An all-round gundog – the working Korthals Griffon
By Wendy Bardsley.
THE Korthals Griffon was founded by Dutch breeder Eduard Karel Korthals in 1870. He dedicated many years to the development of the breed to produce a medium-sized versatile hunting dog which could be used on a variety of ground and game. Korthals selected pointing dogs from France, Germany and Belgium and his aspiration was to breed a stable type of Griffon.
In 1879 the Dutch breeder had a rare opportunity to train Prinz Albrecht zu Solms-Braunfels pointers in Germany. Situated at the prince’s hunting estate, Korthals owned 14 Griffons of which nine became the cornerstones of his Korthals-Griffon Kennel ‘Ipenwoud’. His name became popular throughout Europe and the Dutch breeder quickly created his first stud book registering 62 pups.
At the young age of 45, Eduard Korthals died leaving the development of the breed to his friends throughout Germany, Holland, France and Belgium. The breed became known as a versatile hunting dog for pheasant, partridge, duck, woodcock and grouse and also used for tracking boar and wounded deer.
There are very few working examples of these wonderful dogs found in the UK and they are rarely seen in the field. Mark and Joe Taylor, from Dorset, are passionate about their working Korthals Griffon gundogs. Father and son have owned the breed since 2000 when Mark brought the first Korthals Griffon into the country. I took the opportunity to find out more about this versatile hunt point retrieve (HPR) breed. Joe Taylor owns and works ‘Ralph’, a four-year-old Korthals Griffon.
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