What is a Kleiner Münsterländer?

The breed of "Deutsch Langhaar" is one of the oldest hunting dog breeds in Europe. Its roots go back to the Middle Ages. In the beginning it was bred from Bracken, Vogelhunden, Wasserhunden and Habichthunden and enjoyed early in the attitude for hunting purposes of great popularity.

In accordance with the dispositions of their ancestors, they were primarily used for hunting. The characteristic of pointing, to which the Deutsch Langhaar owes its affiliation with the pointing dogs, was only later demanded and promoted for hunting purposes.

In 1879, Freiherr von Schorlemer established the breeding system from which today's Deutsch Langhaar emerged. The breed standard of the Deutsch Langhaar has not changed much since then, but in 1922 all Deutsch Langhaar with a black and white coat were excluded from breeding and two new breeds were founded: The Small and Large Münsterländer. Unlike these two breeds, the presently born puppies of the Deutsch Langhaar are exclusively given to hunters.

Profile of the Deutsch Langhaar:

What is the nature and character of the Deutsch Langhaar?

The German Longhair is considered a hunting dog with a very good and pronounced rummaging behavior and an also very high hunting drive and urge to move. 
He is assigned in higher classification to the wolves, because his hunting drive is always in the foreground and this must be served as well as his urge to move. Therefore, the German Longhair is not suitable as a pure family dog.

Representatives of the breed are basically considered to be well sociable with people. However, due to its hunting acuity, it usually recognizes cats, predators and other animals as prey. 
Since it is very leader-oriented, it requires early personal imprinting by its people. Training should be consistent but loving and confirming.

A well-trained Deutsch Langhaar can assist the hunter in pretty much all types of hunting. The breed is considered the best all-rounder among hunting dogs.

What does a Deutsch Langhaar look like?

The Deutsch Langhaar is considered a visually pleasing dog breed - especially in its solid color varieties. Laymen sometimes confuse the rusty brown color variants with an Irish Setter. However, the Langhaar is usually much darker.
In many illustrations, the Deutsch Langhaar is used as a classic retriever dog because of its appearance.

The following colors are allowed according to the breed standard:

• solid brown coat
• brown with markings on paws and chest. The markings can be molded or white.
• Dark gray: brown head, on the body dark plates
• Light gray: brown head, on the body light brown plates
• trout white: brown, small spots on a white background
• brown white
• very rarely a yellow blaze can be seen, which was brought into the dog breed by the Bracken people

How to keep a German Longhair?

Due to its high urge to move, the Longhair should be provided with sufficient space in its home for exercise and sufficient opportunity for exercise. Likewise, regular and early contact with conspecifics should be made possible for socialization purposes.

Many German Longhairs have an affinity for water, so they should be given the opportunity to exercise in the water from time to time.

The German Longhair also enjoys long walks on a long leash in the woods, fields and meadows, where he can explore the surroundings. But also to jogging and cycling the Longhair accompanies with pleasure.

How to raise a German Longhair?

The German Longhair is a hunting dog with a firm but sensitive nature. Although it is considered to be very strong-willed and especially assertive towards other dogs, it can react fearfully and distantly to punishment and rejection by its handler.
It is therefore definitely not a beginner's dog, but should be trained by people with many years of hunting dog experience.

It is also important that the hunting instinct of the Deutsch Langhaar is channeled early and sufficiently. If the dog is not appropriately exercised, it will quickly tend to get into mischief and massively neglect obedience.

Daily exercise for and work with the dog are therefore absolutely essential.

What diet for a German Shorthair?

As for all hunting dogs of his size, the diet of the Deutsch Langhaar should be designed to provide him with the proteins and vitamins his body needs to meet both the hunting and physically demanding recreational challenges. Likewise, he should be fed as natural, meat-based, and balanced a diet as possible to maintain his athletic physique.
A good way to provide the dog with large portions of meat is barfing. This food consists of raw meat from cattle, sheep, horses and other slaughtered animals except pigs. Raw pork poses health risks for dogs, for example, because of auezky's disease.

Regarding the varied balanced diet, it is also advisable to offer the dog cooked vegetables together with fresh meat etc. every now and then.

Grains such as wheat, corn etc. are simply not needed by hunting dogs and care should always be taken when feeding dry food that such grain types are processed in very small quantities at most.

Some cooked rice is fine from time to time and rice gruel can even work wonders for gastrointestinal disorders.

Basically, the adult German Longhair should receive 2-3 meals per day and these are best at regular times, so that they set the framework for a regular daily routine.
Puppies need three to four meals per day. Small treats or pieces of sausage are suitable as rewards during training. Rewards and snacks for in-between meals should be included in the total food amount. It is also important to have a constant supply of water for the dog. Practical drinking bottles with integrated bowls are available for on the go.

How to care for the German Shorthair Longhair?

As an absolute lover of nature, the German Longhair naturally comes into contact with sources of contamination time and again. He is only too happy to rummage through wet and dirty leafy harbors, roll around on meadows and in forests, roam through dense branches in all weathers, taking little care not to get dirty - on the contrary.

Nevertheless, its care is not particularly complex. With the help of a brush with natural bristles and a comb with coarse tines, the German Longhair's coat, which is actually only of medium length, can be quickly freed from dirt and tags.

A bath or a shower is only necessary in case of really coarse soiling and therefore altogether quite rarely. If the German Longhair likes it, however, you can now and then confidently care for him by rinsing, even with a dog shampoo.

What are the disadvantages of a German Longhair?

To train and educate a German Longhair properly, you need some patience and experience. His sensitivity is not necessarily a disadvantage of the breed, but ensures that you have to deal very intensively with the dog and his needs to be able to train him properly.

If the handler acts on the dog in the wrong way, the bond between the two can be irreparably damaged.

Also, some dogs are easily overwhelmed with their immense urge to move and their will to work. However, if these are not satisfied, conflicts can quickly arise. An underutilized Deutsch Langhaar is capable of turning an entire living floor upside down.

Does the German Longhair suit me?

The question of whether a dog breed suits someone or not cannot be answered definitively and generally about the Deutsch Langhaar. However, one thing is certain: The Deutsch Langhaar is a dog primarily designed for hunters due to its pronounced hunting instinct and its unconditional will to work and should not be kept as a pure family companion and certainly not as a lap dog. This role simply does not meet his requirements.

If one is considering the purchase of a Deutsch Langhaar, one should seriously familiarize oneself with the breed profile beforehand and think carefully about whether one can meet the demands of the dog and its training, and also whether one can devote sufficient time and patience to it. Also, the family circumstances of the coming years should be included in the consideration.

So basically the most important question to answer is: Does a Deutsch Langhaar fit my circumstances?