On Sunday, September 12, Peto’s Alpha, a Small Munsterlander Pointer (SMP), qualified in a NAVHDA Utility Field Test with a 193 Points, Prize II score. In doing so, he made history – he became the first dog of his breed to qualify in North America.

Alpha belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Jensen of Concord, Massachusetts, who introduced the breed to the United States in 1973. The Jensens, who became familiar with Small Munsterlanders in their native Denmark, own four SMPs: Bliss, Ami, and Beta (a recent import), as well as Alpha. Alpha’s achievement is one more chapter in the long, often exiting, sometimes sad story of this breed of handsome little dogs.

In Denmark, the first SMPs may have been introduced around 1915. One of the first two dogs imported into the country from Germany is shown in a photo of the Baroness B.C. Rewentlow, taken in 1916. "Tasso" is unmistakably a SMP. It is said that the game warden Errboe used the dogs ("Tasso" and "Mira") for hunting on the grounds of the Danish manor house, Brahe Trolleborg. The two dogs were never bred, however.

Denmark’s first recorded account of a SMP is that of Anne-Lis Fischer, who imported a bitch, "Dania mein kleiner Kerl," in 1955. The dog was bred several times with good foreign sires and had good puppies, which, however, became family dogs because Ms. Fischer had difficulty selling them to hunters.

She persisted. In 1963, she imported "Freya vom Birkenfeld," a bitch that won first prize in a field trial after only four days of training with the game warden. Hunters now showed interest, and dogs began to be imported from Germany, Holland, and Norway. Today, there is a very active Munsterlander Club in Denmark. Founded in May 1968, it has approximately 500 members. The breed is found in the top-20 dog list, where its position varies from 12 to 16.

Imports are still being made, and an increasing number of Danish dogs have participated in German tests since 1975. The German tests are referred to as VJP, HZP, and VGP, which corresponds roughly to the NAVHDA Natural Ability, Utility, and Advanced Utility Tests. One of the first Danish SMPs entered in VJP in Germany was the bitch "Assi," (Peto’s Alpha’s mother) and she was also the first dog to be invited to participate in a memorial VGP test for the well-known German dog fancier Rudolf Neddermeyer. Between 1975 and 1981, 16 Danish dogs qualified in VJP, 11 in HZP and 4 in VGP.

In discussing the SMP’s popularity, it may be of interest to review the number of registered puppies in the Danish Kennel Club between 1976 and 1980.

1976 1977 1978 1979 1980

German Wirehaired 1496 1469 1415 1610 1650

German Shorthaired 861 743 848 777 888

Small Munsterlander 527 461 467 408 469

Clearly, the SMPs, which underwent a renaissance in Germany and have achieved great popularity in Denmark, are valued in those countries. And there are indications that their popularity is spreading. Today, there are a few SMPs in Canada, and my wife and I are proud that we are pioneers in the United States in the introduction of these handsome dogs. As far as we know, we have the only two dogs – Bliss and Peto’s Alpha – who have qualified in a NAVHDA Natural Ability Test (Rhode Island, 1978) although several other fine SMPs have achieved good scores. We are also the happy owners of the first SMP, Peto’s Alpha (after Vigsbjergs Duff, HZP Prize II and Assi VJP 72 Points, HZP 174 Points, Prize I, and VGP 268 Points, Prize III) to qualify in a NAVHDA Utility Test in Dover, New Hampshire on September 12, 1982 with a score of 193 Points and a Prize II. The following week (September 19) Peto’s Alpha ran in Batavia, New York and received 176 Points and a Prize II.

We have recently imported a new female puppy, "Beta," after "Asta vom Holtkamp" (VJP 63 Points, HZP 181 Points, Prize I) sired by "Ferry v.d. Ochtum" (VJP 67 Points, HZP 177 Points, Prize I, and VGP 303 Points, Prize I). We are obviously exited about this pup’s potential, and with Peto’s Alpha’s qualifications in Utility, we are looking forward to some great hunting years.