Ruddyduck

Not to disagree Doc , but I agree the breed comes from the St.John's or otherwise know as the Lesser Newfoundland there is no substantiated pointers in the line. There has been some who said the breed might have originally came from Northern Protugal where a breed known as Castro Lobereiro that guarded livestock that had a very strong resemblance or perhaps some St. Huberts hound from France. There is little evidence to support pointers in the lineage although it has been conjectured along with some native Indian dogs breen into the St. John.
Being wewill never know it does make for a ripping good debate. That being said we can agree that we all owe our thanks to the Earl of Malmesbury and his decendents for the breed we have come to love. He imported the St. John and evolved it into the breed we have today ,breeding it to other retrievers of the day, not pointers. That is we know for sure.