or
Deutsch Drahthaar
-- Cadenberg Urchin v Trey--
'Ginney'
Some years ago, after we moved to Minnesota, a friend got me reinterested in upland bird hunting. His dog was a German Wirehaired Pointer. I was impressed by this dog's tireless drive and almost mechanical pointing ability. My first German Wirehair would have been four. Kate was a good family and hunting dog. I will never forget the first time I took her hunting for woodcock at six months of age. She had not been on live birds before this day. When she left the road and entered the popple trees for the first time, it was like an immediate transformation from this crazy pup into a real bird dog. I regret that I did not test her in the NAVHDA Natural Ability test. We had planned on breeding her, but unfortunately a thyroid problem developed. She had good conformation, a nice head and top line. A good coat, but a little open. She stood 24 and 1/2 inches and weighed 62 pounds. She was from Lugar von Ostfriesland and Heidi von Ostfriesland. I am sure she has helped greatly to influence my thoughts on the type of Wire that I like.
I had looked for another wirehair for over a year, but I guess it was not to be. I was being very particular. In the meantime we had gotten our first Small Munsterlander Pointer. The rest, as they say, is history. We have since gotten deeply involved with the Small Munsterlander. Perhaps someday I will get another wire. It wil have to have the mellow temperment, excellent nose, search, desire, good tight and flat-lying coat, nice furnishings, and size that I like. Sounds like a tall order.
Through my search for a stud dog for my previous bitch, and later for a new puppy, my awareness of the Cadenberg and Cascade lines grew. If you follow AKC events, these names should not be new to you. Silke Alberts began breeding Cadenberg dogs soon after she moved to the United States in the 1960's. I asked her what she was trying to accomplish with her breeding program? She said first, "dogs you can live with", and good all around dogs representative of the breed. This seemed to match my thinking. Firstly, I want a dog that is non-aggressive, at least to people. Secondly, I want superb hunting ability (nose for tracking and search, high desire, strong pointing instinct, and loves water). Thirdly, I want a wirehair that looks like a wirehair. That is, I want good conformation to the breed standard. To me this does not necessarily mean a bench champion, because some conformation champions don't have the proper coat, only look good after grooming, have no tuck-up, wimpy neck, weak rear-ends, etc. By the same measure, I feel many hunting, NAVHDA, and field trials dogs are being bred that have poor coat and/or conformation. Finally, I want a large wirehair. Although this is less important, I like a dog on the large end of the breed standard. A female at least 24 1/2 inches and males 25 1/2 inches suits me fine with heavy bone and musculature. They may not fit into a size 300 kennel, but you know when they run by you in the field. To each his or her own!
Silke is well known and respected for her dedication to the breed and the fine dogs she offers. Cadenberg dogs seem to have done well in all endeavors as indicated by some of the best: DC/AFC Lutz zur Cadenberg, CD TD, Cadenberg Filou v. Lutz, CDX TD, DC/AFC Cadenberg Magie v. Rogue, CDX MH are some of the best known. There are also many dogs around the United States that come from the Cadenberg and Cascade lines and Cadenberg X Cascade. It is my understanding that Ray and Lynn Calkins have been breeding Cascade dogs in Oregon for many years. The Cascade name is also very well known, especially in West Coast Field Trials. I have seen several of dogs with Cascade breeding and have been impressed by their temperment, natural ability and desire, although they may generally be a little smaller than I like. Then there are the hunter's dogs from the NAVHDA testing ranks. Duane and Julie Stahl's South Paws are very good, Jonathan and Margaret Prescott's Side-by-Side show strong test results and have Cadenberg in the pedigrees, and the Sharpe's Creek dogs from Canada have outstanding test records, temperament and are used by several NAVHDA breeders. I hope to learn much more about these fine lines.
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Updated February 16, 2007
