KENAI
Deutscher Wachtelhund

The breeds · gun dog · flushing

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 104

Deutscher Wachtelhund.

Flushing dog and versatile hunting dog (FCI Group 8, Section 2, with working trial); bred exclusively by hunters for hunters as a flushing and versatile dog.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

20 / 19INHeightdogs 20.06, bitches 19.125. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
40–66LBWeight, all linesbreed 39.7 to 66 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 20.1 in (18.9 to 21.3) · bitches 19.1 in (17.8 to 20.5)

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

UKC standard. Center is the midpoint of the printed range. FCI 104 gives bitches 45 to 52 cm (17.7 to 20.5 in).

Weight

39.7 to 66 lb

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

The two standards differ and both are shown (Chad, Oct 8 2026). Low and high span both standards so a filter finds the dog under either; no single ideal is printed, so no center. UKC revised May 1 2017; FCI 104 valid standard 24.07.1996, kg converted at 2.2046.

Coat

Strong, close-fitting coat, mostly wavy, sometimes curly or smooth long, over a thick undercoat; not too long, never thin or silky. Short dense hair on the head, curls on ears, feathering on the back of the legs and tail, a frill at the neck, well coated on the belly. Two colour varieties: solid brown (more rarely red) and brown roan (more rarely red roan, including pied and tiger patterns). Black is a disqualifying colour.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1996

UKC agrees: short and fine on the head, strong thick wavy or curly body coat with enough undercoat.

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Medium-length wavy double coat with thick undercoat, well coated on belly

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1996

Derived from the FCI coat description (medium double coat = 3). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Energy

AKC rates energy level 3 of 5 and mental stimulation needs 3 of 5 (AKC's own bands); UKC calls it a vibrant, willing worker that does best living in the home

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are a summary for the pet-owner audience, not a measured workload; the breed's working description (FCI: lively, passionate hunter) reads higher than a 3 for a hunting dog.

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC rates coat grooming frequency 2 of 5 and shedding level 2 of 5 (AKC's own bands)

Breed clubAKC

AKC trait bands, single editorial-style source; no Royal Kennel Club row exists for this breed, so grooming_load is left blank.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Flushing dog and versatile hunting dog (FCI Group 8, Section 2, with working trial); bred exclusively by hunters for hunters as a flushing and versatile dog

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1996

FCI classification and utilization line. UKC: bred for finding, retrieving and recovering game and blood trailing wounded deer, elk and boar.

Primary game

Hare, fox, waterfowl and upland game, and cloven-hoofed game (deer, red stag/elk, wild boar) in dense woodland

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

UKC: hunts waterfowl and upland game and all fur and cloven hoof game from hare and fox to wild boar. FCI describes it as a flushing and versatile dog especially for woodland with heavy cover and water. A European forest-and-deer dog first; North American use is by comparison mostly reported by editorial sources.

Also used on

Blood tracking of wounded deer, red stag (elk) and boar; retrieving heavy game such as hare and fox; holding wounded boar or bear at bay; Canadian guides have used it to track and hold wounded black bear

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

UKC history and characteristics text. The AKC page says it can track 40-hour-old wounded game. The bear work is reported by UKC as outfitter practice, not a test.

Range

Close to medium: the breed history describes the browns as short-distance hunters that drive game toward the guns and the roans as longer-distance trail hunters, a distinction FCI says no longer holds cleanly after crossing between strains

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1996

FCI history section. UKC notes Wachtelhunds prefer to hunt alone, which fits a woodland dog working out of sight; no published yardage.

Search pattern

Hunts in an arc before the hunter and brings game back toward the hunter; works a high-nose air scent when game is far and a ground scent like a hound when game is close, but can be called off a trail; gives tongue on a fresh trail

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

UKC standard. FCI: working independently but in a controlled manner, reliable at giving tongue, firm in tracking; the trait to point was not given attention since breeding began (it is a flusher, not a pointing breed). AKC page: must vocalize on a fresh game trail to tell hunters where it is.

Water work

Likes retrieving and water work (FCI); used on waterfowl; water shyness and gun shyness are serious faults (UKC) and gun/game shyness disqualifies (FCI)

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

A DWNA official quoted by FARM SHOW says DWNA tests include a duck flush and retrieve in marsh grass (editorial, single source).

Cold water

4 of 5 · Dense wavy coat with thick undercoat on a dog bred for woodland with heavy cover and water; likes retrieving and work in water; water shyness is a serious fault (UKC)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1996

Derived: coat plus core water work (FCI: 'especially for woodland with heavy cover and water'; UKC lists duck work and water shyness as a serious fault). The standards do not call the coat waterproof, so 4 not 5. No measured data.

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Aggression, as studied

No study. FCI temperament: lively, friendly, assured, very docile and adaptable, neither nervous nor aggressive; aggressive or overly shy dogs are disqualified

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1996

A standard's wording, not behavioural data. UKC disqualifies viciousness or extreme shyness. Listed here as a placeholder text so the page can say there is no C-BARQ or similar study.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 4; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

No KENAI kennel lists the Deutscher Wachtelhund yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 3 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
German Spaniel, Wachtelhund, German Quail Dog, DW

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

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