Jagdterrier
Encyclopedia
The Jagdterrier is a type of working terrier
, originating in Germany, that is used for hunting quarry both above and underground. This breed of terrier is also called the German Hunt Terrier.
, fox
, and raccoon dog
, Jadgterriers are also used to drive wild boar
and rabbits out of thickets, and to blood track wounded animals, such as deer. Due to their intelligence and adaptability, Jagdterriers can make good pets, but it should be remembered that they are primarily a hunting dog with a strong prey drive.
One of the pioneers of this peculiar quest was Lutz Heck
, the curator of the Berlin Zoo, who went on to "back breed" primitive cattle and horses to "recreate" the extinct aurochs
(the kind of wild cattle seen in the cave paintings at Lascaux
, France) and the tarpan
(a kind of primitive forest pony). Heck was also instrumental in the recreation of an extinct species (or subspecies) of zebra called the "quagga
".
Heck's interest in dogs was driven in part by his passion for hunting, and in part by an over-heated nationalism that was mixed with a desire to see what could be done with selective breeding. A social climber and decided sycophant, Lutz Heck and his brother Heinz Heck
were men who courted power and counted among their friends both Adolf Hitler
and Hermann Göring
.
Even as nationalism and an interest in genetic engineering were rising in Germany, terriers were also rising to the height of fashion in much of Europe and the United States. The Allied Terrier Show was taken over by Charles Crufts
in 1886, and was the largest dog show in the world after World War I, while the first breed-specific dog publication anywhere was a magazine devoted to fox terriers. The Westminster Dog Show was begun in 1907, and the first winner was a fox terrier. A fox terrier won again in 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1916, and 1917.
A fascination with terriers, fervent nationalism, and a propensity towards genetic engineering were braided together when Lutz Heck
presented four black and tan Fell terrier
s -- similar to what we now would call a Patterdale Terrier
-- to Carl Eric Gruenewald and Walter Zangenbert. Gruenewald was a "cynologist" (a self-styled dog man with an interest in genetics) and Zangenbert was a dedicated hunter with an interest in fox terriers.
It did not take much prodding on Heck's part to convince Gruenewald and Zangenbert that what the world needed was a true German Hunt Terrier to compete (and of course trump) the British and American fox terriers in the field.
Gruenewald and Zangenbert added to their team Chief Forester R. Fiess and Dr. Herbert Lackner, men with land for a kennel, and the financial means to support it over a decade-long quest.
An early problem was that the Black and Tan Terrier
s selected as the core breeding stock and deemed "ideal hunters" based on color alone were, in fact, not all that great at hunting. As Gruenewald later wrote:
The breeding program for the Jagdterrier was German in every sense of the word: massive in scale and unwavering in its selection criteria. At one point the men had 700 dogs in their kennels, and not a single dog was allowed to be placed outside of the kennel. Dogs that did not look the part, or which were deemed to be not of the quality desired, were shot. Early dogs were both smooth and rough coat, but the breeding program moved to get rid of smooth coats and the coat of the final product can best be described as "slape coated" -- a short, hard and wiry coat that sheds water and dirt while providing warmth in winter.
After only 10 years time the dogs were breeding more-or-less true, with a Patterdale
-like appearance, albeit with more red on the undercarriage.
The German Hunting Terrier Club (Deutscher Jagdterrier-Club) was founded in 1926, and the dog was warmly embraced in part because it fit well with the rising nationalistic sentiment within Germany at the time. It did not hurt at all that Lutz Heck was a darling of the Nazi regime and counted Hermann Göring
among his closest friends.
In 1938, a German by the name of Max Thiel, Sr. bought his first Jagdterrier. Thiel hunted with this dog for only a few years before the start of World War II. During the war Thiel lost his dogs, but after the war he settled in Bavaria
and purchased two female dogs, Asta and Naja.
In 1951 Thiel came to the U.S, bringing with him Naja. He soon sent for Asta, who was bred and shipped pregnant. In 1954, Armin Schwarz Sr., imported a "champion" sire named Axel, and a few more litters were promulgated. In March 1956, nine Jadgterrier owners met in St. Louis, Missouri, and formed the Jagdterrier Club of America, with the expressed goal of getting the dog recognized by the American Kennel Club. In fact, the club did not prosper and eventually died out.
The Jadgterrier did not become popular in the U.S. for several reasons, not the least of which was that in the U.S. very few people hunt fox to ground. In addition, American hunters had excellent hunting dogs of their own. U.S. pit bull
crosses may be the finest pig dogs in the world, while American-bred bird dogs are far superior to any terrier. Experienced raccoon
and squirrel
hunters were not about to give up their Treeing Walker Coonhound
s or Mountain Feist
to embrace a new breed of dog that most people could not even pronounce.
In recent years, with the rise of interest in terrier work in the U.S., new lines of Jagdterriers have been imported to the U.S., but most are used for above-ground or barn work due to their size. For a Jadgterrier to do well working underground in the U.S., it has to be at the absolutely smallest end of the breed standard or even undersized.
It must be also noted that many of the newer/later imports to the USA are within the true FCI breed standard(correct size)and are being used successfully both above and bellow ground with many reports of their offspring making exceptional hunting, flush and retrieval dogs both on land and in water. Today in 2010 there are many hunters across the USA adopting this courageous intelligent breed as a hunt companion because of their ability to switch between various hunt disciplines and their intelligence and aim to please attitude which is very typical of the breed, to give you some idea as to the true intelligence of this breed, not a pointing breed but yet we have a many reports of hunters using these dogs on upland bird hunts with such remarks of incredible steadiness when on point making it real easy to shoot over.
Working terrier
A working terrier is a small type of dog which pursues its quarry into the earth. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name dates back to at least 1440, derived from early modern French terrier - from the medieval Latin terrarius from the Latin terra .With the growth of popularity of...
, originating in Germany, that is used for hunting quarry both above and underground. This breed of terrier is also called the German Hunt Terrier.
Appearance
A typical appearance of a Jagdterrier is black, and tan with the tan being more of a rust colour on the muzzle and undercarriage, a light tan should be avoided and not within the breed standard. It can also be chocolate or liver brown with white markings although the white markings and the chocolate colouring should be avoided in breeding programs along with a brown nose. Black and tan/rust markings should be the goal. The breed standard calls for an animal that stands 33 to 40 cm (13 to 15.7 in) at the shoulders, with females weighing from 7.5 to 8.5 kg (16.5 to 18.7 lb), and males weighting from 9 to 10 kg (19.8 to 22 lb). The coat of a Jagdterrier can be either hairy, smooth or broken coat should be noted that all variates do shed. The tail is normally (but not always) cropped at 2/3 the natural length.Temperament
Jagdterriers were developed to be all around hunting dogs. Though often used for quarry that dens underground, especially badgerBadger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, and raccoon dog
Raccoon Dog
The raccoon dog , also known as the magnut or tanuki, is a canid indigenous to east Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes...
, Jadgterriers are also used to drive wild boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
and rabbits out of thickets, and to blood track wounded animals, such as deer. Due to their intelligence and adaptability, Jagdterriers can make good pets, but it should be remembered that they are primarily a hunting dog with a strong prey drive.
History
Between the two World Wars, game managers in Germany were focused on getting rid of "foreign" or introduced species, and bringing back now-extinct species that figured prominently in the mythology of the nation.One of the pioneers of this peculiar quest was Lutz Heck
Lutz Heck
Ludwig George Heinrich Heck, called Lutz Heck was a German zoologist, animal researcher, an animal book author and director of the large zoo in the German capital city .Together with his brother Heinz Heck, also a zoologist and director of the largest zoological garden in southern...
, the curator of the Berlin Zoo, who went on to "back breed" primitive cattle and horses to "recreate" the extinct aurochs
Aurochs
The aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
(the kind of wild cattle seen in the cave paintings at Lascaux
Lascaux
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be...
, France) and the tarpan
Tarpan
Tarpan is an extinct subspecies of wild horse. The last individual of this subspecies died in captivity in Russia in 1909....
(a kind of primitive forest pony). Heck was also instrumental in the recreation of an extinct species (or subspecies) of zebra called the "quagga
Quagga
The quagga is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only...
".
Heck's interest in dogs was driven in part by his passion for hunting, and in part by an over-heated nationalism that was mixed with a desire to see what could be done with selective breeding. A social climber and decided sycophant, Lutz Heck and his brother Heinz Heck
Heinz Heck
Heinz Heck was a German biologist and director of zoo in Munich . Heck worked on the breeding back projects of the Heck Horse, which strove to recreate the Tarpan , and the Heck Cattle, which was to recreate the aurochs, both of which...
were men who courted power and counted among their friends both Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
.
Even as nationalism and an interest in genetic engineering were rising in Germany, terriers were also rising to the height of fashion in much of Europe and the United States. The Allied Terrier Show was taken over by Charles Crufts
Crufts
Crufts is an annual international Championship conformation show for dogs organised and hosted by the Kennel Club, currently held every March at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. It is the largest annual dog show in the world, as declared by Guinness World Records, and lasts...
in 1886, and was the largest dog show in the world after World War I, while the first breed-specific dog publication anywhere was a magazine devoted to fox terriers. The Westminster Dog Show was begun in 1907, and the first winner was a fox terrier. A fox terrier won again in 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1916, and 1917.
A fascination with terriers, fervent nationalism, and a propensity towards genetic engineering were braided together when Lutz Heck
Lutz Heck
Ludwig George Heinrich Heck, called Lutz Heck was a German zoologist, animal researcher, an animal book author and director of the large zoo in the German capital city .Together with his brother Heinz Heck, also a zoologist and director of the largest zoological garden in southern...
presented four black and tan Fell terrier
Fell Terrier
Fell Terrier refers to a regional type of long legged working terrier, not a specific breed of dog.- Description and purpose :Fell terriers are types of small working terriers developed in the Fell country of northern England and used as hunting dogs. They may be crossbred or purebred...
s -- similar to what we now would call a Patterdale Terrier
Patterdale Terrier
The Patterdale Terrier is a breed of working dog that originated in the Lake District of Cumbria in Northwest England. The name Patterdale refers to a small village a little south of Ullswater and a few miles east of Helvellyn....
-- to Carl Eric Gruenewald and Walter Zangenbert. Gruenewald was a "cynologist" (a self-styled dog man with an interest in genetics) and Zangenbert was a dedicated hunter with an interest in fox terriers.
It did not take much prodding on Heck's part to convince Gruenewald and Zangenbert that what the world needed was a true German Hunt Terrier to compete (and of course trump) the British and American fox terriers in the field.
Gruenewald and Zangenbert added to their team Chief Forester R. Fiess and Dr. Herbert Lackner, men with land for a kennel, and the financial means to support it over a decade-long quest.
An early problem was that the Black and Tan Terrier
Black and Tan Terrier
The English Black and Tan Terrier is the non-Kennel Club variety of dog that was drawn into The Kennel Club as the Welsh Terrier and that remains extant outside of the Kennel Club as a "Fell Terrier".-History:...
s selected as the core breeding stock and deemed "ideal hunters" based on color alone were, in fact, not all that great at hunting. As Gruenewald later wrote:
- "We were glad to own fox terriers with the hunting color, and we hoped to use these four puppies successfully in breeding to establish a hunting fox terrier breed (jagdfoxterrier-stamm). From the viewpoint of hunting these four dogs were not bad, although they left much to desire. First we tried inbreeding, pairing brothers with sisters. But the results were not good. No wonder -- after all, the parents weren't real hunting dogs. The picture changed, though, when we bred our four 'originals' with our well-trained old hunting fox terriers. The beautiful dark color continued to be dominate. Dogs with a lot of the white color and spotted dogs were selected and eliminated from further breeding."
The breeding program for the Jagdterrier was German in every sense of the word: massive in scale and unwavering in its selection criteria. At one point the men had 700 dogs in their kennels, and not a single dog was allowed to be placed outside of the kennel. Dogs that did not look the part, or which were deemed to be not of the quality desired, were shot. Early dogs were both smooth and rough coat, but the breeding program moved to get rid of smooth coats and the coat of the final product can best be described as "slape coated" -- a short, hard and wiry coat that sheds water and dirt while providing warmth in winter.
After only 10 years time the dogs were breeding more-or-less true, with a Patterdale
Patterdale Terrier
The Patterdale Terrier is a breed of working dog that originated in the Lake District of Cumbria in Northwest England. The name Patterdale refers to a small village a little south of Ullswater and a few miles east of Helvellyn....
-like appearance, albeit with more red on the undercarriage.
The German Hunting Terrier Club (Deutscher Jagdterrier-Club) was founded in 1926, and the dog was warmly embraced in part because it fit well with the rising nationalistic sentiment within Germany at the time. It did not hurt at all that Lutz Heck was a darling of the Nazi regime and counted Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
among his closest friends.
In 1938, a German by the name of Max Thiel, Sr. bought his first Jagdterrier. Thiel hunted with this dog for only a few years before the start of World War II. During the war Thiel lost his dogs, but after the war he settled in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and purchased two female dogs, Asta and Naja.
In 1951 Thiel came to the U.S, bringing with him Naja. He soon sent for Asta, who was bred and shipped pregnant. In 1954, Armin Schwarz Sr., imported a "champion" sire named Axel, and a few more litters were promulgated. In March 1956, nine Jadgterrier owners met in St. Louis, Missouri, and formed the Jagdterrier Club of America, with the expressed goal of getting the dog recognized by the American Kennel Club. In fact, the club did not prosper and eventually died out.
The Jadgterrier did not become popular in the U.S. for several reasons, not the least of which was that in the U.S. very few people hunt fox to ground. In addition, American hunters had excellent hunting dogs of their own. U.S. pit bull
Pit bull
A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
crosses may be the finest pig dogs in the world, while American-bred bird dogs are far superior to any terrier. Experienced raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
and squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
hunters were not about to give up their Treeing Walker Coonhound
Treeing Walker Coonhound
The Treeing Walker Coonhound is a breed of dog descended from the English Foxhound, first recognized as a separate breed in 1945. The breed began when a stolen dog of unknown origin, known as "Tennessee Lead", was crossed into the Walker Hound in the 19th century...
s or Mountain Feist
Mountain Feist
A Mountain Feist is a type of dog; like the lurcher, it is not a specific breed. The Mountain Feist was created in the southern portion of North America. It can be a mixed breed, and is sometimes mistaken for a rat terrier or a Jack Russell terrier....
to embrace a new breed of dog that most people could not even pronounce.
In recent years, with the rise of interest in terrier work in the U.S., new lines of Jagdterriers have been imported to the U.S., but most are used for above-ground or barn work due to their size. For a Jadgterrier to do well working underground in the U.S., it has to be at the absolutely smallest end of the breed standard or even undersized.
It must be also noted that many of the newer/later imports to the USA are within the true FCI breed standard(correct size)and are being used successfully both above and bellow ground with many reports of their offspring making exceptional hunting, flush and retrieval dogs both on land and in water. Today in 2010 there are many hunters across the USA adopting this courageous intelligent breed as a hunt companion because of their ability to switch between various hunt disciplines and their intelligence and aim to please attitude which is very typical of the breed, to give you some idea as to the true intelligence of this breed, not a pointing breed but yet we have a many reports of hunters using these dogs on upland bird hunts with such remarks of incredible steadiness when on point making it real easy to shoot over.
External links
- Hunting with Terriers: The Basics
- Responsible Breeders: USA
- Keeping A Jagdterrier
- German hunting terrier
- A photogallery from a Czech site about Jagdterriers - You can see the actual size of the dogs as it is.
- Video of a pet Jadgterrier
- Jagdterrier Show Field and Hunt
Jagdterrier clubs
www.den-tyske-jagtterrier.dk- International federation for German Jagdterrier
- Jagdterrier Club of Ukraine
- Jagdterrier Forum of Ukraine
- Jagdterrier Club of Ukraine
- http://www.djt-club.de
- http://www.jagdterrier.org
- http://www.jagdterrier.at
- http://www.jagdterrier.noe-wien.at
- http://www.jagdterrier.sk
- http://www.nlt.co.rs
- Club italiano
- Jagdterrier Club of America