Читать книгу Wirehaired Pointing Griffon - Nikki Moustaki - Страница 7

The handsome chestnut-marked dog with the huge expressive eyes, bushy eyebrows and beard and that charming, characteristic disheveled coat could only be one animal—the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. But that furry face is deceiving; under the Benji-like tousled tresses is a determined hunter whose magnetism is outweighed only by his superb instincts, high energy level and keen desire to please.

The strong hunting instinct and tousled look of the WPG is passed from generation to generation by responsible breeders.

PHYSICAL TRAITS

The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is a medium-sized, double-coated hunting dog typically used for pointing and retrieving upland game but will track fur-bearing animals as well. The male weighs 55–70 pounds on average and is 22–24 inches at the shoulder; the female is generally 45–55 pounds and 20–22 inches at the shoulder. Only the French disqualify for height, meaning if the dogs don’t fall within range, they are disqualified—50–55 cm for females (with a “tolerance” for a 56-cm bitch if she’s exceptional) and 55–60 cm (with a tolerance of 61 cm for males). The dogs aren’t measured in the show ring in the United States—if a dog falls half an inch or so above the height for the standard, the judge would have to have a keen eye to notice it. Some of the European WPGs, often the German-bred dogs, are much larger than their American (or French) counterparts, though this is considered a fault. The dog should be slightly longer than it is tall, giving it a “rectangular” shape; it should not be a “square” dog.

The WPG’s outer coat is shaggy and coarse, and the undercoat is soft and insulating, a perfect combination for a hunting dog who works in heavy cover, marsh and water. The coat is resistant to burs and other prickly woodsy objects, though owners should go over the coat after each run in the field to make sure that it’s clean and free of debris. The dog often looks “unkempt,” which is exactly how this breed should look; even the best of conformation WPGs have a “shaggy” look.

According to the American Kennel Club standard, the coat should be “steel gray with brown markings, frequently chestnut brown, or roan, white and brown; white and orange also acceptable. A uniformly brown coat, all white coat, or white and oranges are less desirable. A black coat disqualifies.” The coat takes two to three years to fully develop. In a show dog, the nose should always be brown but sometimes occurs in pink as a deviation.

Ready for the hunt, the Griff is an all-weather, all-terrain, “do-it-all” companion in the field.

The tail is docked to protect it during hunting. It’s docked by one-third to one-half, still allowing the dog ample length to communicate with his tail. The breed’s natural tail is thin and sparsely coated, and can be easily injured in the field or home if undocked. In Holland and Belgium, a Griff in the ring cannot have a docked tail; the French are scheduled to adopt this no-docking law in 2008. The reason is humane. The French have already changed the standard for the tail by adding one sentence about its appearance. In many countries in Europe, it’s forbidden to cut the tail of any dog.

The ears are natural (untrained and uncut) and flap over the ear openings to protect the ears from injury while the dog is on hunt through tall brush. The hair inside the ears must be plucked regularly to prevent infection. Dogs that swim are particularly susceptible to this problem.

THE AGE OF ROBO-DOG

Studies at the Center for the Human-Animal Bond show that children who interact with pets benefit physiologically, socially and educationally. Dogs, in particular, increase children’s learning capacities and expand their abilities to function in social situations. Families with young children commonly add a canine to their homes.

Enter Robo-dog. Efforts to create a robotic canine companion are fast underway, and there have been some interesting results. It is the hope of scientists that the interaction between children and robotic dogs will shed light on the physical, mental, moral and social concepts of such relationships. Robotic dogs offer some advantages over real dogs—they don’t require food or water and never have accidents indoors. Even so, Robo-dogs will never take the place of real dogs—even George Jetson’s futuristic family included Astro, a real-live dog! It is curious that 21st-century humans would invest so much money and energy into inventing robots to do for us what dogs have been doing for centuries for nothing more than a pat on the head and a bowl of food.

How the Griff moves is of particular importance as well. The WPG is expected to cover ground tirelessly at medium speed and have perfect coordination between front and rear legs. According to the French working standard for the breed, “The general running style of the Griffon is that of a galloper, with a slight rocking movement from front to rear around the center of gravity. The feline pace, supple and skimming gallop is characteristic.”

One distinguishing Griff characteristic is his bushy beard and the ability of the dog to soak up what seems like an entire bowlful of water into his beard and then slop it around the house and on every human leg he comes in contact with. Where there are thirsty Griffs, there are puddles of water.

TEMPERAMENT AND PERSONALITY

Goofy, funny, serious, aloof, driven, energetic, passionate, faithful—all of these words describe the Griff. As with any breed, personality and temperament vary with the individual, but one thing is for certain—WPGs are people-oriented dogs, easy to live with and as comfortable in a home setting as they are in the field. Many people who are used to more “hyper” breeds are pleased with the Griff’s ability to “settle” once inside the home. This isn’t a bounce-off-the-wall breed, though a WPG that doesn’t get enough exercise or attention can certainly do some damage to a home in an effort to entertain himself or burn off some excess energy.

On the hunt, the Griff is a “team player,” keeping track of his human companion. It’s a close working breed, much different from some of the other pointers. They tend to “check in” with their humans during a hunt and range according to the type of cover—farther in lower brush, closer in dense or taller brush. Some individuals can be “run-off” dogs, but that isn’t the norm.

The WPG is known to be great with children and is generally happy to meet guests. Individuals can be bouncy when excited but if trained correctly will calm down easily. They make good sentries but aren’t great guard dogs in general; they may be more interested to see if an intruder has a treat than protect the house from him. However, some individuals can be quite possessive and will not allow intruders to cross their boundaries, protecting what’s theirs. They have a high tolerance for human activities, which makes them easy to keep. They will perform in the show ring on Monday, hunt on Tuesday and play ball all day with the kids on Wednesday.

A close and lasting bond is the goal of proper, early socialization with children. There are many wonderful fishing days ahead for these best friends.

Children should be taught to respect the Griff. The dog will tolerate a little tail-pulling and beard-grabbing from a small child, but he shouldn’t have to. In general, the breed is known as a good family dog, gentle and protective, but he has his limits. Most breeders prefer to place their pups with families who have kids of six years of age or older. The kids in the family should never have the sole responsibility for the dog.

Most of these dogs are very friendly, but some individuals do remain aloof. Often, this is an attraction point for owners. Instead of having a waggy, exuberant dog knocking things over in the house, they prefer a more laid-back individual, which can be found in this breed.

Puppies learn very quickly and will point as early as seven weeks old, though some individuals don’t learn the finer skills of hunting until they are older. Many owners profess that these dogs do not even need to be trained to hunt—they do it naturally. All dogs in the Sporting Group have basic hunting instincts. However, some methods of hunting need training, and the Griff is an eager student. Because of his intelligence, the Griff can be much harder to train at the highest level. If you push too hard, you break the dog, and if you don’t push hard enough, the dog won’t perform. You have to be a very apt, smart trainer to work with a WPG. This is not a dog for a novice.

Even though the WPG is a hunting dog, he doesn’t do well with kennel life. He prefers to be a house dog, living in close contact with his family. A Griff left in a kennel will pine for his favorite humans and may develop some nasty behavior issues. This dog also definitely needs a fenced yard where he can run, but not run away—he loves his humans, but he loves to run and hunt too.

Introducing a WPG pup to other animals in the house should be done as early as possible. The Griff has a strong prey drive, and an older dog that has not been socialized to cats and other swift-moving animals might hunt them and even kill them if you’re not there to intervene. Further, never trust a Griff around pet birds, hamsters and the like. Neighborhood cats and passing squirrels will definitely not be tolerated in the yard. While on the topic of animals to avoid, the Griff’s prey drive is so powerful that he won’t be deterred by a skunk or a porcupine, should he happen to run across one. You may find yourself having to “de-skunk” your dog or spend time pulling lots of quills out of his face.

TRAINABILITY

The WPG is a member of the American Kennel Club’s Sporting Group and the United Kennel Club’s Gundog Group. He loves to please his owner, as most sporting dogs do. He excels at obedience, agility, search and rescue and, of course, hunting. These dogs can learn to hunt just about any game, though they were bred to hunt upland fowl. Griffs will pursue boar and stag, will hunt with falcons and will track blood, as is common in Germany, and can even be trained to hunt bear. The keen senses of these dogs allow them to track, retrieve, hunt with humans on horseback and do just about anything else asked of them in the field. Some individuals can become gun-shy with poor training methods, though in no greater numbers than in any other breed. In other words, there’s no real temperament problem in the WPG, and this gun-shyness can be solved using desensitization methods.

Proper training will yield a top-notch hunting dog who will stop at nothing to please his owner. The WPG is poetry in motion in the field.

Training must be done with a light hand. Heavy-handed and rough training methods do not work with this dog and will only succeed in taxing the relationship between dog and owner. The Griff will hold a grudge and remember exactly the treatment afforded him. Someone who can’t control his temper should think of getting another breed or no dog at all. This breed is particularly intelligent and doesn’t need an extreme training protocol. It does require, however, a lot of positive reinforcement and praise.

Many breed enthusiasts seem to prefer females to males, finding them more eager to learn, less stubborn and more physically agile than males. But there’s no definitive way to choose a Griff puppy, male or female, that will be easily trainable or make a great hunter. Simply choose the sex of the puppy that you want and pick the one from the litter that most attracts you. You’re as likely to get a good dog or a fair one whether you use this method or sit around for days watching the pups. There are temperament tests, however, that might separate the slackers from the go-getters, but whether or not a puppy performs well during these tests has a lot to do with whether or not the pup is tired from playing in the morning, what it has eaten and several other factors. Many male hunters prefer to work with female pups and female hunters like to work with male pups, so this is also a factor in how people choose their new Griff.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIP DYSPLASIA?

X-ray of a dog with “Good” hips.

X-ray of a dog with “Moderate” dysplastic hips.

Hip dysplasia is a fairly common condition found in pure-bred dogs. When a dog has hip dysplasia, his hind leg has an incorrectly formed hip joint. By constant use of the hip joint, it becomes more and more loose, wears abnormally and may become arthritic.

Hip dysplasia can only be confirmed with an x-ray, but certain symptoms may indicate a problem. Your dog may have a hip dysplasia problem if he walks in a peculiar manner, hops instead of smoothly runs, uses his hind legs in unison (to keep the pressure off the weak joint), has trouble getting up from a prone position or always sits with both legs together on one side of his body.

As the dog matures, he may adapt well to life with a bad hip, but in a few years the arthritis develops and many dogs with hip dysplasia become crippled.

Hip dysplasia is considered an inherited disease and can be diagnosed definitively by x-ray only when the dog is two years old, although symptoms often appear earlier. Some experts claim that a special diet might help your puppy outgrow the bad hip, but the usual treatments are surgical. The removal of the pectineus muscle, the removal of the round part of the femur, reconstructing the pelvis and replacing the hip with an artificial one are all surgical interventions that are expensive, but they are usually very successful. Follow the advice of your veterinarian.

Training a pup or young dog for hunting includes socializing (introducing) him to all of the situations he will encounter, and potentially be afraid of or confused by, in the field. These include water, gunfire, different types of cover and terrain and, of course, birds and other game. Obviously, the pup also has to learn the recall (come) command and to retrieve as well as other basic obedience exercises.

Griff pups house-train very easily and will learn to do their “business” outside in a matter of two or three weeks. Settling down inside the house is another matter. A WPG pup is an energetic bundle of pure exploration, and an owner should take care that the tyke doesn’t get into anything he shouldn’t. Puppy-proofing a home is important when a Griff pup is present. Crate-training is great for this breed, although it is important to remember that the crate is not a prison but a comfortable place where the pup can go to relax.

OFA Hip Dysplasia Numbers* (1071 dogs tested)

Excellent:	21.8%
Good:	60.7%
Fair:	9.6%
Mild:	3.6%
Moderate:	3.0%
Severe:	0.6%

*from 2003 statistics

HEALTH CONCERNS

The WPG breed is lucky—it has relatively few genetic concerns. There are incidences of hip dysplasia, a hereditary defect of the hip joint, but responsible breeding has lowered the occurrence of the condition to 10% for the entire breed. No puppy is immune to the genetic condition, but making sure that the pup’s parents have been certified as being “excellent” or “good” by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or the University of Pennsylvania’s Hip Improvement Program (PennHIP) is the best way to try to avoid the condition. Between “good” and “mild” hip status is a class of dogs called “fair.” Some people believe that these “fair” dogs should not be bred, so use your best judgment when buying a pup.

Panosteitis, or growing pains, can sometimes affect the Griff. The long bones can become inflamed, causing pain and sudden lameness. Diagnosis is done by x-ray.

Griffs are very affectionate dogs, responding positively to loving attention and approval from their owners.

Entropion can occur in the WPG’s eyelids, causing the eyelashes to rub against the sensitive tissues of the eye. This is a genetic problem and is very painful to the dog, requiring surgery to correct it. A dog affected by entropion which has been surgically corrected cannot compete in dog shows.

THE IDEAL GRIFF OWNER

The ideal owner for a WPG is an individual avid hunter or a hunting family. Many people see photos of the Griff and decide that they would love to wake up every day to that charming, woolly face. The reality is, however, that not everyone is the ideal owner for this breed, no matter how cute its fuzzy face is or how good the prospective owner’s intentions are. This dog loves—and lives—to hunt. He will not be content as a house dog, nor will any amount of jogging satisfy his energy level. He needs to burn off hunting energy, not just physical energy.

Breeders are producing better, faster and more instinct-driven dogs. Bringing one of these dogs into a pet-only home is like lighting matches in a gasoline refinery. These dogs want and need to hunt. Most are only truly happy running 5 miles or more through cover each day, following scents and pointing game. This doesn’t mean that you have to hunt every day—or that you have to hunt at all—but you have to allow the dog to hunt, no matter if you’re going to shoot a bird or not. According to some breed enthusiasts, the WPG that isn’t allowed to hunt will get flabby and soft and will lose some of his personality. The Griff is happiest when working hard.

These dogs also like to retrieve and find great pleasure in doing a good job for their owners. They are great at retrieving a ball (when there’s no dead bird to bring back) and will play ball tirelessly with the kids until the kids are exhausted.

The WPG is not an apartment dog, unless that apartment is smack in the middle of some pretty great hunting grounds. It’s not a breed that will typically do well in an urban setting. It simply needs a more natural environment and plenty of space to run.

RESCUE

Even though this is a rare breed, there are some Griffs that find their way into WPG rescue organizations. These dogs are in need of good, permanent homes. They are often older dogs and may have some behavioral issues to contend with. This doesn’t mean that a rescued dog won’t make a great pet or hunter. On the contrary, many rescued dogs excel at every lesson, simply happy to have a kind owner and a warm home. Beware, however, that some rescued Griffs might not get along with cats or other pets that may effect a prey-driven response.

A multi-Griff household can be lots of fun—if you have the room and the time.

A rescued Griff might not come with registration papers, but you can petition the AKC for an ILP (Indefinite Listing Privilege) number for your spayed or neutered dog, allowing the dog to compete for obedience, agility, hunting, tracking and Junior Showmanship titles.