb (27 kg). Its dense coat of short hair is hard to the touch and is colored solid liver or liver spotted or ticked with white. Intended as a utility dog, the original stock was crossed with several breeds, such as the bloodhound and the English pointer, in order to insure this versatility. Thus, the German shorthaired pointer has been used to hunt both waterfowl and upland game birds, as a retriever on land and water, and to trail such small animals as rabbits and opossums. See dog.

or white shark

Large, aggressive shark (Carcharodon carcharias, family Lamnidae), considered the species most dangerous to humans. It is found in tropical and temperate regions of all oceans and is noted for its voracious appetite. Its diet includes fishes, sea turtles, birds, sea lions, small whales, carcasses, and ships' garbage. The great white is heavy-bodied and has a crescent-shaped tail and large, saw-edged, triangular teeth. It can reach a length of more than 20 ft (6 m) and is generally gray, bluish, or brownish, with the colour shading suddenly into a whitish belly. Though it is widely feared, only a few hundred humans are known to have ever been killed by the great white shark.

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Dog breed, of hound, spaniel, and setter ancestry, first recorded circa 1650 in Great Britain and named for the dog's rigid posture in the direction of quarry. Pointers were originally used to point out hares and were later trained as bird dogs. The pointer stands 23–28 in. (58–71 cm) tall and weighs 50–75 lb (23–34 kg); it has a long muzzle, hanging ears, tapered tail, and a short, smooth coat, usually white with dark markings. The German short-haired pointer, another sporting breed, tracks, points, and retrieves; it is about the size of a pointer and has a short coat of solid liver colour or liver and gray-white.

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