A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LARGE MUNSTERLANDER
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Where did they come from?
Although as a registered breed in its own right, the Large Munsterlander has only existed since 1922, the history of the Large Munsterlander goes back to the Middle Ages. The breed has evolved from the ancient longhaired hawking and retrieving dogs found across Europe, where they can be seen depicted in paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries. Up to the middle of the 19th century the breeding of hunting dogs in Germany was quite well regulated, then breeders decided that improvement was required. In most areas in Germany, out-crosses with English Setters and Pointers were very popular, but by 1879 the German breeders decided to take control and establish proper breed standards. Up to this time, what are now known as Large Munsterlanders, were registered as German Longhaired Pointers, which included both black and brown variations. When the new breed standard was fixed for the German Longhaired Pointer, it only allowed for brown or brown and white dogs to be included. 
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The reason for this was that the German breeders wanted to distance themselves from the 'English' crosses and the colour black was supposed to have been introduced in this manner. This was also a forbidden colour in both German Shorthaired and Wirehaired Pointers. The reasoning was unsound, as the colour black had always been present in German breeds. This was especially true of the Large Munsterlander, which were mostly popular in Westphalia and Lower Saxony, where crosses with the 'English' breeds were not usually, if at all practised. The hunters who owned them keenly supported the breeding of the black and white Longhaired Pointers and in 1919, to ensure the continuation of the breed, decided to form their own society. A foundation list for the breed was compiled for the breed register, which was started in 1922. |