Drahthaar History

During the early 1800's in Germany, as feudalism was in decline, many large tracts of land once belonging to the Noblemen became public domain. As a result of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, the emerging middle class was more affluent than ever before.  The middle class found themselves with the opportunity to purchase hunting rights to some of these lands and participate in a privilege previously reserved for nobility, the sport of hunting. Since this middle class generally did not have the space or resources to keep a full kennel of various hunting dogs, and the expense of hunting fostered the need to harvest all types of game, the German hunters conceived the idea to develop a breed of hunting dog from existing specialty breeds that would be an all-purpose dog.

By the end of the 18th Century, the efforts of the many years of selectively cross breeding the old German Pointers, the Water Poodle, English Pointers and Setters, and the occasional mountain herding breeds, resulted in the development of three categories of versatile hunting dogs with distinguishable characteristics:

      Longhair Pointers
            Deutsch Langhaar (German Longhair)
          Grosser Munsterlander (Large Munsterlander)
          Kleiner Munsterlander (Small Munsterlander)

     Shorthair Pointers
            Deutsch Kurzhaar (German Shorthair)
          Weimaraner

     Roughhair Pointers
            Deutsch Stichelhaar (German Stichelhair)
          Griffon
              (later, two other breeds were added to this group)
          Pudelpointer (Poodle pointer)
          Deutsch Drahthaar

The development of these various “breeds” soon took a path that focused on appearance.  However, the original objectives, performance and huntability, seemed to fall by the wayside.

Recognizing this ever increasing divergence from the initial objectives, Freiherr Sigismund of Zedlitz and Neukirch (also called Hegewald), took control and demanded the primary breeding goal of this developmental effort be versatile performance ability. His ideals became the principle of DD breeding “through performance to standard”, and he was thereafter referred to as the "spiritual father of the Deutsch Drahthaar". For the past 66 years, a Fall Breeding Test known as the International Hegewald, has been held to evaluate the pointing, retrieving, tracking, water work and cooperative performance, as well as the coat and conformation of the best performing young dogs of that particular year. The object is to provide valuable genetic information to the breeders so they can assess their kennels’ past matings and continue to advance their breeding goals.

In 1902 ,the Verein Deutsch Drahthaar e.V. was founded with clearly defined objectives. Under the leadership of Alex Lauffs, the first president of the VDD, a handful of devoted and determined breeders began the difficult task of cultivating a gene pool using the Deutsch Stichelhaar*, Griffon**, Pudelpointer*** and German Shorthair.**** These people were idealists, not materialists, and sacrificed much for the development of the new breed. They worked together under the motto "The best is just not good enough", and started the serious development of the Deutsch Drahthaar.

This organization endured through much controversy, and was accused by the press of trying to create a “Phantom Dog” with “unattainable claims”. The breeding standards developed for the Drahthaar were extremely rigid, and strictly followed. Because of these demanding guidelines, and the determination of the members, the breed developed at an amazing rate. Despite all opposition and attack, the Drahthaar movement began to spread throughout the country.

The German Hunting Dog Association recognized the Drahthaar in the early 1900s and the dogs as well as their breeders were given the opportunity to prove their worth. It did not take long for ‘The German Hunting Utility Dog Trial Register’ to become the domain of the Deutsch-Drahthaar.

Today the breed has evolved into an intelligent, and hard working all around hunting/family dog. They generally have a high degree of passion for their assigned tasks, great endurance, and the ability to concentrate on the job at hand. Although most puppies are born with the inherent natural ability to point, retrieve, be cooperative, and track, these dogs normally need some legitimate training and guidance to help develop their fullest potential. They are bred to work and be companions, and thrive when allowed to participate in an active lifestyle.

Physically the Deutsch Drahthaar is a mid-sized dog, well muscled, square and substantial in build. The males average 61 to 68 cm in shoulder height, and the females between 57 and 64 cm. The coat should be wiry, tight and hard, and extend to completely cover the undercarriage of the dog for optimum protection from weather and brush while hunting. The eyes should be dark, with visible eye brows. A distinctive beard and a noble facial expression complete the general description.

Today the Deutsch Drahthaar is the most frequently used hunting dog in Germany, and with over10,000 members, it is the largest hunting dog breeders organization. And in Europe, more Drahthaars are registered each year than all other versatile hunting breeds combined.

*Deutsch Stichelhaar - The Deutsch Stichelhaar is the oldest of the German Roughhaired Pointer breeds. The first DSt date back to 1886. This is an extremely rugged dog with a very coarse coat and generous facial furnishings. Although not a large dog, they are generally powerfully built and very sturdy. They are sometimes good pointers but better known for their excellent retrieving ability, tracking and water work. The Deutsch Stichelhaar sometimes re-occurs as throwbacks in the DD breedings, in genotype as well as in phenotype.

**Griffon - The Griffon is a square, stocky dog with a distinctive and attractive “Griffon head”, which is usually light brown in color with a heavy beard and eye brows. The coat is usually blueish-grey in color and has very few markings. They are elegant pointers with good field manners and a propensity to retrieve. They are not considered to be good natural trackers.

*** Pudelpointer - This breed derived from the English Pointer and large Water Poodle breedings. They are medium sized dogs with a great many of the inherent natural abilities we see today in the Drahthaar. They perform well in the field, forest and water. This breed has contributed substantially to the DD standard for coat and conformation.

**** Deutsch Kurzhaar - The Kurzhaar is thought to have contributed less to the development of the Drahthaar than the above-mentioned breeds. It is a medium sized dog with a very short coat, and is noted for it’s pointing and field work. Regardless of the claims made, it is not unusual for Kurzhaar throwbacks to occur, with a very short coat and no facial furnishings being evidence.

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  Wayne and Adele