Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

The word griffon, as a generic term, refers to a shaggy, rough-coated dog with a downy undercoat. Dogs of the griffon type have been known in Europe since the mid-1500s, hundreds of years before the advent of the versatile gundog that is the subject of this book. A French word, griffon appears in the names of a few American Kennel Club breeds, such as the Brussels Griffon, Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen and, of course, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (WPG) for generations has inspired an unrivaled passion and devotion from its followers. A superb gundog, a loyal house dog and a gentle friend to the children of the family, the WPG is still little known to the dog layperson but has long been a versatile treasure to hunters all over the globe.

Few dogs can compare to the WPG in terms of hunting skills, devotion to his owners and a gentle demeanor with all family members, including the children.

Though the French lay claim to developing the Griff, the breed was actually started by a young Dutchman named Eduard K. Korthals (1851–1896). As the son of a wealthy banker and shipbuilder, Korthals had the time on his hands to develop a dog that suited his favorite pastime—hunting. His father bred cattle, so Korthals already understood something of selective breeding and genetics and sought to create an all-terrain, close-working, pointing and retrieving gundog that would be easy to care for and train. He was partial to the griffon, which occurred in many forms throughout Europe, and set out to find the perfect type (size, coat, temperament, etc.) in order to develop the ideal dog patterned in his mind. Since Korthals denied using anything other than griffons in his breeding lines, it’s difficult to ascertain which breeds or types of dog he incorporated into this new breed. Undoubtedly he used various spaniels and setters that were available to him in Holland and possibly the Barbet and Otterhound. Korthals actually did cross with a German Shorthaired Pointer but the results were disastrous, so he didn’t pursue it.

The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, or the Korthals Griffon, as the WPG came to be known, began in earnest in 1874 when Korthals started his breeding program with a bitch named Mouche, a brown-and-gray griffon who was reported to be a good hunter in a variety of landscapes. The other original dogs, or Korthals Patriarchs, were Janus, Satan, Banco, Hector and Junon. The bitch Trouvee, a result of a breeding between Mouche and Janus, resulted in the type of coat that Korthals was looking for, and a mating between Trouvee and Banco produced Moustache I, Lina and Querida. The lineage of all true WPGs can be traced to these dogs.

The Pudelpointer originated in Germany, where it was created in the late 1800s by Baron von Zedlitz by combining outstanding Pointers and Poodle-type dogs.

Two German Wirehaired Pointers, distinguishable by their eyebrows, mustaches and beards.

The German Longhaired Pointer is distinguishable by its wavy long coat and large size, standing up to 27.5 inches at the shoulder.

The Griffon Bleu de Gascogne, one of the many wirehaired hunting dogs of France, may well be in the make-up of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon.

CANIS LUPUS

Grandma, what big teeth you have! The gray wolf, a familiar figure in fairy tales and legends, has had its reputation tarnished and its population pummeled over the centuries. Yet it is the descendants of this much-feared creature to which we open our homes and hearts. Our beloved dog, Canis domesticus, derives directly from the gray wolf, a highly social canine that lives in elaborately structured packs. In the wild, the gray wolf can range from 60 to 175 pounds, standing between 25 and 40 inches in height.

Korthals, who was then working as an advance agent for the French Duke of Penthièvre, attended many field events, praising the merits of his dogs and informing the hunting community of Europe about the concept of his ideal hunting dog. In 1877 Korthals was offered the use of a large kennel in Germany, owned by Prince Albrecht of Solms-Braunfels. He moved his dogs to Germany and dedicated the next 20 years to the development of his Korthals Griffon. During this time, he worked with over 600 dogs, keeping only 60 that he considered correct for his new breed. He did extensive line-breeding (mating dogs of the same family to a common ancestor); thus in some pedigrees one foundation dog will occur many times, sometimes in dozens of places.

The breed became successful very early on, with Korthals competing the dogs in field trials and conformation shows. Though a fatal disease struck his kennel in 1882, killing 16 dogs, Korthals and his gundog friends all over Europe, particularly in France, were not daunted and continued developing the breed. Korthals died at 44 years of age on July 4, 1896, of laryngeal cancer.

A Griff stands proudly in the field with a fellow talented gundog of Continental origin, the Spinone Italiano.

Before Korthals’ untimely death, a split occurred among advocates of the breed. The Germans wanted a certain type of dog, and the French wanted another—both from the WPG. Once Korthals was gone, the rift opened even further. World War I, beginning in 1914, significantly hindered the breed’s progress in Germany, while French breeding took off and created what is essentially today a French dog with pan-European origins. Today the WPG exists mainly in France with about 14,000 dogs, while in Germany there are probably fewer than 600 breed members, about the same number in Italy and 200 to 300 dogs in each Holland and Belgium.

It is not known whether the French fell in love with the breed for its adept hunting ability or its personality. German hunting dogs, like the German Shorthaired Pointer, are like machines in the field, working consistently and tirelessly. The WPG is more of an artist, sensitive and a little moody, though he can also be consistent and driven. He can take a field trial by storm or not perform at all, depending on how he is feeling that day. The French say that the Griff will invent birds in the field—they go places where the other dogs haven’t thought to look. The WPG is also a much softer dog and far more laid-back. According to Philippe Roca, vice president of the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association, a trainer should be as laid-back as the dog. When you train, you need to be very creative and make training fun for the dog. Appeal to your dog’s intelligence. Channel his drive. You can’t tell him what to do. You use the Griff’s instinctual drive and channel it where you want. You can’t train the dog like you train a robot.

The French school of training for the breed is also different. For the French, the WPG is a bird dog only. The Germans use the dog to hunt fur-bearing animals and to do blood-tracking as well, often with the handlers on horseback, which the French do not do. The two countries are still split on this issue.

A strong and skilled worker, the Griff is not all business—the breed’s charm and personality are evident in this lounging pack.

The first WPG registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1887 was Zoletta, a bitch who came to the United States and was recorded under the breed Russian Setter (Griffon). At that time, breeds with copious facial hair were supposed to have originated in the Siberian area, and so were registered incorrectly. In 1916, an official breed standard was established in the United States, and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show boasted 16 competing WPGs. By 1929, the WPG was registered in the American Field Dog Stud Book and competed in hunting and pointing events. Unfortunately, the two world wars put a damper on the propagation of the WPG, and serious breeding ceased.

The WPG found its way back to the United States again after World War II, when a group of servicemen brought back the dogs they had seen and admired in France, Germany and Holland. The breed thrived, gaining loyal devotees in the many years following.

THE WPG FELLOWSHIP

The first WPG club was started by E. K. Korthals and his friends on July 29, 1888, and it was called the International Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Club. Specialty clubs in individual countries followed: the Royal Belgium Griffon Club began in 1895; the Club Français du Griffon d’Arrêt a Poil Dur Korthals commenced in 1901 in France; De Nederlandse Griffonclub initiated in 1911 in Holland; and the Griffon Club of America began in 1916, the year in which the official breed standard was instituted.

The Griffon Club of America fell apart under the pressure of World War II. But after the war, when the newly imported Griffs appeared in the States, Lt. Colonel Thomas Rogers and other breed devotees formed the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Club of America (WPGA) in 1951. The breed flourished for over 30 years, but a rift eventually overtook the breed again.

In the late 1970s and early ’80s, a faction of the WPG fancy was discontented with the quality of Griffs in the US and expressed the desire for better hunting dogs. The faction believed that there was too much random breeding that wasn’t well managed or well considered. The club started a committee to identify good breeding and began to hunt-test the litters of specific dogs. Those particular pups did not show well. The committee became frustrated at what they perceived to be the lack of good Griffs in North America. Someone outside the club suggested outcrossing the breed to German Wirehaired Pointers. Another advisor, a member of the breeding committee, suggested that the Griff would be best crossed with another hunting gundog, the Cesky Fousek (pronounced CHESkee FOWseck), a Czech breed which is similar in appearance to the WPG but whose hunting manner and disposition are more comparable to those of the German Wirehaired Pointer. This breed nearly died off during World War II even though the Czech government had been trying to resurrect it. Arrangements were made and the first Fouseks were brought over to the States. The outcrossed dogs were successful in competition, much to the delight of the group that supported this decision.

Even when relaxing, the WPG is keen, alert and ready to go.

The 2004 American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association specialty show was judged by Marian Mason Hodesson and won by Ch. Flatbrook Kyjo’s What a Sport, JH. A total of 42 WPGs competed.

However, another faction of the club refused to taint the bloodlines that Korthals had so carefully created. This steadfast group did not approve of the crossbreeding and held that these new dogs (often called Foufons by this group) were not true WPGs, though the WPG/Fousek group held that they were.

The split was definite. The pure-bred faction went off on its own to create the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association (AWPGA). In 1991 the AWPGA was recognized by the AKC as the official parent club for the breed. The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Club of America is currently not recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), United Kennel Club (UKC), Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA), American Field or the European Griffon and Fousek organizations. These organizations do not register or test the WPG/Fousek cross. Because of this, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Club of America created its own registry, wrote its own standard and began holding its own field trial competitions.

Comparatively speaking, the WPG/Fousek cross is a more square dog, whereas the Griffon is more rectangular, longer than it is tall. Some of the dogs are also bigger. The mechanics of the dog has also changed. Its coat is a little tougher, as is its mentality, which is more like that of a German Wirehaired Pointer. These are not bad dogs—they are suited for the hunt and do well in field trials, but they are not pure-bred WPGs. The two groups are still philosophically divided, and heated discussions still occur. Nevertheless, members of both groups remain friendly, though neither will accept the other’s perspective on the matter.

Today there’s a healthy stock of WPGs in the United States. The WPG community is still very small, and most of the breeders know what the others are doing. When a litter is whelped, it’s not unusual for most of the community to know about it. Because the community is small, each breeder needs the others to keep the bloodlines strong and healthy. Dogs are still imported from Europe, primarily from France, and semen is also imported and used by breeders who want to improve their stock. Somewhere in the range of 400 to 500 Griff puppies are produced in the United States each year.

Best of Breed at Westminster in 2000, Ch. Jerome von Herrenhausen was shown by Cheryl Cates under judge Dr. Bernard E. McGivern, Jr.

Perhaps the most important goal of the 21st century for the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association is to prevent another split, this time between those who show their dogs in conformation events and those who hunt. The AWPGA would like conformation dogs to also achieve top field results. As it stands, it’s often the case that the WPGs appearing at the weekend dog shows will be hunting in the field the following weekend,