Dilmunfast Deutsch Drahthaar
WHAT IS A DD?

The Deutsch Drahthaar was developed over 100 years ago by a group of dedicated hunters who desired one dog with the ability to perform in all hunting situations. To accomplish this, the best of the Stickelhaar, pudelpointer, and Griffon lines were bred to the Deutsch Kurtzhaar. Ability and performance were the primary attributes valued to decide which dogs should be bred together. If a trait did not improve performance, it was bred out of the line. This breeding philosophy lead to the Verein Deutsch Drahthaar (VDD) motto “through performance to standard”.

The Deutsch Drahthaar has long been the most popular hunting dog in Germany and is rapidly gaining in popularity in this country. It doesn’t take long after finding out what goes into this breed or the abilities of our dogs to see why. Drahthaars are the ideal “do-it-all dog”. They predictably retrieve ducks all morning in the harshest conditions; search, locate, point and retrieve upland game all afternoon and then blood track wounded big game after that. Who needs multiple dogs for specialized tasks when we have the Drahthaar?

Drahthaars are expected to be calm and obedient with the mental stability needed to perform the various tasks required of a versatile hunting dog. They are a mid sized well built dog. The ideal body shape is square being measured from the withers to ground and withers to base of tail. Males are 61 to 68 centimeters and female range from 57 to 64 centimeters. Their bodies are built for strength and endurance. Most Drahthaars have characteristic beards and eyebrow furnishings. Coats are coarse, dense and water resistant in order to provide protection for the dog whether from briars or icy water. The most common color is braunschimmel or brown roan and less frequently schwarzschimmel or black roan. Though Drahthaars are intense and enthusiastic hunters, they are also well suited as family dogs with regards to children and other dogs, but do require adequate exercise to be happy.

Some breeders refer to German Wirehair Pointers as Drahthaars. There are many differences between the two breeds. The German Wirehair Pointer is an AKC registered dog that has been breed without restriction with regards to performance, testing or being certified free of hip dysplasia. The Drahthaar is a Verein Deutsch Drahthaar (VDD) registered dog that has been tested in both coat and conformation ratings as well as varied hunting situations. All Drahthaars certified for breeding have also been certified free of hip dysplasia. Some breeders have elected to breed Drahthaars outside of the VDD system; the puppies produced by these breeders are not Drahthaars. Be sure your breeder is a VDD registered kennel and the parents of any potential puppies are from breed certified parents.