The German Short-haired Pointer, often abbreviated to GSP, is one of the most versatile breeds of sporting dogs. They were bred to posses the capability of flushing, pointing and retrieving fowl. During the early stages of developing this breed, breeders had their minds set on developing a dog that could meet all of their sporting needs. The intent was to create a dog that possessed both strength and stamina, intelligence, and courage. The dog also needed to posses the ability to hold a point of live game and also be capable of finding and retrieving downed game both on land and in the water. The breed first originated between the crossing on the Schweisshund and the Spanish Pointer. Giving birth to a heavy built dog with the ability to point. Speed was the next factor and so this dog was bred to the English Pointer and so on until eventually the ending result gave birth to today's German Short-haired Pointers. A deep chested, strong/muscular, athletically built dog possessing an intense drive and stamina. The German International Standard recognized both the black and liver variants of this breed, allowing for solid coat colors, ticked, or roan patterns. The American Kennel Club only recognizes the liver colored GSP's as the breed standard due to making this standard official back when the German standards kept their files on the two color's of this breed in separate record books. Standards also require for GSP tails to be docked.