Small Munsterlander
Group: Gundog
Size: Medium
Coat length: Medium
Grooming required: Once a week
Coat sheds: No
Home size: Small or Large House
Garden size: Small/Medium
Lifespan: Over 10 Years
Exercise: Up to 1 hour per day
They are a medium-sized, rather elegant, hunt-point-retrieve type dog, with a strong, balanced appearance. Their coat is medium-length and shiny with large patches of brown on a white or flecked background as opposed to the black and white of the Large Munsterlander.
The breed is much older than many might realise, thought to be over 500 yrs old. They come from Munster in Germany. Although at one time few in number, the breed was rescued at the end of the 19th Century by Edmund Lons.
They are lively, affectionate, very intelligent and highly trainable but they need to be given plenty of opportunity to exercise their body and brain. They are people and child friendly and normally happy around other dogs. They will normally be fine around animals they grow up with but have a strong prey drive so will be less accepting of small mammals in the wild. They need plenty of exercise and enjoy swimming.
Their coat requires regular but not excessive brushing and combing. Since the breed was reestablished, breeders have gone out of their way to ensure the breed remains healthy so instances of genetic disease are very low.