Calling these dogs “German Spaniels” is so 20th century. These days, we know to call the breed the Deutsche Wachtelhund (pronounced Walk-tell-hund, or, if you want to sound German,  Valk-tell-hount). It’s a breed owned and sold almost exclusively to gamekeepers, foresters, and professional hunters in Germany, the country that developed them over 300 years ago.

Wachtels are regarded as versatile forest dogs bred for finding sparse game in tough conditions (think snow, mountains, and ice), but the Germans classify the breed as a “Stoberhund:” “Stober” (in English) meaning, “to rummage about, and “hund” meaning dog.  American hunters will describe the dogs as flushers who will sometimes flash point, but Germans classify all other flushers as spaniels which is separate from the “Stober” dog category.

Wachtels are famous for being obsessive scent-followers that have the persistence of a Bloodhound. They hunt with a high nose and pick up air scents like a Pointer when game is far away, but then they’ll put their nose to the ground to follow foot scent like a hound when game is close. They can be called off a trail and will return to their person, and that makes them different from hounds.  Their natural inclination is to hunt in an arc pattern before the hunter, but they’re also proficient at water work. And get this: One of the unique qualities of the breed that separates it from spaniels and other flushers is a tendency to give tongue when trailing game. This comes in handy when hunting in deep forests and thick brush.

Let’s review: This is a dog that flushes, scent hunts, does water work, gives tongue, hunts feathered game as well as game on the hoot or in fur. It finds game, retrieves, and recovers it, and also blood trails wounded animals. As far as we can tell, the only thing a Wachtel doesn’t do is clean the guns and cook the game.

In Europe, breeders wanting to breed their Wachtel have to request permission from the German Wachtelhund Club and provide hip x-rays of the sire and dam along with certification from a vet that they’re free of hip dysplasia.  The club only resisters pups from dogs who have passed the juvenile hunt test before they are 18 months old, and are free of hip dysplasia.  Neither the club nor serious breeders have lost sight of the fact that their dogs are pure hunting dogs, and they mean to keep it that way.

Deutsche Wachtelhund by LA Shepard/thedoglover
https://www.facebook.com/L.A.ShepardArt
http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/l.a.shepard/all
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheDogLover