One wouldn’t think that designing a dog by committee would end well, but Rudolf Frieß, Carl-Erich Grünewald, and Walter Zangenberg were resolute in their goals.

Frustrated by the inefficient burrowing work of terriers at the time, the active hunters parted company with the Fox Terrier club in Germany following WWI to find a dog in which hunting ability trumped most other considerations, a dog game, hardy, and tough enough to go underground without hesitation. Expert “dog men,” each, they set about to create the breed, themselves, with the help of  Lutz Heck, curator of the Berlin Zoo, and his brother Heinz Heck.

Accounts vary as to what breeds were used to help create this new breed, but it’s generally agreed upon that Black and Tan Terriers were the core foundation dogs, and that perhaps German Pinschers, Old English Wirehaired Terriers, and Welsh Terriers were added to the mix.  It took years of selective, intensive breeding and various crosses to fix the appearance of their breed and bring out the best qualities of each, but in the end, the men created an unusually aggressive all-round hunting terrier so fearless and assertive that it became what one owner described as the ‘perfect hunting machine.’ They named their breed the Jagdterrier (pronounced “yack-terrier”), or German Hunting Terrier.

In 1926, the German Hunt Terrier Breed Club was established, but it would be thirty years before a similar club was formed in the US.  At the time of its acceptance by the United Kennel Club in 1993, it was estimated that over 500 Jagds were living in the country. In 2014, the Jagdterrier was added to the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service.

A post we came across on the Jagdterrer Breed Club of America Facebook page a while back summed up the breed and the sentiments of its fanciers: “If you own or are looking to own a Jagdterrier for any other reason than hunting, you are a problem and will be the demise of the breed. Do not contact us for help finding a dog for frisbee fetching games or bobbing and weaving through sticks.” Well, then. One has to admire them getting to the point.