Duck hunting in a Kansas wetland.

What breed of dog do you have there?" asks a fellow patron at my veterinarian's office.

"A Wachtelhund," (pronounced Walk-tell-hund, or Valk-tell-hund if you use a German accent) I say to the person admiring my dog.

"A Walkta what?" is his reply.

Owning a rare breed of dog has made my life interesting these last seven years. Wachtelhunds (or Wachtels) have spaniel-looking ears and curly hair, but they are colored like a German shorthair. When I meet other dog owners at the vet, while out hunting or when walking my dog they guess my dog is a field spaniel or a small Munsterlander.

Some people say they've heard of a Wachtel and that they've even seen one before. I laugh and think, "Not likely!" There are less than 150 Wachtels in North America--therefore, actually coming across a Wachtelhund is unlikely.

So how did I come to own a rare dog breed? My previous dog was a cocker-Brittany mix and would hunt whatever I wanted to hunt, primarily upland game (pheasants and quail) and waterfowl. I also hunt deer and turkeys. I decided I wanted to get another small to medium-sized spaniel-like dog that could do it all.

I had recently been hired by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services program as a biologist to eliminate a population of wild hogs on an Army base in Kansas and thought it would be interesting to use a dog to track the wild pigs. It was going to take a versatile dog to hunt all the game in which I was interested. My quest had begun. (I have since discovered that a Wachtel can do all these things and much more.)

I bought a dog encyclopedia and perused the breed descriptions and looked at the photos. The Wachtelhund description sounded like a match to my prerequisites. I then searched the Internet, which was at that time still in its infancy. I can remember typing in all combinations of Deutsche Wachtelhund, only to get "Sorry, no matches found." (Today there are thousands of Internet matches; however, few will be in English.) I called kennel clubs and was told they had never heard of the breed.

I was ready to give up when a friend called and said he'd seen an ad in the back of Gun Dog magazine for German spaniels (their given American name, which is actually no longer used). I called the number and spoke with Dave Pepe. Dave explained he had hunted with Wachtels while he was stationed in Germany in the Air Force. He was amazed at their abilities as a versatile hunter and wanted to hunt with them and promote the breed in the United States. Dave's breeding pair was the first pair of Wachtelhunds to be recognized and registered with the United Kennel Club (UKC).

The largest gathering of Wachtelhunds in North America? From left to right: Chad Richardson, Kansas; Dave Pepe, Wisconsin; Kraig Glazier, Montana; and John Gilva, Alaska.

After talking with Dave about the dogs, my desire to own one was reinforced. He was selling puppies from his second litter, so at this time there were only nine Wachtelhunds registered in the U.S.--Dave's breeding pair and seven pups from his first litter.

Now, over seven years later I realize maybe you shouldn't pick out a dog breed by a short description and a photo, but I am fortunate to have gotten to know this rare, versatile breed. I am confident that these dogs can be trained to hunt or find just about anything. I have used my dog to hunt pheasants, quail, waterfowl, turkey and wild pigs.

One day last summer I was walking across my backyard to unlock a camper I had stored in the yard. I had the camper's single key in my hand. While walking across the thick grass my hand accidentally brushed my leg and caused me to inadvertently flip the key into the grass. I looked for the key for 20 minutes until frustration took over. I walked over to the kennel to pet my dog and relieve some of the frustration.

As I petted her an idea popped into my head--I wondered if Foxy could find the key. I figured it had to have some sort of scent on it, so what the heck. I took Foxy over to the spot where I thought the key had fallen and gave her the "find it" command and in less than five seconds she rooted that key out of the grass. If these dogs can find a piece of lifeless metal when asked, imagine how well they can find game!

A Wachtelhund retrieving a wood duck from a Kansas stream.

THE BREED
Although I have learned a lot about Wachtelhunds and their breed history over the years I must credit Dave Pepe for much of the information that follows. He has spent time hunting with the dogs in Germany and has passed the history of the breed on to me.

Wachtelhunds originated in Germany, where they are still owned and sold almost exclusively to foresters and professional hunters. In Germany, the Wachtelhund is classified as a versatile forest dog bred for finding sparse game in harsh conditions such as mountains, ice and snow. They are basically flushers and will sometimes flash point, but are noted for going in for the kill.

They hunt with a high nose, scenting the air as a pointer does when game is far away, but they will put their nose to the ground like a hound to follow foot scent when game is close. Unlike hounds they can be called off a trail and will return to their master.

They naturally hunt in an arc pattern before the hunter, bringing the game back before the hunter. They excel at water work, retrieving and trailing game; they are aggressive in the hunt, but they are also a loyal family dog and friendly with people. They do best living in the home.

The Germans classify the Wachtelhund as a Stoberhund, hund meaning dog. In English, "stober" means, "to rummage about." The Germans classify all other flushers as spaniels, separate from the Stober dog category. The Stober dog goes back hundreds of years in German history and was used to create the Wachtelhund and various other pointer breeds originating in Germany.

Prior to the German revolution in the 1600s, royalty owned all the game and only they could afford kennels and dog handlers. They developed from hounds and Stobers other specialists, pointers, flushers and hounds, much like we have done today with most hunting breeds. After the revolution the German commoner could hunt but could not afford to maintain a kennel of specialist dogs. So the Germans developed versatile hunting dogs. The Wachtelhund was created during this time as a versatile forest dog and is the only dog remaining in the Stober category today.