My Journey to the DK
Zak
My first German Shorthaired Pointer was acquired in 1994 and Ive been in love with them since. Zak was almost 4 years old and a show champion out of a very famous show line. He had two legs on a junior hunter but that was the extent of his hunting. I was doing almost no hunting at the time but was running marathons. Zak was my training partner on many long runs through wooded trails and was an excellent trail companion. Looking back on his time with me and the way he handled the game we encountered, Zak would have been a good upland dog although his temperament was very soft. He would have been a project to get through more advanced training. Zak developed severe liver problems at 11 years of age and I had to put him down before moving to Florida.
Xena
As Zak was getting older, I began looking for a pup to bring in and heard of a breeding in Alabama from my friend Cliff. He looked at the litter and picked a solid liver female, Xena. In hindsight, the breeding was the classic backyard variety as neither parent had any breeding qualifications. The breeder told Cliff that the mother hunted but they werent sure about the sire other than he had AKC papers. Xena was 14 weeks old when Cliff brought her to his house and kept her for a month of so until I could get down to Florida to pick her up. Xena has been a project since day one as she is the stereotypical alpha female. At five months she established complete dominance over Zak. If Xena senses a power vacuum she is always ready to fill it and needs strong leadership. Her best attributes are her intelligence (smartest dog Ive ever owned), her water work and her natural retrieving instincts. Her points are solid but she sits on the flush. Something Ive not worked very hard to correct. She is an excellent guard dog as she is extremely agoraphobic. I love Xena but she is not a dog that should be bred. Temperament, conformation, and a nose that is just OK in the field were behind the decision to spay Xena. She is still the queen in the household and a dog that requires very strong leadership. .
Zipper
When I moved to Florida I began looking around for a puppy out of NAVHDA lines that I could train, hunt and have fun with in my retirement. I found a breeding in Arizona with Anita Weiss (Garbonita is the kennel name). Anita cares about hunting ability and conformation and produces some very nice dogs. We agreed on a male from a breeding of VC Sharp Shooters Little Rascal MH and CH Garbonita AZ Desert Dancer SH, NA1.
Anita shipped the pup to me at 8 weeks and Zipper Garbonitas Take Aim Cruiser became a revelation as to what a good breeding can produce. Since I promised Anita I would test the pup in NAVHDA natural ability, I began looking around for some experienced NAVHDA people. I enrolled in a puppy class to socialize the pup and found out about Jim Eustace who had several GSPs in the area and had trained a NAVHDA UT 1 dog. I started training with Jim and his group and learned a tremendous amount from him and watching other dogs being trained.
Zipper was such a pleasure to be around and train. We trained every day on Eglin Air Force base and he would just fly around the fields with such exuberance that he made you laugh. His nose was just flat out excellent, his points were solid and stylish, he backed naturally and loved to retrieve. His one drawback was he was OK with water but he didnt love it. He passed his junior hunter tests as we were getting ready for NAVHDA NA. At the test in Palmetto, FL water almost proved to be his undoing. We ran the field portion first and he tore the field up pointing 5 quail with great looking long points that looked like he was being drawn to the bird on a string. Bob Farris, the senior judge said he hadnt seen a dog like him in a long while. The other judges decided to use the pond in the bird field instead of the normal pond that was used to save some time. When it was Zippers turn as I was walking him to the pond he started acting birdy. I heeled him to the water and threw the bumper and released him. Instead of hitting the water, he ran the bank and went on a solid point of a quail. The apprentice judge said they would have to give him a zero but Bob Farris intervened and said he should be given another opportunity since the pond should not be in the bird field. We went to the end of the line and had another opportunity. This time he swam twice. They marked him down but still gave him 105 pts and a Prize 1. In hind sight, I should have never released him at the water as that quail was much more interesting to him than that bumper.
I began field trialing Zipper on a whim and to have some fun. He placed in almost every trial I ran him in. He had his puppy points and derby points very quickly. He was a natural as a field trailer. Very fast, large and wide search, great nose, kept to the front and responded to the whistle in a flash. He also had great endurance and could go full tilt from start to finish. I was sure we would have a Field Championship and a NAVHDA Utility within a year.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. I let the dogs out after supper in March of 2006 and was puzzled when I called them in as Zipper was usually the first one back. We had been out to dinner and inadvertently left the front gate open. After a search of about an hour in the dark, we found Zipper on the side of the road.killed by a car or truck. Its hard to think about to this day.
Ive cried less at deaths of some humans in my family then I did after finding Zipper. I was totally devastated. I also started thinking about competition and how it can have a negative effect on the breeding decisions people make. Many of the GSPs I was seeing at field trials were being bred for that game Smaller, lighter boned dogs some of which were definitely below standard. Conformation did not seem to be a priority in areas such as head, top line or tail set. Winners are bred to winners. I had to admit I enjoyed the game because I had two dogs that were competitive (I had taken in Pearl at the time) and, in retrospect, it was an ego trip. At the time, I was oblivious to many things that a breeder should take into consideration when making breeding choices. If Zipper had lived, I probably would have bred him but it would have been a mistake. Zipper had some serious conformation shortcomings and his lack of water drive would make me think very hard about him as a stud if the choice were mine today.
Pearl
Pearlie came to me in 2005 when she was 4 years old. Pearl was bred by my friend Jim, placed with a family and subsequently taken back after the situation became abusive. Pearl was crated for most of her puppy hood and most likely handled roughly since she has a distinct distrust of men with a certain look. Pearl would be classified as having very soft temperament and she was omega to the extreme with other dogs. With most people she was hard not to love.
Pearl was a fabulous field dog with a great nose and an excellent ground tracker. Her points were solid and stylish and her search was big and wide. Pearlie could have been a Field Champion and a Master Hunter with little effort but, after Zippers death I pretty much stopped running any AKC events. She lacked one leg for Senior Hunter. Pearlie became very ill suddenly this summer and died at my vets office within two days. I took her to Auburn University for a necropsy but it was inconclusive. She had significant liver damage but a cause for her death could not be pinpointed. She is sorely missed,
The DKs
After Zippers death, I read an article in the Pointing Dog Journal about the DK and the NADKC. The article got me thinking. I read a lot more about the DK including the Deutsch Kurzhaar by Georgina Byrne. The German system just made so much sense to me. The dogs must prove themselves before they can be bred. Otherwise the puppies can not be registered. I acquired Cato and Mister and was so happy with them that I decided I wanted to find a female and see if I could get her breed eligible in the DKV. One of the things that influenced that decision most happened at a DK test in Oklahoma. One of the judges was from Germany and had never hunted deer in the US. It was the last day of gun season and he shot a doe at dusk but it was a low shoulder shot and she got up and ran off. The hosts of the tests were Phil and Gayla Salvatti and they had trained their dog Fine in totverweiser (blood tracking with a bringsel; a piece of leather that hangs from the dog collar) They brought Fine out to the wound bed and released her to track the deer. When she found the deer (very quickly) she returned with the bringsel in her mouth indicating she had found it. Gayla attached her check cord and she led us to the deer which was a good distance in some heavy brush. It was field dressed and hauled out: a great example of both conservation of game and what a truly versatile dog can accomplish. Fine was out of the von der Madlage kennel which has produced some very fine dogs. When I saw that Ilka von der Madlage was being bred to Rolf KS Birkenwald in Germany I started corresponding with the breeder, Bernd Krüger about a pup. Thus, Cati came to the USA
What I love about the DK system is that the breeder has freedom to emphasize what he considers important BUT the standard cannot be bypassed. The puppy buyer can use the dog for any hunting purpose he wants, upland, waterfowl, tracking etc. The system ensures that those versatile traits are not lost by allowing breeders to only concentrate on one aspect of the standard like conformation to the exclusion of all else.
The American GSP has descended from the DK gene pool and there are still many DKs that are imported from Germany and registered as GSPs with the AKC, FDSB, or NAVHDA. The main difference between a Deutsch Kurzhaar (DK) and a German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) result from the breeding regulations under which puppies can be registered. In order for a DK litter to be registered with the DKV, the parents must pass at least one hunting test (Solms, HZP, or VGP) where nose, search, pointing, retrieving, cooperation, and obedience are evaluated in the field as well as search for duck , retrieve, and blind retrieve in the water. A conformation rating of at least good must be given by a qualified judge. The dog must also be rated hip dysplasia free. Bad bites, bad hips, poor conformation, gun sensitivity, and dogs that lack the required hunting and water ability are not allowed to be bred.
In reality, there are no breeding restrictions in the AKC or FDSB which require that a dog must meet a breed standard before being bred. The decision to breed a dog is made by the individual breeder. Whether the dog meets the breed standard is not a requirement. The result is that dogs with bad bites, poor conformation, or absolutely no proven hunting or water ability are bred. To be fair, there are many breeders with integrity who breed to the standard but many more who do not. Can outstanding GSPs be found in the US that meet the breed standard? Absolutely, but it is very easy to become kennel blind when making decisions about a dog in ones own kennel. Very few people make derogatory comments about their own dogs; its always someone elses dogs that are inferior. These subjective breeding decisions are eliminated with the DK and replaced by an objective determination of the breed worthiness of the parents.
Are there problems with the DK system?. Sure. I have found that wherever people have a passion for something such as dogs, arguments and disagreements are part of the package. For me, its the same as democracy......problems to be sure but its the best system out there.
My first German Shorthaired Pointer was acquired in 1994 and Ive been in love with them since. Zak was almost 4 years old and a show champion out of a very famous show line. He had two legs on a junior hunter but that was the extent of his hunting. I was doing almost no hunting at the time but was running marathons. Zak was my training partner on many long runs through wooded trails and was an excellent trail companion. Looking back on his time with me and the way he handled the game we encountered, Zak would have been a good upland dog although his temperament was very soft. He would have been a project to get through more advanced training. Zak developed severe liver problems at 11 years of age and I had to put him down before moving to Florida.
Xena
As Zak was getting older, I began looking for a pup to bring in and heard of a breeding in Alabama from my friend Cliff. He looked at the litter and picked a solid liver female, Xena. In hindsight, the breeding was the classic backyard variety as neither parent had any breeding qualifications. The breeder told Cliff that the mother hunted but they werent sure about the sire other than he had AKC papers. Xena was 14 weeks old when Cliff brought her to his house and kept her for a month of so until I could get down to Florida to pick her up. Xena has been a project since day one as she is the stereotypical alpha female. At five months she established complete dominance over Zak. If Xena senses a power vacuum she is always ready to fill it and needs strong leadership. Her best attributes are her intelligence (smartest dog Ive ever owned), her water work and her natural retrieving instincts. Her points are solid but she sits on the flush. Something Ive not worked very hard to correct. She is an excellent guard dog as she is extremely agoraphobic. I love Xena but she is not a dog that should be bred. Temperament, conformation, and a nose that is just OK in the field were behind the decision to spay Xena. She is still the queen in the household and a dog that requires very strong leadership. .
Zipper
When I moved to Florida I began looking around for a puppy out of NAVHDA lines that I could train, hunt and have fun with in my retirement. I found a breeding in Arizona with Anita Weiss (Garbonita is the kennel name). Anita cares about hunting ability and conformation and produces some very nice dogs. We agreed on a male from a breeding of VC Sharp Shooters Little Rascal MH and CH Garbonita AZ Desert Dancer SH, NA1.
Anita shipped the pup to me at 8 weeks and Zipper Garbonitas Take Aim Cruiser became a revelation as to what a good breeding can produce. Since I promised Anita I would test the pup in NAVHDA natural ability, I began looking around for some experienced NAVHDA people. I enrolled in a puppy class to socialize the pup and found out about Jim Eustace who had several GSPs in the area and had trained a NAVHDA UT 1 dog. I started training with Jim and his group and learned a tremendous amount from him and watching other dogs being trained.
Zipper was such a pleasure to be around and train. We trained every day on Eglin Air Force base and he would just fly around the fields with such exuberance that he made you laugh. His nose was just flat out excellent, his points were solid and stylish, he backed naturally and loved to retrieve. His one drawback was he was OK with water but he didnt love it. He passed his junior hunter tests as we were getting ready for NAVHDA NA. At the test in Palmetto, FL water almost proved to be his undoing. We ran the field portion first and he tore the field up pointing 5 quail with great looking long points that looked like he was being drawn to the bird on a string. Bob Farris, the senior judge said he hadnt seen a dog like him in a long while. The other judges decided to use the pond in the bird field instead of the normal pond that was used to save some time. When it was Zippers turn as I was walking him to the pond he started acting birdy. I heeled him to the water and threw the bumper and released him. Instead of hitting the water, he ran the bank and went on a solid point of a quail. The apprentice judge said they would have to give him a zero but Bob Farris intervened and said he should be given another opportunity since the pond should not be in the bird field. We went to the end of the line and had another opportunity. This time he swam twice. They marked him down but still gave him 105 pts and a Prize 1. In hind sight, I should have never released him at the water as that quail was much more interesting to him than that bumper.
I began field trialing Zipper on a whim and to have some fun. He placed in almost every trial I ran him in. He had his puppy points and derby points very quickly. He was a natural as a field trailer. Very fast, large and wide search, great nose, kept to the front and responded to the whistle in a flash. He also had great endurance and could go full tilt from start to finish. I was sure we would have a Field Championship and a NAVHDA Utility within a year.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. I let the dogs out after supper in March of 2006 and was puzzled when I called them in as Zipper was usually the first one back. We had been out to dinner and inadvertently left the front gate open. After a search of about an hour in the dark, we found Zipper on the side of the road.killed by a car or truck. Its hard to think about to this day.
Ive cried less at deaths of some humans in my family then I did after finding Zipper. I was totally devastated. I also started thinking about competition and how it can have a negative effect on the breeding decisions people make. Many of the GSPs I was seeing at field trials were being bred for that game Smaller, lighter boned dogs some of which were definitely below standard. Conformation did not seem to be a priority in areas such as head, top line or tail set. Winners are bred to winners. I had to admit I enjoyed the game because I had two dogs that were competitive (I had taken in Pearl at the time) and, in retrospect, it was an ego trip. At the time, I was oblivious to many things that a breeder should take into consideration when making breeding choices. If Zipper had lived, I probably would have bred him but it would have been a mistake. Zipper had some serious conformation shortcomings and his lack of water drive would make me think very hard about him as a stud if the choice were mine today.
Pearl
Pearlie came to me in 2005 when she was 4 years old. Pearl was bred by my friend Jim, placed with a family and subsequently taken back after the situation became abusive. Pearl was crated for most of her puppy hood and most likely handled roughly since she has a distinct distrust of men with a certain look. Pearl would be classified as having very soft temperament and she was omega to the extreme with other dogs. With most people she was hard not to love.
Pearl was a fabulous field dog with a great nose and an excellent ground tracker. Her points were solid and stylish and her search was big and wide. Pearlie could have been a Field Champion and a Master Hunter with little effort but, after Zippers death I pretty much stopped running any AKC events. She lacked one leg for Senior Hunter. Pearlie became very ill suddenly this summer and died at my vets office within two days. I took her to Auburn University for a necropsy but it was inconclusive. She had significant liver damage but a cause for her death could not be pinpointed. She is sorely missed,
The DKs
After Zippers death, I read an article in the Pointing Dog Journal about the DK and the NADKC. The article got me thinking. I read a lot more about the DK including the Deutsch Kurzhaar by Georgina Byrne. The German system just made so much sense to me. The dogs must prove themselves before they can be bred. Otherwise the puppies can not be registered. I acquired Cato and Mister and was so happy with them that I decided I wanted to find a female and see if I could get her breed eligible in the DKV. One of the things that influenced that decision most happened at a DK test in Oklahoma. One of the judges was from Germany and had never hunted deer in the US. It was the last day of gun season and he shot a doe at dusk but it was a low shoulder shot and she got up and ran off. The hosts of the tests were Phil and Gayla Salvatti and they had trained their dog Fine in totverweiser (blood tracking with a bringsel; a piece of leather that hangs from the dog collar) They brought Fine out to the wound bed and released her to track the deer. When she found the deer (very quickly) she returned with the bringsel in her mouth indicating she had found it. Gayla attached her check cord and she led us to the deer which was a good distance in some heavy brush. It was field dressed and hauled out: a great example of both conservation of game and what a truly versatile dog can accomplish. Fine was out of the von der Madlage kennel which has produced some very fine dogs. When I saw that Ilka von der Madlage was being bred to Rolf KS Birkenwald in Germany I started corresponding with the breeder, Bernd Krüger about a pup. Thus, Cati came to the USA
What I love about the DK system is that the breeder has freedom to emphasize what he considers important BUT the standard cannot be bypassed. The puppy buyer can use the dog for any hunting purpose he wants, upland, waterfowl, tracking etc. The system ensures that those versatile traits are not lost by allowing breeders to only concentrate on one aspect of the standard like conformation to the exclusion of all else.
The American GSP has descended from the DK gene pool and there are still many DKs that are imported from Germany and registered as GSPs with the AKC, FDSB, or NAVHDA. The main difference between a Deutsch Kurzhaar (DK) and a German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP) result from the breeding regulations under which puppies can be registered. In order for a DK litter to be registered with the DKV, the parents must pass at least one hunting test (Solms, HZP, or VGP) where nose, search, pointing, retrieving, cooperation, and obedience are evaluated in the field as well as search for duck , retrieve, and blind retrieve in the water. A conformation rating of at least good must be given by a qualified judge. The dog must also be rated hip dysplasia free. Bad bites, bad hips, poor conformation, gun sensitivity, and dogs that lack the required hunting and water ability are not allowed to be bred.
In reality, there are no breeding restrictions in the AKC or FDSB which require that a dog must meet a breed standard before being bred. The decision to breed a dog is made by the individual breeder. Whether the dog meets the breed standard is not a requirement. The result is that dogs with bad bites, poor conformation, or absolutely no proven hunting or water ability are bred. To be fair, there are many breeders with integrity who breed to the standard but many more who do not. Can outstanding GSPs be found in the US that meet the breed standard? Absolutely, but it is very easy to become kennel blind when making decisions about a dog in ones own kennel. Very few people make derogatory comments about their own dogs; its always someone elses dogs that are inferior. These subjective breeding decisions are eliminated with the DK and replaced by an objective determination of the breed worthiness of the parents.
Are there problems with the DK system?. Sure. I have found that wherever people have a passion for something such as dogs, arguments and disagreements are part of the package. For me, its the same as democracy......problems to be sure but its the best system out there.