HuntingGerman Shorthairs
German Shorthaired Pointers bred, tested and hunted on the South Dakota prairie.
Proud Member Of
NAVHDAGerman Shorthaired Pointer Club of AmericaNorth American Versatile Hunting Dog AssociationOur Story
German Shorthaired Pointers bred, tested and hunted on the South Dakota prairie.
Copper Bluff Pointers is my kennel on the river breaks north of Pierre, South Dakota. I have hunted over German Shorthaired Pointers since 2009 and bred them since 2013. I raise one or two litters a year, and every dog I breed is a dog I hunt.
I grew up walking shelterbelts and cattail sloughs for pheasants behind whatever dog the family had. My first shorthair, Rye, showed me what a dog with a real point, a nose and a natural retrieve could do on wild roosters. Half the dogs in this kennel still go back to her.
Puppies Available Now
View All LittersSmoke × Drift
Ready to go home: September 29, 2026
Seven pups born August 4: four males and three females. Five are liver roan like both parents and two are liver and white with ticking, so Drift and Smoke must each carry one copy of non-roan. Neither parent is solid liver, so there are no solid pups in this litter. Tails were docked and dewclaws removed on August 7. This is my best pheasant female bred to my most finished dog. Both parents are clear for cone degeneration and lupoid dermatosis, both have OFA Good hips and normal elbows, and both have Natural Ability Prize I scores. I expect medium-range, cooperative dogs with a lot of point and a natural retrieve, the kind of dog a walking hunter wants in South Dakota cover. I named them for prairie plants, as I do with every litter. Call them what you like. The pups are just under seven weeks old. They have been on quail for a week, they wade in the stock tank every warm afternoon, and they heard the blank pistol for the first time this week from across the pasture. Nobody looked up. Picks were made at six weeks. Two pups are still open. They go home September 29, which makes them eleven weeks old on the pheasant opener. Take your pup along for a walk in light cover this fall and leave the serious hunting for next year. Yarrow is the only pup who has held still for the camera so far. The rest of the photos go up as I get them.
Smoke
Dam
Drift
Sire
Bluestem
Male · Liver roan
Reserved
Grama
Male · Liver and white ticked
Available
Sumac
Male · Liver roan
Reserved
Thistle
Male · Liver roan
Reserved
Aster
Female · Liver and white ticked
Reserved
Sedge
Female · Liver roan
Available
Yarrow
Female · Liver roan
Reserved
Spots fill fast — submit your application to hold your place.
What We Offer
Everything your perfect puppy needs.
Click below to learn more about each part of our program.
Available Puppies
Browse our current litters and see which puppies are still looking for their forever home. Updated in real time from our app.
Meet Our Parents
Every puppy's future starts with its parents. See our health-tested sires and dams, their titles, certifications, and personalities.
Health Guarantee
Every pup is sold with a written guarantee. Hips and elbows are covered to 26 months against dysplasia as graded by OFA on films taken at 24 months or later, and I cover inherited heart and eye defects that keep a dog from hunting for the same period. Cone degeneration and lupoid dermatosis are covered for life, because at least one parent in every pairing tests clear and no pup from here can be affected. If a covered problem shows up I refund the purchase price or replace the pup from a later litter, your choice, and you keep your dog. I will take back any dog I bred, at any age.
Why Copper Bluff Pointers
The difference is
in the details.
Hunted on wild birds
Every sire and dam here hunts forty-plus days a season on wild pheasants, sharptails, prairie chickens and ducks. No preserve birds, no shortcuts.
Tested by judges
NAVHDA Natural Ability and Utility prizes and AKC Junior, Senior and Master Hunter titles. The scores are on each dog's page.
Health clearances
OFA hips, elbows, cardiac and eyes on every breeding dog, plus DNA tests for cone degeneration and lupoid dermatosis. I hand you copies of the certificates.
Started puppies
By eight weeks a pup from here has chased a wing, flushed live quail, been in the water, heard a blank pistol at a distance and slept in a crate.
What Families Say
Happy Families, Happy Dogs
13
Years breeding
124+
Families served
17
Litters whelped
10
Health-tested dogs
Got Questions?
Frequently Asked
Yes, if it gets exercise. My dogs live in the kennel during the day and come in the house at night, and they lie on the floor like any other dog. A shorthair needs a hard run most days, in season and out. A dog that gets that is calm, clean and good with kids. One that does not will find its own work, and you will not like what it picks.
The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association tests pointing dogs against a written standard, not against each other. The Natural Ability test is run before 16 months and scores nose, search, pointing, tracking a running pheasant, water, desire and cooperation, with 112 points possible. The Utility Test is for finished dogs and adds steadiness to wing, shot and fall, a duck search, and retrieves on land and water, with 204 possible. A Prize I means the dog was strong in every category. I test because it keeps me honest about my own dogs.
In that order, and slowly. A pigeon wing on a string at five weeks, mostly for fun. Live quail in the grass at six weeks, where the pups learn to use their nose and chase. Water starts in a stock tank a few inches deep on warm afternoons and they wade in after each other. Noise starts with pans banging at feeding time. In week seven I fire a blank pistol from sixty yards off while the pups are chasing a bird, and I only move closer if nobody looks up. I send a sheet home with you on how to finish the job without creating a gun-shy dog.
OFA hips and elbows after 24 months, an OFA cardiac exam, and an OFA eye exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist. By DNA, every dog is tested for cone degeneration, which causes day blindness, and for lupoid dermatosis, a serious inherited skin disease in the breed. Both are simple recessives, so a carrier bred to a clear dog cannot produce an affected pup. Results are on each dog's page.
Ready to Begin?
Your Perfect Companion
Awaits
We’d love to help you find the right puppy for your family. Reach out and we’ll guide you through every step.