An International Affair: What a Trip to Germany Taught Me About German Hunting Dogs and the Deutsch Langhaar

You're back.

You must be really serious about this.

The comment was equal parts teasing and sincere.

I suppose we were a bit of a spectacle.

Four Americans traveling to rural Germany for the second time in two years to attend a hunting dog event.

One trip? Sure, we were curious.

But two? Yeah, we must be serious.

For a few years, I had the immense fortune of co-hosting the Hunting Dog Confidential podcast with dog historian and author Craig Koshek.

In each episode, the modern era's foremost expert on pointing dogs shared his knowledge and personal insights from decades of traveling to study hunting dogs in their homelands, and I occupied a front row seat.

The best way to understand a dog is to understand the people that developed it and the place where it was developed, he'd say.

Dog breeds are ultimately a product of human culture.

So there I was, in Germany, seeking to better understand my dogs.

More than that, though, my little delegation was there to forge relationships.

We represented the North American Breed Club of the Deutsch Langhaar, which is a member club of the larger German association, the Deutsch Langhaarverband.

Even though we regularly conducted business with our German colleagues by email, we knew that technology could never replace the benefits of appearing in person.

So we showed up.

Twice.

The dog event in question was the annual Schorlemmer Test, an invitational event that evaluates the year's top breeding candidates.

Qualifying dogs are judged on their performance in the field and water.

Then they're assessed by breed show judges who evaluate their conformation and temperament.

It's a who's who event in the Deutsch Langhaar world, for dogs and people alike.

Understanding German hunting dogs in their homeland.

The field portion of this year's performance test was held in a sugar beet field.

Navigating the half-buried beeps was a bit of an ankle buster, but the leafy rows provided ample cover for the target game, gray partridges and hares.

It was a delight to see the dogs work a bird I'm familiar with, albeit in a landscape unlike anything I'd ever hunted.

You're back.

You must be really serious about this.

The comment was equal parts teasing and sincere.

I suppose we were a bit of a spectacle.

Four Americans traveling to rural Germany for the second time in two years to attend a hunting dog event.

One trip? Sure, we were curious.

But two? Yeah, we must be serious.

For a few years, I had the immense fortune of co-hosting the Hunting Dog Confidential podcast with dog historian and author Craig Koshek.

In each episode, the modern era's foremost expert on pointing dogs shared his knowledge and personal insights from decades of traveling to study hunting dogs in their homelands, and I occupied a front row seat.

The best way to understand a dog is to understand the people that developed it and the place where it was developed, he'd say.

Dog breeds are ultimately a product of human culture.

So there I was, in Germany, seeking to better understand my dogs.

More than that, though, my little delegation was there to forge relationships.

We represented the North American Breed Club of the Deutsch Langhaar, which is a member club of the larger German association, the Deutsch Langhaarverband.

Even though we regularly conducted business with our German colleagues by email, we knew that technology could never replace the benefits of appearing in person.

So we showed up.

Twice.

The dog event in question was the annual Schorlemmer Test, an invitational event that evaluates the year's top breeding candidates.

Qualifying dogs are judged on their performance in the field and water.

Then they're assessed by breed show judges who evaluate their conformation and temperament.

It's a who's who event in the Deutsch Langhaar world, for dogs and people alike.

Understanding German hunting dogs in their homeland.

The field portion of this year's performance test was held in a sugar beet field.

Navigating the half-buried beeps was a bit of an ankle buster, but the leafy rows provided ample cover for the target game, gray partridges and hares.

It was a delight to see the dogs work a bird I'm familiar with, albeit in a landscape unlike anything I'd ever hunted.