Korthals Griffon

Korthals Griffon

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In Europe they are still known as the Korthals Griffon. The Wirehaired Pointed Griffon is an excellent family dog who is trustworthy and has a tremendous willingness to please. Easy to train, they make a wonderful pet for a strong confident owner. An active breed, they exhibit pointer-like behavior but have a terrier-like attitude. Wirehaired Pointing Griffons make pleasant companions and skillful, multipurpose hunting dogs. Wirehaired Pointing Griffons have a quick and intelligent mind and is easily trained. Wirehaired Pointing Griffons are outgoing and make a meticulous hunting companion. 

The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is a breed of dog. It is Dutch in origin, but is regarded as a French breed because a major portion of the breed’s development took place in France.

Medium sized, with a noble, square-shaped head, strong of limb, bred to cover all terrain encountered by the walking hunter. Movement showing an easy catlike gracefulness. Excels equally as a pointer in the field, or a retriever in the water. Coat is hard and coarse, never curly or woolly, with a thick undercoat of fine hair, giving an unkempt appearance. His easy trainability, devotion to family, and friendly temperament endear him to all. The nickname of “supreme gundog” is well earned. 

The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon was developed in the period between 1870 and 1873 by the Dutch breeder named “E. K. Korthals” through mixing German Griffons with French and German Pointers, Spaniels, Barbets and a Setter. The result of his breeding program was an enthusiastic hunting dog with a fine nose especially good for small game such as hare and quail. 

The Griffon Club of America was formed in 1916 and that same year, 16 Griffons were shown at the big Westminister Kennel Club Dog Show in New York. In the 1980′s a few breeders elected to import Cesky Fousek dogs and breed them into the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon lines. Disagreements over this practice resulted in a rift among breeders and the subsequent formation of the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association to preserve the purity of the original breed. That organization is now the AKC parent club for the breed. The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is fairly rare; about 75-150 puppies are produced in the USA each year.

The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is a rough-coated, strong and graceful, medium-sized hunting dog. It has a large, long head, square muzzle, and soft, thick, bushy eyebrows, beard and mustache. The neck is rather long, without dewlap and the skull is the same length from the stop to occiput, as from nose to stop. The eyes are large and elliptical with brown or yellow irises. It has a lively, but mild expression. The medium-sized ears lie flat and close to the head. 

The nose is always brown. The teeth should meet in a scissors bite. The ears are pendent. The body is slightly longer than it is tall. The limbs are vigorous and muscular. The straight topline slopes gently downward from the withers to the tail. The tail is docked to about 1/2 to 2/3 its length and is carried horizontally. The chest extends to the elbows and is moderate in width to allow the dog freedom of movement. The front legs are straight. 

The feet are rounded with webbed toes. Dewclaws should be removed. The straight, hard, wiry outer coat is lined with a fine but thick downy undercoat. Coat texture varies depending on the percentage of wiry vs. soft hair. Coat care and type of dog food can also affect coat texture. The wiry coat does not shed but must be stripped so new hair can grow. The coat comes in silver or steel- gray with chestnut or roam markings, or in solid chestnut.

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