The Jagdterrier: A Working Terrier with the Heart of a Hunter INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD REYNOLDS continued
two of them and the FSS Group at the third. That was enough to gain his Cer- tificate of Merit, the FSS equivalent of a Championship. I had intended to get into some more shows, but his hunting commitments and my judging assign- ments have so far made that impos- sible. Owning a working Jagd brings new meaning to “honorable scars” and I can only hope that any future judges will be forgiving of his active and eventful career. HOW MUCH SUPPORT DOES THE JAGDTERRIER ENJOY IN THE US? GLOBALLY? The American Hunting Terrier Asso- ciation, Inc., the Jagdterrier breed club, provides most of the stewardship of the breed in the US. Several of its mem- bers have imported some of the best breeding stock that Europe has to offer.
The club holds several multi-faceted events every year which includes “Pig Bays,” conformation judging and sever- al other field events. It’s a hunting club for a hunting breed. Still, the majority of breeders are as skilled and as conscien- tious as any in our world, and are look- ing after the welfare of this still-evolv- ing breed. The AKC Foundation Stock Service provides the largest reliable reg- istry for the breed and will ultimately bring together the breeding records and pedigrees that are currently scat- tered throughout several registries. That same FSS registry has opened the door for the Jagdterrier to AKC perfor- mance and companion events as well as AKC Open Shows. Like most emerging breeds, there is some resistance to full AKC recognition. For now, the AHTA and its breeder members are doing a first-rate job of promoting the breed
while protecting its conformation and singular temperament and ability. Globally, the breed is fully recog- nized by the FCI (Group 3, Section 1 Large and Medium Sized Terriers, 103) and the FCI breed standard is in use worldwide. Relatively small num- bers are shown at Crufts and 20 Ger- man Hunting Terriers were entered at the recent World Dog Show in Amster- dam. Nearly all the major activity glob- ally is centered around hunting and there are many great dogs that never see the inside of a conformation ring. National breed clubs, particularly those in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are the base of most activity. For all of that, it is the individual hunters worldwide, who may or may not even register their dogs, that are responsible for the preserva- tion and advancement of the breed.
Jagterrier puppies are born hunters. Photo by Trude Granhus
The Jagdterrier is first and foremost a go to ground hunting Terrier. Photo by Bill Reyna
The head of the Jagdterrier has a moderate stop. Photo by Trude Granhus
126 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2018
Powered by FlippingBook