The Great Munsterlander: A Versatile Hunter
The great munsterlander is a breed native to Germany. Its survival over the centuries is due to its expertise in a very specific type of hunting and its great personality. It looks more like a spaniel dog, but nothing further from reality, so we invite you to get to know it better in this article.
History of the great munsterlander
We find the origins of the great munsterlander in hunting breeds, specifically in a well-known German breed, between the 18th and 19th centuries. One of its ancestors was a breed specialized in hunting birds. It is also known for sharing genes with bloodhounds and retrievers.
The copies of this canine began to reproduce selectively and to be recognized as a breed in the late 19th century he was grouped with the point of dog for long and then got a better selection of colors that he could present until it was recognized as a race in the 80s.
Characteristics
The great munsterlander is an agile looking dog. He has a fast pace and fluid movement, which helps him enormously to develop on the field. The proportions of its body are square: its height in cross is the same as the length of the back.
The large munsterlander reaches between 58 and 65 centimeters in height in a cross and its weight is about 30 kilos: it is a tall dog, but not burly. It can be said that there is no significant difference in size between males and females.
It has semi-long, smooth and silky hair. However, on hind legs, ears and tail, it should be a little longer. It is only allowed to appear in black and white colors : they must be white with black stripes, spots or plaques. The head itself may be completely black with some white streak or spot.
The head is triangular and elongated, which narrows slightly towards the nose. The difference between the beginning of the skull and the nose is not very pronounced. The nose is always black, as are the eyes.
The ears are large and fall close to the head. It has its tail raised when it is at rest, almost at the height of the back line; when you’re happy, you can lift it a little higher.
Behavior
The great munsterlander is an especially docile and compliant breed. He has a great adaptability, is attached and lives waiting for his family, human or animal. Friendly, has no difficulty relating to strangers. It is also able to live with more animals.
Despite this, they are good guard dogs that know how to distinguish visitors from intruders. They are tolerant and patient, which makes them a suitable breed to handle children, although we should not forget that interactions between children and dogs must always be supervised.
They are very intelligent animals that are always willing to learn. However, they can become stubborn or stubborn, so it is necessary to use an education based on positive reinforcement : it is not an animal that can learn based on punishment or force.
In hunting, they are reliable animals. However, they don’t develop this instinct as early as other hunting dogs. It takes a little more patience than with other dogs, but you can get some who are willing to work and are very effective at what they do.
They are lively and energetic dogs, but not nervous, that is, the exercise they need to do is based on three quality walks a day. Anyway, they love running around the mountain so it would be important to enjoy nature once in a while.
As a pointing dog, chase games such as balls or sticks are discouraged. They are very stressful and activate a hunting instinct that they can no longer develop.
care
The large munsterlander has few inherited diseases. By statistics, they suffer from the usual health problems of large dogs. Hip or elbow dysplasia, along with gastric torsion and some eye problems are recurrent in this breed.
Prevention and detection of these health problems should always be the responsibility of a veterinarian. Even if the dog looks healthy, he should make the revisions that the medical professional recommends. We must not forget about internal and external deworming.
Dogs with droopy ears are prone to developing ear infections and other infections. As this is also a nature-loving animal, after each outing there should be an overhaul to locate possible scratches, splinters and parasites on the paws or ears.
The great munsterlander is an exceptional hunter specializing in birds. It is a versatile dog that can also be a great pet: docile with humans, patient with children and friendly with other dogs and animals.
