Small Munsterlander
Dogs
Small Munsterlander
Small Munsterlander |
Kleiner Münsterländer
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Alternative names |
Kleiner Münsterländer
Munsterlander (Small)
Kleiner Munsterlander Vorstehund |
Country of origin |
Germany |
Common nicknames |
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Classification and breed standards |
FCI: |
Group 7 Section 1 #102 |
CKC: |
Miscellaneous |
UKC: |
Gun Dog |
Not recognized by any major kennel club |
This breed of dog is
extinct |
Notes |
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The Small Munsterlander Pointer is a
hunting-pointing-retrieving
dog breed
that reached its current form in the area around
Munster,
Germany. The
Large Munsterlander is from the same area, but was developed from different
breeding stock and is not as closely related as the names would suggest. SMPs
bear a resemblance to both
spaniels and
setters but are
rather more versatile.
Appearance
The breed is often described as about 35 pounds (16 kg) and 18-20 inches
(0.45 to 0.5 m) at the shoulder, but the average is somewhat larger, around 45
pounds (20 kg) with some males reaching or slightly exceeding 60 pounds (27 kg)
and up to 22 inches (0.55 m). The body is lean yet powerful and not prone to
becoming overweight due to an active nature and natural athleticism. Coloration
is large patches of brown on a ticked or solid white background. The soft coat
is medium length, requiring grooming after hunting in heavy cover or weekly
otherwise. The breed is not registered with the
American Kennel Club, which emphasizes appearance over actual ability.
Rather it is registered with the
United Kennel Club and there are performance standards that breeding dogs
must meet.
Temperament
Small Munsterlander Pointers are very intelligent, trainable, and attentive
but require gentle and patient training, which provides excellent results. They
are also strong-willed and an owner who is inconsistent or indecisive might find
that his dog is hard to control. Both voice and hand signals are used, and an
SMP looks back at the hunter for silent signals at intervals when on hold or
pointing. They have a very strong drive to follow their keen sense of smell, and
thrive with hunting or comparably challenging excercise for an hour or more
every day. They love swimming, too. Lack of regular and sufficient exercise and
mental challenge will likely result in unwanted behavior, which is common in
highly intelligent, driven breeds. They mature rather slowly over 2.5 to 3 years
but a well-trained, mature "moonster" is a 'fur and feather' hunting machine
without peer, and the upland bird hunter hunting over such a dog will enjoy both
the experience and great success. The Small Munsterlander Pointer is a happy,
affectionate family pet when in the house, while remaining a keenly focused,
even driven, hunter-pointer-retriever when in the field. They are not suited to
life in a kennel
because of their sociable nature and need to interact with people—they need to
live in the home of their human family. SMPs will pick an individual person to
bond most closely with, typically the one who hunts with the dog, but will revel
in the company of the rest of the family, too. When raised with other pets in
the household, such as
cats, they can coexist happily though they may enjoy a game of chase and
point. Unfamiliar small animals outdoors will not be tolerated in the same way.
History
Originally a dog bred to work with noble families'
falconers
before guns were used in bird and small game hunting, ancestors of the Small
Munsterlander Pointer had to work in upland areas to flush prey for the
falcon, then
allow the falcon to keep the prey until the falconer could retrieve it while the
dog pointed at the catch. To this day the Small Munsterlander has excellent
close searching and pointing drive. With wider availability of guns and personal
time for commoners, hunting became more popular, and the breed was further
developed as a retriever that worked equally well in the field and water. Owners
of the breed consider it to be uniquely effective in working as a team with the
huntsman in all phases of the hunt, akin to the close cooperation between a
sheep herder and
Border Collie.
By the 1800s the breed had fallen into obscurity. Small Munsterlanders were
little known, kept by a few families on farms around Munster. For a half century
the few dogs that were bred were primarily companions, and used when hunting to
feed the family rather than for sport. It developed a local reputation as the
dog to have when a hunter's success or failure determined whether his family
would have enough to eat. At the end of the 19th century, a concerted effort was
made to re-establish the breed from the remaining lines in the Munster region.
The fortunate outcome of the companion phase in the Small Munsterlander
Pointer's history was its excellent in-home personality.
Miscellaneous
The Small Munsterlander Pointer is rare in the United States, numbering
perhaps in the hundreds, and demand from hunters outstrips the number of
available dogs, so breeders typically give preference to hunters. They're
especially hard to come by for nonhunters there. They are more numerous in
Germany, the
Netherlands, and the
Czech Republic. SMPs excel in nonhunting roles as well because of their
exceptional scent-tracking ability, and are used in
search and rescue teams and contraband detection ("drug sniffing") roles as
well.
Other names for this breed: Kleine Münsterlander Vorstehhunde (abbreviated
KIM) or Spion in Germany; Heidewachtel in the Netherlands; Moonster
(affectionate term).
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