The Pointer originated in England and dates back to the 17th century. The earliest reliable records of pointer dogs in England appeared in 1650.

All types of pointer dogs exhibit a behavior characteristic of indicating the location of game to hunters by assuming a specific body posture when they detect prey. Initially, pointer dogs assisted hunters in capturing birds, particularly partridges, using nets.

In the 18th century, the practice of hunting birds and rabbits with guns became popular, and Spanish pointers began to spread to Europe, where they tracked game along the ground using their sense of smell.

To improve the scenting ability of the early, slower large dog types, breeders incorporated bloodlines from bloodhounds, greyhounds, and English foxhounds, resulting in the modern English Pointer, which then spread worldwide.