The breeds · gun dog · versatile
AKC Miscellaneous · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 102
Small Munsterlander.
Versatile (continental) pointing dog, a NAVHDA recognized breed: points, retrieves on land and water, and tracks wounded game on land and water; the AKC standard: 'the overall appearance of the breed must always show its utility as a hunting 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.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Center is the midpoint.
Weight
The AKC standard prints no weight. Single registry source; fewer than three sources behind this value. Center is the midpoint.
Coat
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the standard's coat description: dense medium-length coat = 3 (the medium band). The standard does not describe an undercoat; 3 rather than 4 because the coat is medium length and feathered, not short.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
Qualitative; no minutes band from a registry.
Energy
No RKC exercise band exists; exercise_need_min not recorded.
Grooming load
No Royal Kennel Club page exists (the Small Munsterlander is not KC-recognised; only the Large is). AKC band used as the fallback band; the feathering suggests weekly brushing in practice, but no registry says so. Fewer than three sources.
Grooming
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
SMCNA: 'a long haired versatile dog ... a reliable foundation for all types of hunting', including tracking big game.
Primary game
The club names no single bird; versatile breeds are judged on birds, water and track together.
Also used on
Range
Search pattern
Field trial standard
Section 3.0 items 9-10 of the 2020 manual. Breeder awards require a 90-point average in NAVHDA NA and Prize II in Utility.
Water work
Cold water
Derived from coat (akc_std) and water work (navhda_breeds, smcna_manual). Not a specialist cold-water retriever.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the SMCNA requires Good or Excellent hips (or PennHIP 0.50 or better) before breeding, which further selects what is submitted. Cumulative all-years figure; the service prints no period. Not among Hou et al. 2013's 74 breeds.
Elbow dysplasia
Recorded so the absence is visible; no percentage is claimed.
Most common disorders
Club statement only; no VetCompass, UK survey or insurer prevalence exists for this breed. OFA data service: hips 410 evaluated, 6.1% dysplastic; no elbow, patella, thyroid, eye or DNA table rows.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
- USBreed Council evaluation of temperament, conformation and health; disclosure of known health issues (bite, eyes, urinary, seizures, allergies)SMCNA Breed Council · Small Munsterlander Club of America, Breeder Guidelines and Regulations Manual (approved Nov 1 2020): hip certification, NAVHDA/JGHV/AKC test requirements for breeding stock, disqualifying inherited defects
- USAKC DNA profile for stud dogs whose semen is collected or shipped (AKC rule, cited in the manual)AKC DNA · Small Munsterlander Club of America, Breeder Guidelines and Regulations Manual (approved Nov 1 2020): hip certification, NAVHDA/JGHV/AKC test requirements for breeding stock, disqualifying inherited defects
- USVersatile hunting-ability test before breeding: NAVHDA (any test or prize-level NA score), AKC JH pointing plus retriever, or JGHV VJP/HZP/VGP minimumsNAVHDA / AKC / JGHV · Small Munsterlander Club of America, Breeder Guidelines and Regulations Manual (approved Nov 1 2020): hip certification, NAVHDA/JGHV/AKC test requirements for breeding stock, disqualifying inherited defects
- USHip certification: OFA Good or Excellent at 24 months or older, or PennHIP distraction index 0.50 or better (mandatory for SMCNA breeders)OFA or PennHIP · Small Munsterlander Club of America, Breeder Guidelines and Regulations Manual (approved Nov 1 2020): hip certification, NAVHDA/JGHV/AKC test requirements for breeding stock, disqualifying inherited defects
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. 6 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Kleine Munsterlander, Small Munsterlander Pointer, SM, Kleiner Munsterlander
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour small munsterlander, on the record.
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