The breeds · side by side
for the versatile tests
Small Munsterlander or Deutsch Drahthaar.
Two German versatile breeds a NAVHDA handler weighs. Coat for the water and the cover, the size of dog that fits the truck, and the breed club system behind each one (the Drahthaar is bred under its own test rules) are the lines that decide it.
Every value below shows its source and how sure we are. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog. Nothing here is a prediction about one dog.
What the question turns on
Role
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'
Versatile working gundog that 'must be usable for all the work in the field, in the woods and in water before and after the shot' (FCI 98 utilization clause); in practice points, retrieves fur and feather on land and from water, blood-tracks wounded game and drives game from cover, the subjects of the VDD/JGHV tests
Water work
Water work is built into the breed's tests: NAVHDA judges retrieving from water and tracking wounded game on water alongside field work; the standard specifies a water-repellent coat
Mandatory: a dog cannot be bred without at least a 'sufficient' predicate in Independent Search in Water with dense cover; HZP and VGP include a duck search behind live duck and water retrieves with a shot fired
Cold water
3 of 5 · Dense, water-repellent medium coat built 'as good a protection against weather, unfavorable terrain conditions and injuries as possible'; NAVHDA water work (retrieve from water, duck search) is part of the breed's test life
4 of 5 · 4 of 5: dense water-resistant undercoat under a harsh wire jacket; water work is mandatory in the breed's tests (HZP and VGP) and a sufficient water search is required to breed
Range
Medium: beyond gun range in open country, shortens in dense cover, 'under all circumstances ... responsive to the handler'
Medium: the search is judged for cooperation with the handler in field and forest, not for distance
Coat
Dense, medium length, straight or only slightly wavy, close lying, water repellent; front legs well feathered, breeches on the hind legs, a distinct flag on the tail; coat must not hide the body's outline; brown and white or brown roan
Wirehaired, harsh, flat lying and dense; outer coat approximately 2 to 4 cm with a dense, water-resistant undercoat; shorter but dense on lower legs, brisket, belly, head and ears; pronounced eyebrows and a harsh beard; sparse coat lacking undercoat is a severe fault
The rest, read the same way
Height at the shoulder
dogs 21.3 in (20.5 to 22) · bitches 20.5 in (20 to 21)
dogs 25.4 in (24 to 26.8) · bitches 23.8 in (22.4 to 25.2)
Weight
50 lb (40 to 60)
dogs 62.5 lb (55 to 70) · bitches 52.5 lb (45 to 60)
Shedding
Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Heat tolerance
3 of 5 · Medium-length, dense, close-lying, water-repellent coat with feathering (the standard names no undercoat)
3 of 5 · 3 of 5: medium-length harsh double coat with dense undercoat
Median lifespan
Not recorded for this breed yet.
13 years (12.5 to 13.6)
Exercise need
Not recorded for this breed yet.
More than 2 hours per day (RKC band for the German Wirehaired Pointer, the UK name for FCI 98)
Exercise need
Regular mental stimulation and adequate exercise; not a full-time kennel dog; slow to mature, showing full potential at about 2.5 years
More than 2 hours per day
Energy
AKC Energy Level 4 of 5 (between 'Moderate' and 'High Energy'); the SMCNA: 'needs regular mental stimulation and adequate exercise. If left alone in a kennel or not trained a SM can be bored and display unwanted behaviors'
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Grooming load
1 of 5 · AKC Coat Grooming Frequency 1 of 5 ('Monthly'); Shedding Level 3 of 5
3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC band for the German Wirehaired Pointer, the UK name for FCI 98)
Grooming
Monthly (AKC band 1 of 5); the standard: a close-lying coat that must not hide the outline
More than once a week
Primary game
Upland birds found and pointed; 'well suited for a variety of game, including the tracking of big game' (SMCNA); waterfowl retrieving in NAVHDA tests
Upland birds and waterfowl, with fur (hare, rabbit, fox) and wounded big game tracking as required test subjects rather than sidelines
Also used on
Waterfowl; furred game and wounded big game by blood track; 'many SMs have voice on trail or scent when tracking game', prized in Europe
Blood tracking of wounded deer and boar (VSwP 20- and 40-hour tracks); fox and other fur; driving game in forest
Search pattern
'Adept at adjusting their search pattern relative to the cover conditions at hand, performing well outside of gun range in open country and reducing their range in dense cover'; staunch, intense point; many honor naturally
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Field trial standard
SMCNA breeding stock must demonstrate versatile hunting ability: pass any NAVHDA test, or score at prize level in the NAVHDA Natural Ability test (run before 20 months), or hold AKC Junior Hunter in both pointing and retriever tests, or JGHV VJP/HZP with at least 3 points in all subjects, or VGP with at least 2 points in all subjects; must not be gun shy
JGHV/VDD tests, each dog judged against a standard by three judges: VJP (spring, young dogs: tracking, nose, search, pointing, cooperation, gun soundness; 12-point scale), HZP (fall: adds water work with duck search and blind retrieve, fur and feather drags to 300 m, obedience, gun sensitivity on water), VGP (two-day utility: field, water, forest including fox retrieve over a 70 to 80 cm obstacle, 400 m blood track aged 2 to 5 hours, steadiness, obedience; Prize I to III), VSwP (blood tracking specialty). Breeding requires a passed VJP, HZP/Hegewald, VGP or VSwP with at least 'sufficient' in tracking and independent water search, plus proof of no gun sensitivity and no game shyness
Hip dysplasia
6.1% · 410 OFA hip evaluations to date: 93.4% normal (25.4% excellent, 59.3% good, 8.8% fair), 6.1% dysplastic (4.9% mild, 1.2% moderate, 0% severe); rank 171
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Elbow dysplasia
No Small Munsterlander row in the OFA elbow table (too few evaluations to publish)
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Most common disorders
'Generally, the Small (Kleine) Munsterlander is a healthy breed; however, a few cases of hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, and seizures have been recorded.' The breeder manual bars breeding dogs with hip/elbow dysplasia, idiopathic epilepsy or seizure disorders, retinal atrophy, undescended testicles, heart defects, extreme shyness or viciousness
Hereditary concerns the VDD breeds against: hip dysplasia (HD-frei, grade A or B, required to breed), shoulder osteochondrosis (OCD-frei required since Jan 1 2012), elbow dysplasia (ED-frei stamp; HD, OCD and ED all named as breeding-excluding skeletal diseases), bleeding disorders (hemophilia B, von Willebrand disease), epilepsy-like seizures, entropion/ectropion, dentition faults, malformed or deficient sexual organs (cryptorchidism) and temperament faults (gun shy, game shy, gun sensitive)
What to ask a breeder for
Clearances
- Breed Council evaluation of temperament, conformation and health; disclosure of known health issues (bite, eyes, urinary, seizures, allergies) · US
- AKC DNA profile for stud dogs whose semen is collected or shipped (AKC rule, cited in the manual) · US
- Versatile hunting-ability test before breeding: NAVHDA (any test or prize-level NA score), AKC JH pointing plus retriever, or JGHV VJP/HZP/VGP minimums · US
- Hip certification: OFA Good or Excellent at 24 months or older, or PennHIP distraction index 0.50 or better (mandatory for SMCNA breeders) · US
- von Willebrand disease type 2 (vWD2) DNA test (UK registry best practice) · UK
- Eye testing (UK registry, under the breed name German Wirehaired Pointer) · UK
- Elbow scoring (UK registry, under the breed name German Wirehaired Pointer) · UK
- Hip scoring (UK registry, under the breed name German Wirehaired Pointer) · UK
- Breed show (Zuchtschau) conformation and coat rating · DE / VDD-GNA
- Passed VDD/JGHV performance test (VJP, HZP or Hegewald, VGP or VSwP) with sufficient tracking and water search, no gun sensitivity, no game shyness · DE / VDD-GNA
- Shoulder osteochondrosis (OCD) evaluation, OCD-frei required to breed since Jan 1 2012 (Art. 9d); elbow dysplasia (ED-frei stamp, Art. 25c) and HD/OCD/ED all listed as breeding-excluding skeletal diseases (Art. 14a) · DE / VDD-GNA
- Hip dysplasia evaluation, HD-frei (grade A or B) required to breed · DE / VDD-GNA
The health clearances each breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
The selector
Which one, for your life?
A few minutes of honest answers: the birds, the ground, the water, the house, the week. The selector ranks both of these against what you said, explains every rank, and shows exactly where the one you came in wanting lands.
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