Small Munsterlander Pointer
Modified: 30-11--0001 00:00:00
The Small Munsterlander Pointer was first bred 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 more versatile.
Appearance
The breed is described as about 35 pounds (16 kg) and 18-20 inches (0.45 to 0.5 m) at the shoulder, average is larger, around 45 pounds (20 kg) some males reaching or slightly exceeding 60 pounds (27 kg) and up to 22 inches (0.55 m). Body is lean yet powerful and not prone to becoming overweight due to an active nature and natural athleticism. Colouration 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 which must be met.
Temperament
Small Munsterlander Pointers are intelligent, trainable, and attentive but require gentle patient training. They are also strong-willed, 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 exercise for an hour or more every day. They LOVE swimming. 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.
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