Lemons into Lemonade

Canada Post is on strike. 

So what does that mean to a book seller who relies entirely on the good men and women at the post office to deliver the mail? It could mean "I'm screwed". Or it could mean that I should just walk around all day mumbling "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!!" waiting for the strike to end in a week or three.

Or I could follow the old addage: "When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade"

And that is exactly what I did yesterday. I hopped in my Honda Civic lemonade-maker and headed south. An hour later, I was in Pembina, North Dakota chatting with a happy-to-be-of-service US postal worker.

I've always known that US postal rates are lower than Canadian rates, but I was shocked to see by how much! When the friendly postman weighed one of my books and told me what it would cost for domestic and international shipping, my first thought was Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!!

Not only are US rates cheaper...as in WAY cheaper... but the service is faster. In North America it is a day or three faster than Canada Post and for international service it is like comparing a rocket to a freaking donkey cart! Instead of 4 to 8 weeks for a book to ship to Europe, they usually get there in less than 10 days for the same price! 

So right there and then I made two decisions. 

1. I'm lowered my shipping charges on all North American orders. In fact, if you order two books to the same address in the US or Canada, the shipping charges are ZERO! For international orders, shipping fees will remain the same for now but all books will be sent by airmail instead of by surface mail, no more slow boat to China. 

2. I'm dumping Canada Post. Management and union haven't been able to work out a deal even though they have been at the bargaining table for nearly a year. Next week the government will step in to force them back to work. But it won't matter to me. I will be heading south every week with a trunk load of books to ship via USPS. And I am going to send a nice box of lemons to the fine folks at Canada Post. But I am pretty sure they will never make lemonade out of them since the fruit will probably just rot in a warehouse somewhere waiting for the next strike to come and go. 

Check out the Dog Willing website for new pricing and the special Buy 2 Ship 4 Free deal.  

Breed of the Week: The German Shorthaired Pointer

One hundred and fifty years ago the people of Germany struggled to create a united nation out of a patchwork of tiny kingdoms, city-states and fiefdoms. Around the same time, German hunters struggled to create their own national breed of short-haired pointing dog. Eventually, both goals were realized. Today, Germany is a rich and united republic and the German Shorthaired Pointer sits in triumph as the most successful Continental pointing breed in the world. 

I’ve seen GSPs in Saskatchewan and Slovakia, Arizona and Austria and a dozen other places in between. I’ve seen the wide variety of types within the breed, from traditional utility dogs in Germany, to “little white rockets” in Canada and the US. But when it came time to write my own views on the breed, one very special dog—from right here in Manitoba—came to mind.  

His name was Willy. He was prairie-bred and built like a pickup truck. In his prime, he was one of the best sharptail and pheasant dogs I’d ever seen. But as he got older, the many miles of northern prairie he’d covered began to catch up with him. At 14, he was nearly deaf and blind, but he was still able to hobble around his owner’s yard where members of our small pointing dog club would occasionally meet for informal training sessions.

One day, as we were working young dogs on planted pigeons, Willy lay on the grass snoring under the warm summer sun. Out in the field, about 50 yards away, a pup was on point. A handler walked up, flushed the planted bird, and fired a blank. At the sound of the gun, Willy woke with a start. He struggled to his shaky legs and made a wobbly beeline to the field. It took him a while to cover the 50 yards, but once he was there, he made a short cast to the left, another to the right, and found the scent cone. Then, like an ultra-slow motion scene right out of The Matrix, he eased into a picture-perfect point.

I have no idea how many hundreds, or even thousands, of points Willy had made during his lifetime, but standing there that day, I knew I was seeing his last. As his owner took him by the collar and gently led him away, a fist-sized lump formed in my throat. By summer’s end, Willy had passed away. A proper gravestone now marks his final resting place near the training field. To me, and I suspect to many others who had the pleasure of hunting with him, Willy embodied the very essence of his breed: a handsome hunting dog, a brave, loyal companion as honest and strong as the day is long.



Read more about the breed, and all the other pointing breeds from Continental Europe, in my book Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals

Breed of the Week: The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

One of the most interesting - and frustrating - challenges I faced when writing my book was trying to come up with an reasonably accurate profile of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. Despite the fact that the sporting literature from the late 19th century contains a wealth of information on the breed and that a good number of books have been written about it since then, I had a hard time coming up with a coherent summary of the breed's development and its current situation.

What I discovered was that the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon was created mainly in Germany by a Dutchman working under the patronage of an Anglophile German prince. Today, there is still a remnant population in Germany and even a small club for the breed there. But France has the largest population of Griffons and the largest and most influential Griffon club. It is also considered by the FCI to be the parent country of the breed. The first Griffon to make its way to North America was imported in 1887 and listed as "Russian Setter" by the AKC*. More were brought over after the turn of the century and the breed eventually attracted a small but devoted following among North American hunters, particularly in Québec and the American mid-west.  *I explain why in the Griffon chapter and describe the Russian Setter in the chapter on extinct breeds.

Today, it is not difficult to find a well-bred, hard-hunting Griffon in Europe or North America - if you do your homework.  But, as I found out when I wrote the chapter on the breed, any homework on the Griffon involves familiarizing yourself with the various types within the breed, the myriad of clubs representing it, and the sometimes quite different breeding directions followed by individual breeders.

Unlike some other breeds which benefit from having a strong, centralized organization designed to ensure the breed's overall quality, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is represented by many different clubs around the world. And in some of the breed's strongholds there are actually two competing clubs. In France for example, the parent club there is now under attack from disaffected former members who have formed their own club for what they call "authentic" Griffons. You can read more about the French brouhaha here.

In the US, there are also two clubs. The oldest of the two, the WPGCA, decided in the 1980s to allow cross breeding of Griffons to a closely related breed, the Cesky Fousek. Members who disagreed with the program left the club and formed a new one, the AWPGA. Both clubs still exist and, despite a bit of mudslinging that occasionally flares up on bulletin boards and discussion groups, they seem to have settled into a sort of détente in recent years. But even in the UK, where the breed has only been on the scene since about 2000, there now appears to be two clubs! The Korthals Griffon Club of Great Britain and the Working Korthals Griffon Club. (note: since this article was written, the website for Working Korthals Griffon Club is no longer online, nor can I find anything about it via Google search).

So no wonder it took me such a long time to write the Griffon chapter! Not only did I have to translate  references from German, French, Dutch and English sources but I had to cut through the spin each one put on their version of the events that lead to the creation of the breed and how it should look and perform today. Heck, even the name of the breed took me an entire page to explain!: 

The word griffon (or griffin) can be traced back to the Greek and Latin roots meaning “hook” or “claw” or even “hawk” ( i.e.: a bird with claws). Long ago, it was the name of a mythical beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion—with clawed feet, of course.

Eventually the word “griffon” became associated with many of the rough-coated dog breeds found throughout Europe. That is why the word “pointing” is in the name of the Korthals Griffon. It is there to indicate that, unlike the Blue Gascony Griffon, a type of running hound, or the Belgian Griffon, a companion breed, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is a pointing breed. The name also refers to the wire-haired coat. This is to differentiate it from other griffons with non-wiry coats, such as the French Woolly-haired Pointing Griffon developed by Emmanuel Boulet and the Brabançon Griffon that has a smooth coat.

So, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is the name of a pointing breed with a wire-haired coat that is part of the overall family of griffon-type dogs. Simple enough, right? Not quite. We need to keep in mind that the term “wirehaired pointing griffon” only came into widespread use after the turn of the 20th century. Depending on the source, rough-haired dogs were called everything from Polish and Hungarian Water Dogs, to Pudels, Budels and Hessian Rough-Beards. In fact when the first Wirehaired Pointing Griffon was imported to the US in 1887, it was listed as a “Russian Setter”.

Even Korthals himself did not use the name Griffon until the 1880s. He originally called his dogs Smousbarts  and when he moved to Germany he used the German term Drahthaarige Vorstehhunde, which means wire-haired pointing dogs. Eventually, he and members of the newly formed international breed club settled on the term Griffon. Elsewhere in Europe, other breeds of pointing dogs were developed from the same griffon type ancestors. The Spinone, Cesky Fousek, Slovak Pointer, Wirehaired Vizsla, Stichelhaar, German Wirehaired Pointer and Pudelpointer are all “griffons” in the broadest sense of the word. And since they all point and have wire-haired coats, are “wire-haired pointing griffons”.

It was therefore logical, and even necessary, to put and end to the confusion that resulted from the fact that all griffons with a wire coat of various kinds had the same name expressed in different ways in French or German. By adding the word “Korthals” to the name of the breed, French Griffon supporters proclaimed themselves the heirs and upholders of the works of the great breeder. - Jean Castaing, Les Chiens d'Arret

So, today in France and Québec, breeders and owners call the breed Griffon Korthals. In conversation they shorten it to just “Korthals”. But the situation in other countries is not as cut and dry. The FCI website shows that the international organization can’t quite figure out where to put the word “Korthals” in the English translation of the name. On the website’s nomenclature page, Korthals is in the middle of the name: French Wire-Haired Korthals Pointing Griffon. But in the English translation of the standard published by the FCI, Korthals is at the end: Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Korthals.

Americans solve the problem by simply dropping the word Korthals from the name. They refer to the breed as the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, and shorten it to “Griff” in conversation. In the UK, it is the word “Wirehaired” that is dropped. British breeders and owners call their dogs Korthals Griffons. And in the German standard, the word Griffon is dropped! The name on the German translation of the FCI standard is Französischer Rauhhaariger Korthals Vorstehhund (French Rough-haired Korthals Pointing Dog)—yet the name of the German club representing the breed is Griffon-Club.

The bottom line is that when it comes to confusing breed names, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (Korthals) may be top dog, but that does not mean that a good Griff cannot be an outstanding gundog; many of them are, no matter what they are called.

Read more about the breed, and all the other pointing breeds from Continental Europe, in my book Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals

Breed of the Week: The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

One of the most interesting - and frustrating - challenges I faced when writing my book was trying to come up with an reasonably accurate profile of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. Despite the fact that the sporting literature from the late 19th century contains a wealth of information on the breed and that a good number of books have been written about it since then, I had a hard time coming up with a coherent summary of the breed's development and its current situation.

What I discovered was that the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon was created mainly in Germany by a Dutchman working under the patronage of an Anglophile German prince. Today, there is still a remnant population in Germany and even a small club for the breed there. But France has the largest population of Griffons and the largest and most influential Griffon club. It is also considered by the FCI to be the parent country of the breed. The first Griffon to make its way to North America was imported in 1887 and listed as "Russian Setter" by the AKC*. More were brought over after the turn of the century and the breed eventually attracted a small but devoted following among North American hunters, particularly in Québec and the American mid-west.  *I explain why in the Griffon chapter and describe the Russian Setter in the chapter on extinct breeds.

Today, it is not difficult to find a well-bred, hard-hunting Griffon in Europe or North America - if you do your homework.  But, as I found out when I wrote the chapter on the breed, any homework on the Griffon involves familiarizing yourself with the various types within the breed, the myriad of clubs representing it, and the sometimes quite different breeding directions followed by individual breeders.

Unlike some other breeds which benefit from having a strong, centralized organization designed to ensure the breed's overall quality, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is represented by many different clubs around the world. And in some of the breed's strongholds there are actually two competing clubs. In France for example, the parent club there is now under attack from disaffected former members who have formed their own club for what they call "authentic" Griffons. You can read more about the French brouhaha here.

In the US, there are also two clubs. The oldest of the two, the WPGCA, decided in the 1980s to allow cross breeding of Griffons to a closely related breed, the Cesky Fousek. Members who disagreed with the program left the club and formed a new one, the AWPGA. Both clubs still exist and, despite a bit of mudslinging that occasionally flares up on bulletin boards and discussion groups, they seem to have settled into a sort of détente in recent years. But even in the UK, where the breed has only been on the scene since about 2000, there now appears to be two clubs! The Korthals Griffon Club of Great Britain and the Working Korthals Griffon Club. (note: since this article was written, the website for Working Korthals Griffon Club is no longer online, nor can I find anything about it via Google search).

So no wonder it took me such a long time to write the Griffon chapter! Not only did I have to translate  references from German, French, Dutch and English sources but I had to cut through the spin each one put on their version of the events that lead to the creation of the breed and how it should look and perform today. Heck, even the name of the breed took me an entire page to explain!: 

The word griffon (or griffin) can be traced back to the Greek and Latin roots meaning “hook” or “claw” or even “hawk” ( i.e.: a bird with claws). Long ago, it was the name of a mythical beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion—with clawed feet, of course.

Eventually the word “griffon” became associated with many of the rough-coated dog breeds found throughout Europe. That is why the word “pointing” is in the name of the Korthals Griffon. It is there to indicate that, unlike the Blue Gascony Griffon, a type of running hound, or the Belgian Griffon, a companion breed, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is a pointing breed. The name also refers to the wire-haired coat. This is to differentiate it from other griffons with non-wiry coats, such as the French Woolly-haired Pointing Griffon developed by Emmanuel Boulet and the Brabançon Griffon that has a smooth coat.

So, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is the name of a pointing breed with a wire-haired coat that is part of the overall family of griffon-type dogs. Simple enough, right? Not quite. We need to keep in mind that the term “wirehaired pointing griffon” only came into widespread use after the turn of the 20th century. Depending on the source, rough-haired dogs were called everything from Polish and Hungarian Water Dogs, to Pudels, Budels and Hessian Rough-Beards. In fact when the first Wirehaired Pointing Griffon was imported to the US in 1887, it was listed as a “Russian Setter”.

Even Korthals himself did not use the name Griffon until the 1880s. He originally called his dogs Smousbarts  and when he moved to Germany he used the German term Drahthaarige Vorstehhunde, which means wire-haired pointing dogs. Eventually, he and members of the newly formed international breed club settled on the term Griffon. Elsewhere in Europe, other breeds of pointing dogs were developed from the same griffon type ancestors. The Spinone, Cesky Fousek, Slovak Pointer, Wirehaired Vizsla, Stichelhaar, German Wirehaired Pointer and Pudelpointer are all “griffons” in the broadest sense of the word. And since they all point and have wire-haired coats, are “wire-haired pointing griffons”.

It was therefore logical, and even necessary, to put and end to the confusion that resulted from the fact that all griffons with a wire coat of various kinds had the same name expressed in different ways in French or German. By adding the word “Korthals” to the name of the breed, French Griffon supporters proclaimed themselves the heirs and upholders of the works of the great breeder. - Jean Castaing, Les Chiens d'Arret

So, today in France and Québec, breeders and owners call the breed Griffon Korthals. In conversation they shorten it to just “Korthals”. But the situation in other countries is not as cut and dry. The FCI website shows that the international organization can’t quite figure out where to put the word “Korthals” in the English translation of the name. On the website’s nomenclature page, Korthals is in the middle of the name: French Wire-Haired Korthals Pointing Griffon. But in the English translation of the standard published by the FCI, Korthals is at the end: Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Korthals.

Americans solve the problem by simply dropping the word Korthals from the name. They refer to the breed as the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, and shorten it to “Griff” in conversation. In the UK, it is the word “Wirehaired” that is dropped. British breeders and owners call their dogs Korthals Griffons. And in the German standard, the word Griffon is dropped! The name on the German translation of the FCI standard is Französischer Rauhhaariger Korthals Vorstehhund (French Rough-haired Korthals Pointing Dog)—yet the name of the German club representing the breed is Griffon-Club.

The bottom line is that when it comes to confusing breed names, the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (Korthals) may be top dog, but that does not mean that a good Griff cannot be an outstanding gundog; many of them are, no matter what they are called.

Read more about the breed, and all the other pointing breeds from Continental Europe, in my book Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals

What the Readers are Saying

 

Over the last three weeks, I have been busy sending books to addresses as far away as the Ukraine, Finland and New Zealand. Of course most of the orders have been from a bit closer to home, but every day I get a few emails letting me know that they have arrived (mainly) safe and sound. 

Some of the purchasers have also been kind enough to send me their feedback on the book and/or post a review to a forum, blog or newsletter. So at the risk of sounding like a proud father bragging about his kid, bear with me as I post some of the comments I've received so far. 

I was counting the years, then the months, then the weeks for the publishing of this book, but it was worth the wait. I don't think there is any similarly thorough, well-put together, high quality book about the pointing dogs anywhere in the World. Not only the fantastic pictures, but also the very profound content makes the book a precious piece for everyone who is interested in hunting dogs. Not one breed of the Continental Pointing Dogs is left out of the book, breeds I have never seen and never heard of, and the topics and breed's comparisons in their work style, what each chapter covers give a great overview for the reader.  This is THE BOOK about the Continental Pointing Dogs - Zsófia Miczek, Hungary

"Well, THE BOOK arrived today.  It is stunningly beautiful, thoughtfully created, and overwhelming in its scope.  I really cannot imagine how you ever managed such a huge project.  It must have felt as if sometimes this book took over your lives.  Lisa and you must be made of stern stuff to have made it through.  We are very honoured to have been included in your stupendous book.  Bless you and thank you. - Al and Nell McKim, Canada 

"It is hard to know where to start, when attempting some sort of review. In short, this book is a staggering opus.  It features all the HPRs I've ever heard of, and then a whole lot more besides, along with comprehensive sections on the History, Form and Function of each breed.  (Caution:  This book is dangerous.  You will find yourself making a shopping list.  Personally, I am now coveting the Braque du Bourbonnais.  It has a natural bob-tail, did you know?)

The photos are stunning and effortlessly capture the beauty of the dogs in the field.  There are many whole-page photos of dogs, and I found myself wanting even more, and wanting the smaller photos BIG.  I wanted huge *posters* of these photos, they were so stunning.  Realistically, though, I think the photos couldn't be any bigger without something having to go, in this 364 page book.  It must have been very difficult for Craig to choose which photos to use and which not to include; which photos would go full-page and which would have to stay smaller.  (Writers call this 'killing your babies'.  Craig must have killed many.  I feel for him.)

I have only read the Weim and the SRHP sections thoroughly, so far, but have dipped in and out of many others and I look forward to reading more.  I've already learnt things I didn't know:  I had no idea Weims were listed in the German GSP stud book until the 1920s and were considered a grey variant of the GSP!  I'm no expert myself, but I have no doubt that even the most experienced owner of their breed will learn something new from this book.  

The quality of the book is top-notch:  The hardback is thick and heavy, the pages are dense and creamy and (very important to me, this one) it has that 'new book' smell!  The book is (probably must be, to cover costs) pricey.  However, when you think that it costs about the same as a tank of petrol and a couple of entries in a field event, it's a worthy investment.

In the book, Craig often refers to people who have done a great service for their breed by, say, bringing it back from near-extinction or promoting working abilities.  I think it's clear to anyone with their hands on this epic that Craig, himself, has done a great service for all these breeds through creating something which is such a breathtaking tribute to the dogs we all live with, and love.  - Joanna Laurens, UK

It is  a fabulous book – congratulations! I think you did an excellent job on the history, and you're right most people get it wrong.  I said to Sheila, Craig did a great job.  He sticks his neck out here and there and I’ve yet to find a time when it could be chopped off! - Joe Schmutz, Canada

I received the books today!  Wow, I am in awe   Of course I went to the Weim pages first, but enjoyed randomly flipping around and reading about breeds I'd never heard of before.  It will sit proudly on my book shelf! -Anne Taguchi, USA

There are more messages like this, but I won't post them just yet. I need to find a good contractor to widen the doorways in my home. My head is too swollen to fit through them!

Breed of the Week: The Stichelhaar

 

Developed in the mid to late 1800s, the Deutsch Stichelhaar also known as the German Rough-haired (or Broken-Coated) Pointer, is best known as one of the four key ingredients in the make-up of the Deutsch Drahthaar (German Wirehaired Pointer).  But that is about all many know about the breed, if that. I am sure that the vast majority of hunters and gundog enthusiasts have never even heard of the Stichelhaar.

Here's an excerpt from the breed chapter in Pointing Dogs, Volume One.

When I first started to photograph dogs and compile notes for this book, I chose to study the better known breeds since it was much easier to find information on them. And, besides, I knew where to find hunters who owned some. But when I started looking into the more obscure breeds, things got a bit trickier. Not only was solid information harder to find, but tracking down owners or breeders of some breeds proved to be difficult. In the case of the Stichelhaar, not only did it take some digging, I also needed a bit of luck to finally see one in the flesh.

At some point in every book or article explaining how the German Wirehaired Pointer was developed, a breed known as the Stichelhaar is mentioned. Some GWP histories even provide a brief description of the Stichelhaar’s appearance or hunting ability, but most don’t even offer that. In fact, I’ve even read that the Stichelhaar was extinct. So I had a heck of a time finding information on the breed and could not even confirm that is was still around. The only illustrations I could find were old paintings or fuzzy black and white photographs in long out of print magazines and books. After a while, I started to think that maybe the Stichelhaar really was extinct.  

Then, in 2001, I attended a hunt in northern Germany organized by Hans Schmidt, a renowned breeder of long-haired Weimaraners. While there, I asked him if he knew anything about the Stichelhaar. Expecting him to tell me that the breed was extinct, I was stunned when he replied, “Oh, yes, there are a number of them in the area. I see them sometimes when I am out hunting. They are strong hunting dogs—a very old breed you know.” He then told me that a Stichelhaar breeder lived not too far away from him and suggested that we call him to arrange a meeting! Twenty-four hours later, I was at the home of Elso Kratzenberg, the secretary of the Deutsch Stichelhaar Verein.

Standing in Herr Kratzenberg’s driveway, we exchanged handshakes and introductions and took a few minutes to discuss the kinds of photos I wanted to take. Once we had agreed on a plan, he let his dogs out of the house and into the yard. As the two big, rough-and-ready dogs came bounding up toward us, I couldn’t help feeling like the scientist in Jurassic Park when he laid eyes on a real-life dinosaur. Finally, right there in front of me, were living, breathing, tail-wagging Stichelhaars, a breed I thought had gone the way of the dodo bird. 

Nowadays, thanks to the internet, there is a lot more information about the Stichelhaar available. Even the German breed club has a website. Nevertheless, the breed still is and always has been a marginal player on the German gundog scene. For most of its history is has been barely hanging on.  Here's another except:

I have only seen a few Stichelhaars, all in northern Germany. I have spoken to a couple of owners/breeders including the secretary of the original club. I’ve read a few copies of the club’s newsletter and have followed the ups and downs of the breed via German websites and forums. I am far from an expert, but I certainly know more about the breed now than when I first read that it was extinct. The first time I photographed Stichelhaars, I got the impression that they were more like Griffons than German Wirehaired Pointers. They seemed fairly laid-back and easygoing. Their coats seemed longer and harsher than many of the GWP coats I’ve seen, but not as bushy as the coats on some Griffons. In the field they showed a lot of drive, ran at a medium gallop and pointed staunchly. In the water, they swam like otters 

A few years after I had seen Stichelhaars for the first time, I photographed a number of Cesky Fouseks in the Czech Republic. After the photo session and interviews with Cesky Fousek owners and breeders, I compared the photos and written notes I made about the Fousek to the ones I had made of the Stichelhaar. The similarities were striking. I concluded that the two breeds do indeed represent a sort of “same church, different pew” situation. In terms of look and performance they are, for all intents and purposes, identical. The divisions between them are merely political. 

Unfortunately for the Stichelhaar, it is club politics that now threaten its survival. Infighting among club members and the struggle for control of the Stichelhaar’s future is coming dangerously close to killing the breed. From what I have seen in the field, forest and water, it would be a crying shame if the breed ended up going the way of the dodo. I sincerely hope that cool heads and reason will prevail.

Read more about the breed, and all the other pointing breeds from Continental Europe, in my book Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals