| SM owners with their dogs on a quail and duck hunt in Oklahoma |
The Small Munsterlander also known as the Kleine Munsterlander
is an elegant strong dog with much self-confidence. It is a
versatile hunting dog, that combines intelligence, desire, and
devotion enabling him to quickly adapt to the varied terrain or
game and its masters hunting style. It is also a very clean dog that
is most happy living in the home of its master.
Typical characteristice are deligent ingenuity during fieldwork,
solid pointing instinct, meticulous tracking ability, great
endurance-even under difficult conditions. It has a great love for
retrieving and enthusiasm for water work, voice on the trail and
easy handling. Small Munsterlanders can be used for agility trials
, obedience, or confirmation
is an elegant strong dog with much self-confidence. It is a
versatile hunting dog, that combines intelligence, desire, and
devotion enabling him to quickly adapt to the varied terrain or
game and its masters hunting style. It is also a very clean dog that
is most happy living in the home of its master.
Typical characteristice are deligent ingenuity during fieldwork,
solid pointing instinct, meticulous tracking ability, great
endurance-even under difficult conditions. It has a great love for
retrieving and enthusiasm for water work, voice on the trail and
easy handling. Small Munsterlanders can be used for agility trials
, obedience, or confirmation
The SM is a cooperative dog that seeks to please. But they can also be
intense and stubborn. When training it is important to be consistant, not
overly repetitious, and teach the dog what is expected of him. The
stubbornness is a trait that can help make the dog a very persistent
hunter.
The Small Munsterlander is intelligent and needs regular mental
stimulation and adequate exercise. If left alone in a kennel or not trained
a SM can be bored and become destructive. The Small Munsterlander is
many times slow to mature and usually reaches its full potential at about
2.5 years of age.
intense and stubborn. When training it is important to be consistant, not
overly repetitious, and teach the dog what is expected of him. The
stubbornness is a trait that can help make the dog a very persistent
hunter.
The Small Munsterlander is intelligent and needs regular mental
stimulation and adequate exercise. If left alone in a kennel or not trained
a SM can be bored and become destructive. The Small Munsterlander is
many times slow to mature and usually reaches its full potential at about
2.5 years of age.
History of the Small Munsterlander
The Small Munsterlander breed standard was fixed in 1921 by Friedrich Jungklaus and covered 12 points. The breed
standard was revised in 1957 and was announced in 1964 with the FCI. Since 1968 the Small Munsterlander (Kleine
Munsterlander) has been one of the FCI recognized hunting dog breeds covered by the JGHV . The current version of the
standard is F.C.I. Standard: N° 102 / 06.12.2004. The focus of the standard, which specifies body forms and appearance, is
to guarantee work capability in field, forest and water.
Origins of the Small Munsterlander
In the 17th century, German, Italian and Dutch artists included dogs looking very much like Small Munsterlanders in their
works. Nevertheless, the true origin of the dogs of that time is not exactly proved.
For several hundred years these small, handsome dogs had been the true companions of the hunters on the vast moors and
bogs in the northwestern part of Germany, mainly in Westphalia. In 1840 land reforms changed the viability of hunting as a
trade, so Small Munsterlanders gradually lost their popularity, and it appeared that their extinction was inevitable. Only on
remote farms on the moors did the farmers keep the line pure by keeping just one bitch for breeding and culling the rest of the
females in the litters.
The development of the Small Munsterlander occurred in the middle of the 19th century. After the change of the German
hunting law, with the increasing number of hunters and hunting enthusiasts and the systematic cultivation of the game stock
the breeding of new German Pointing Dogs began. There are reports saying that around 1870 long coated “Wachtelhunds
“(German Spaniels) were well known in the Munsterland region. These dogs were firm or staunch in pointing; they had
enormous scenting abilities and were also able to retrieve.
In 1906 the well known heath poet Hermann Löns placed a public appeal into the magazine “Unser Wachtelhund” (Our
Hunting Dog) to give him a report on the still existing specimens of the red Hanovarian Heath Hound. However, instead of that
he and his brothers, Edmund and Rudolf Löns, discovered a pointing Wachtelhund on the farms, that they called
“Heidewachtel“(heath quail dog) on the farms of Lower Saxony.
During his years as a graduate in forestry, Edmund Löns discovered some of these small bird dogs at teacher Mr. Clemens
Heitmann in Burgsteinfurt. For 40 years Heitmann had been breeding the same line, and was able to trace it as a pure breed
for another 70 years back. Because of the prevalence of the breed among clergy and teachers it was soon nicknamed ‘Little
Master’s Dog’ (Magisterhündlein).
Later, Löns discovered the heavier, darker and somewhat larger Small Munsterlander known as Spion or Spannjer (spy) bred
around Belen, Reeken, Coosfeld, Hervest-Dorsten, and in Münsterland known as the “Dorsten type“. So, Heitmann’s stock
was soon augmented by gamekeeper Wolberg’s in Dorsten-Hervest. This line could be traced back to the 1860s without a
break. One of the ancestors was named "Caro".
In 1907, Wolberg had acquired three dogs, one male and two bitches, from watchmaker Heinrich Brüning in Tungloh. He kept
two of these dogs, ’Rino Hervest 36’ og ’Mirzel I Hervest 37’, which were siblings out of a mating between another pair of
siblings, ’Caro’ og Polly’.
Establishment of a breed club
On March 17, 1912 a group of 68 local hunters met in Osnabrueck and formed the “Verband für Kleine Münsterländer
Vorstehhunde“(Club for Small Munsterlander Pointing Dogs). At that time this Club expressed its aims as follows: The Club
pursues the purpose to promote the purity and the true breeding of the long coated small pointing dog that has been bred in
the Munsterland for many decades. There, the club statutes, the breed search rules and the establishment of a breed book
were agreed upon.
The lack of the fixed breed characteristics at that time inhibited the breeding activities as well as the Club activities. In 1921
the breeders finally followed the breed standard published by Mr. Friedrich Jungklaus on behalf of the club a scientific work on
Small Munsterlanders and their breed characteristics.
The Small Munsterlander breed standard was fixed in 1921 by Friedrich Jungklaus and covered 12 points. The breed
standard was revised in 1957 and was announced in 1964 with the FCI. Since 1968 the Small Munsterlander (Kleine
Munsterlander) has been one of the FCI recognized hunting dog breeds covered by the JGHV . The current version of the
standard is F.C.I. Standard: N° 102 / 06.12.2004. The focus of the standard, which specifies body forms and appearance, is
to guarantee work capability in field, forest and water.
Origins of the Small Munsterlander
In the 17th century, German, Italian and Dutch artists included dogs looking very much like Small Munsterlanders in their
works. Nevertheless, the true origin of the dogs of that time is not exactly proved.
For several hundred years these small, handsome dogs had been the true companions of the hunters on the vast moors and
bogs in the northwestern part of Germany, mainly in Westphalia. In 1840 land reforms changed the viability of hunting as a
trade, so Small Munsterlanders gradually lost their popularity, and it appeared that their extinction was inevitable. Only on
remote farms on the moors did the farmers keep the line pure by keeping just one bitch for breeding and culling the rest of the
females in the litters.
The development of the Small Munsterlander occurred in the middle of the 19th century. After the change of the German
hunting law, with the increasing number of hunters and hunting enthusiasts and the systematic cultivation of the game stock
the breeding of new German Pointing Dogs began. There are reports saying that around 1870 long coated “Wachtelhunds
“(German Spaniels) were well known in the Munsterland region. These dogs were firm or staunch in pointing; they had
enormous scenting abilities and were also able to retrieve.
In 1906 the well known heath poet Hermann Löns placed a public appeal into the magazine “Unser Wachtelhund” (Our
Hunting Dog) to give him a report on the still existing specimens of the red Hanovarian Heath Hound. However, instead of that
he and his brothers, Edmund and Rudolf Löns, discovered a pointing Wachtelhund on the farms, that they called
“Heidewachtel“(heath quail dog) on the farms of Lower Saxony.
During his years as a graduate in forestry, Edmund Löns discovered some of these small bird dogs at teacher Mr. Clemens
Heitmann in Burgsteinfurt. For 40 years Heitmann had been breeding the same line, and was able to trace it as a pure breed
for another 70 years back. Because of the prevalence of the breed among clergy and teachers it was soon nicknamed ‘Little
Master’s Dog’ (Magisterhündlein).
Later, Löns discovered the heavier, darker and somewhat larger Small Munsterlander known as Spion or Spannjer (spy) bred
around Belen, Reeken, Coosfeld, Hervest-Dorsten, and in Münsterland known as the “Dorsten type“. So, Heitmann’s stock
was soon augmented by gamekeeper Wolberg’s in Dorsten-Hervest. This line could be traced back to the 1860s without a
break. One of the ancestors was named "Caro".
In 1907, Wolberg had acquired three dogs, one male and two bitches, from watchmaker Heinrich Brüning in Tungloh. He kept
two of these dogs, ’Rino Hervest 36’ og ’Mirzel I Hervest 37’, which were siblings out of a mating between another pair of
siblings, ’Caro’ og Polly’.
Establishment of a breed club
On March 17, 1912 a group of 68 local hunters met in Osnabrueck and formed the “Verband für Kleine Münsterländer
Vorstehhunde“(Club for Small Munsterlander Pointing Dogs). At that time this Club expressed its aims as follows: The Club
pursues the purpose to promote the purity and the true breeding of the long coated small pointing dog that has been bred in
the Munsterland for many decades. There, the club statutes, the breed search rules and the establishment of a breed book
were agreed upon.
The lack of the fixed breed characteristics at that time inhibited the breeding activities as well as the Club activities. In 1921
the breeders finally followed the breed standard published by Mr. Friedrich Jungklaus on behalf of the club a scientific work on
Small Munsterlanders and their breed characteristics.
SMALL MUNSTERLANDER |