The Large Münsterländer or Großer Münsterländer is a modern German

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

of continental

pointing dog Pointing dogs, sometimes called bird dogs, are a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name ''pointer'' comes from the dog's inst ...

spaniel A spaniel is a Dog type, type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century, spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retriev ...

type. It originated in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

and

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, and is named for the Münsterland region of northern Westphalia. It shares the same origins as the German Long-haired Pointer, and was established as a separate breed when the

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

removed the black-and-white colouration from its

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

. A new breed society for black-and-white long-haired pointers was started in 1919, and the new breed was recognised in 1922. It was definitively accepted by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

in 1954.

History

The

breeds of Europe all derive from the now-extinct

Old Spanish Pointer The Old Spanish Pointer, or Perro de Punta Español, is an List of extinct dog breeds, extinct breed of Spanish pointing dogs known from the Early Modern Period; it is considered the first of its type from which all modern pointing dog breeds desc ...

, which spread through France and the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

and reached the princely houses of the German-speaking world, where at first they were used in bird-hunting with nets or falcons, and later by huntsmen with guns. Bird dogs were also brought from England; , in his ''Aufrichtiger Lehrprinz'' of 1751, describes these as taller and stronger than the local type. In the nineteenth century large numbers of dogs of Burgos Pointing Dog type were brought to Germany. In the early part of that century the resulting mixed population had no specific name – the dogs were called ('bird dogs') or ('hunting dogs'). In 1878, at the annual

dog show A dog show is an animal show; it is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a '' breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs f ...

of the in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, it was agreed that

s for German dogs would be established at the show to be held in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

in 1879; standards for both the Deutsch Kurzhaar ( German Short-haired Pointer) and the Deutsch Langhaar ( German Long-haired Pointer) were introduced in that year. Although black-and-white dogs are documented in paintings of the old , dogs with this colouration were at first excluded from the German Long-haired Pointer standard, as it was regarded as a sure sign of

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

with the English Setter. They were later allowed to be registered, until black-and-white was definitively removed from the standard in 1908 or 1909. In 1919 a

, the , was formed in

Haltern Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a medium-sized town in the northern part of the district of Recklinghausen in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is located in the n ...

in Münsterland by breeders of these long-haired black-and-white pointing dogs, for which the name Großer Münsterländer Vorstehhund was chosen – most of them were either in

or in

. A list of eighty-three suitable foundation animals was drawn up, and was published in the first

stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders w ...

for the new breed in 1922. The breed was officially recognised by the in the same year. It was definitively accepted by the

in 1954; it was recognised by the Kennel Club of Great Britain in 1971 and by the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

in 2023. In the fifteen years from 2009 to 2023, the annual number of new registrations in Germany varied from to , with an average of about , or just over 0.4% of all registrations in the period.

Characteristics

The standard is set by

and the translation was done by Mrs. Peggy Davis from the original German. The Large Munsterlander should be athletic, intelligent, noble, and elegant in appearance. Its body should be the same length as its height at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

. The dog should be muscular without being bulky. Its gait should be fluid and elastic. Dogs stand some at the

, bitches about less. Body weight is approximately in both sexes. The coat is black and white with hair of medium length. Due to the nature of the

piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backg ...

gene, the amount of black in an individual's coat pattern is highly variable, ranging from predominantly white to predominantly black. Markings occur as solid black patches, with black

ticking Ticking may refer to: * Ticking (sound), a sharp, rhythmic sound * Ticking (textile), a kind of textile * "Ticking" (song), song by Elton John on the 1974 album, ''Caribou'' * ''The Ticking'', a 2006 comic book by Renée French * White ticking, ...

or roan filling in the white fur in varying degrees of concentration. Usually, the head is predominantly black, and the tip of the tail is white, regardless of the distribution of black and white, and roan and ticking on the rest of the body. The Large Munsterlander was included in a genetic research study, and all were homozygous for the sp allele in the MITF gene that causes piebald spotting. The coat is dense but should be firm and sleek.

Use

This field dog characteristically is calm and gentle with children and well-adjusted to living in the master's dwelling. The versatile characteristics of the breed provide for a reliable companion for all facets of hunting. It is a versatile all-round gun-dog, used for pointing and tracking and to find and retrieve shot game. It works well on land and particularly in water. Their long and thick coat protects them against cold and allows them to search dense cover thoroughly, but as a result leaves them more susceptible to burrs.

References

Dog breeds originating in Germany FCI breeds Rare dog breeds Gundogs Pointers {{bots, deny=Citation bot