Glossary of Terms

Blue Hen – a prepotent female. A female with the unusual ability to consistently produce offspring that are above average regardless of the male that she was bred to.

Broke – a description/title given to a dog that has had formal training to the extent the dog is controllable in hunting situations.

Cat Walking – a dog that, after establishing point, tries to get closer to the pointed game by creeping and/or slowing taking one step at a time much like a cat would stalking a mouse or rat.

Choke-Bore – a term used to describe a dog with a very efficient nose and superior scenting ability.

Click - referring to a breeding that produced above average offspring.  Generally this term also refers to this particular mating being done repeatedly.  Sometimes also referred to as nick or nicked.

Cull - an undesirable pup or dog.

Dink – same as cull.

Dominant – in reference to genetics; the dominant gene or characteristic which prevails over the recessive gene/characteristic.

Flagging – the wagging of a dog’s tail while on point.  When a dog establishes point and the entire tail wags like it would wag if this same dog was glad to see you.  It can be caused by one or a combination of the following: uncertainty on the dog’s part, errors on the trainer’s part while the dog was on game and/or genetic. 

Genetic – a term referring to the inheritance of all characteristics from the parents and/or lineages.

Heterogenuous – genes from different origins, not from the same lineage.

Homogeneous – genes from the same lineage or gene pool, a common ancestry.

Inbred/Inbreeding – a debatable definition, but generally referred to breedings such as, father to daughter, mother to son or brother to sister.

Inherit – to receive the characteristics/properties of an ancestor.

Linebred/Line breeding – another debatable definition generally referred to matings where one or more individuals appear repeatedly in the pedigree of three or more generations.

Nick – same as click.

Orange – In the Pointer genes there are two genes that produce the orange coloration.  Both of these genes produce varying hues of the orange color.  One gene produces an orange or flesh colored nose pigment with a light colored eye, sometimes referred to as orange-orange.  The other gene produces a black nose pigment with a dark eye sometimes referred to as orange-black.  The orange-black may be thought of as the opposite side of the coin of a black colored Pointer, as they both are genetically capable of producing black colored offspring. 

Outcross/Outcrossing – the mating of individuals that are not related.  The act of bringing unrelated blood into a gene pool.

Perfect Bite – where the upper front teeth (incisors) lay directly or ever so slightly ahead of the lower front teeth (incisors).  This is also referred to as a “scissor bite”.

Prepotent – having exceptional power/influence genetically.

Poker-Straight - a term referring to a perfectly straight tail.  The tail would be pointing straight up in the air, in the “12 o-clock” position.

Recessive – referring to the genes that are “hiding” or remain unmanifested unless the offspring receives recessive genes from both parents, at which time it would become apparent and no longer “hidden”.

Scissor Bite – see perfect bite

Scorpion – referring to a dog that has it all, nose, desire, ground speed, class, style and abilities.

Started – another term of varying definition.  Generally a “started dog” would be referring to a dog that has had a fair degree of formal training.  The dog has a decent but not perfect or consistent concept of the “Whoa” command, “Here” command, they remain on point until the game is flushed and they have been shot over.  It would behoove the prospective buyer to receive a definition of “started” from the seller of the so termed “started dog”.

Stinger – another term of varied definitions.  In reference to a dog’s tail it would be that of one having a “poker-straight” tail.  In reference to an individual dog, one referred to as a “stinger” could also be called a “scorpion”.

Throwback – a dog or a gene that shows a tendency and or characteristics of a distant ancestor.  Only by one having knowledge of the distant ancestry can the determination of a throwback be made.

Undershot – the bottom front teeth (incisors) protrude beyond the upper front teeth (incisors).  There are varying degrees of “being undershot”. Slightly undershot would be where the bottom incisors protrude about the width of a nickel, but the top canines (fangs) are still in front of the bottom canines.  A dog that is quite undershot will have the bottom canines protrude in front of the top canines.