• If you’re not willing to share the sofa with a dog during the big game, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you are not willing to invite a dog into your home and make him or her part of your “pack,” don’t get a Pointer;
  

• If wearing polar fleece is important to you, or have it appear to be its original color, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you’re not willing to train a dog kindly, consistently, and with follow-through, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you don’t want a dog that back-talks to you, don’t get a Pointer;
• If seeing a game bird or woodcock doesn’t excite you, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you don’t want a dog that growls in middle of night and makes you go first to investigate;

• If you don’t want to keep your couch covered with a blanket, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you don’t want to own a hunting machine, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you’re not interested in, or committed to challenging a young Pointer’s mind in the first 18 months of their life, don’t get a Pointer;

• If the thought of a Pointer hair being stuck in your skin gives you the willies, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you don’t want to own stock in lint roller companies, or keep a lint brush in every room, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you think anyone who stalks pigeons in a parking garage because they would be great to train with is insane, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you disapprove of rowdiness and exuberant jumping, especially when your dog is young or not exercised enough, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you want to fuss over a dog’s hair with constant brushing, or have a dog whose coat never shed, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you can’t stand a dog that wants to be right by your side, is devoted to you beyond reason, or doesn’t care that you’re not home a lot, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you want a dog that won’t conquer chew toys or feel compelled destroy the all-dangerous squeaker, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you don’t want an athletic, comedic, and intuitive dog, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you don’t want a hunting dog that’s expected to hunt independently, and at distances exceeding gun range, don’t get a Pointer; 

• This breed can be aloof with strangers, so if you want a dog that loves everyone they just met, don’t get a Pointer;

• If you abhor guns, despise hunting, and find anyone who embraces either to be despicable, don’t get a Pointer; 

• If you want to have the entire bed to yourself when you sleep,  don’t get a Pointer;

This list was compiled from the responses of Pointer owners during National Purebred Dog Day^®‘s Purebred of Interest feature on the breed

English Pointer by George Percy R.E. Jacomb-Hood, 1882