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PUDELPOINTER |
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A combination of pointers and "poodles" in name and genetic make-up, this breed was created in the late 1800s by Baron von Zedlitz. He started with 90 "pointers" (probably of the utility dog type, i.e., Shorthair, Wirehair, and others) and seven "poodles." Some who have stud-ied the breed espouse his use of the modern Poodle; however, others feel the breed's forebears were actually Barbets, ancestors of the Poodle. Nevertheless, the Pudelpointer inherited the intelligence, attachment and obedience to owners, love of water and natural retrieving ability demonstrated by Poodles. The pointers contributed other hunting skills, including the sensitive nose and fiery attitude toward game. While working on establishing
the mental characteristics and hunting attitude, physical type was slowly
fixed. Today his short, rough, waterproof jacket with its camouflage
coloring and other qualities enable him to figure prominently in German
utility trials. The breed cannot achieve stud book status in its native
land until the dog has passed these demanding ability tests. The dog
must also pass a hip radiograph exam, as well as have a conformation
rating. The difference
between hunting styles becomes fully apparent in the woods. While the
utility dog is never actually used to hunt deer, its ability to search
for wounded game such as boar, hare, fox, and/or deer and stag is utilized
throughout Europe. Especially in Germany, the sporting hunter makes
every effort to find each piece of game that he wounds but fails to
kill. As Dr. Fritz von Dewitz-Colpin relates, "All hunting is done
under the motive: The subsequent search defines the value of the huntsman."
The dog must
track a wounded hare and a fox, most preferably giving tongue while
on the trail, and then retrieve the animal. He must find and put to
flight furred game such as rabbits. And last, he is expected to follow
the bloodtrail of a wounded deer or boar (in trials, simulated by dripping
just one drop of blood every yard or so over a trail of 500 meters with
a deer skin left at the end). To start, the dog tracks on lead, but
as he becomes closer to the game and sure of his quarry, he is unleashed
to go on by himself. When he reaches the dead game, he has to indicate
his success. The verbellen (verbal) dog bays loudly to announce
the find. This is the most desirable way since, in actual hunting situations,
he may find the wounded deer alive and, having cornered it, bay until
his master reaches him. Some dogs are naturally verweisen (mute),
and these dogs usually are trained to take in their mouths a short strap,
called a bringsel, that hangs from their collar, and return to
the handler. This symbolic retrieve of the bringsel, literally
"the bringing thing," indicates that the dog can lead the
handler to dead game that is too large
to retrieve.
Until 1933,
the dog was also expected to pass a sharpness test in which he killed
a "big cat" or a fox. These species preyed on both hare
and birds, so it was important to game wardens that the numbers of
cats and foxes be kept low. These tests have been outlawed, but owners
of the utility breeds may find hints of this sharpness still present.
A limited
number of Pudelpointers are in Canada and the USA, almost exclusively
in the hands of hunters. Most comparable to the German utility tests
are the trials sponsored by the North American Versatile Hunting Dog
Association (NAVHDA), and the Pudelpointers perform commendably in
these events. NAVHDA judges the dogs against a standard and expects
them to perform a variety of hunting chores.
Pudelpointers do as well
hunting in the desert as they do in a snowdrift. The breed has tremendous
stamina and needs a large amount of exercise. Their tail is docked
like that of a Shorthair.
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