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The Large Munsterlander Association of Canada (LMAC)LMAC commits to maintaining the Large Munsterlander (LM) as a dog for hunters, their families and ethical hunting. The Large Munsterlander is a long-haired versatile hunting dog, developed in Germany, which has been bred to performance standards in North America for over 40 years. LMCNA (Large Munsterlander Club of North America) which was founded in Alberta in 1977. It was incorporated under the Animal Pedigree Act of Canada in 1999, and its name changed to LMAC in 2014. |
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This web page was first mounted in October 2011 and last updated on November 14, 2024 by Sheila Schmutz.
Newsletter The Fall 2024 newsletter was emailed on in late September. Please submit articles, photos, etc. for the Winter Newsletter to John Staley (jsmunster@gmail.com) by December 15.
LMAC is taking a pause for 2025 regarding a Calendar. That's why there was no call for photos in the September newsletter.
2024 Zoom Discussions/Presentations
Members, please reply to the email sent announcing the upcoming webinar, that you'd like an invitation and a few days before, the invitation link will be sent.
2023 Zoom Discussions/Presentations
Verlorenbringer – The Crown Jewel of Retrieving
Sunnynook’s Hadlee has been doing well on Ruffed Grouse, Woodcock and Pheasant and has become a great companion. “She has so much desire.” Rich Sajdak writes, “that I have to monitor her hunting time as she will not pace herself.”
I worried about her performance and stamina after her bout with Blastomycosis a couple years ago. She has since erased my worries with her drive and willingness to please in the field.
She hunts with her head lower to the ground than any dog I’ve previously owned. Of course, this leads to excessive wear around her nose and eyes especially after pheasants in tall grass and cattail cover. After a few consecutive days hunting that cover she looks all cut up. The other dogs hunting in the group show minimal wear on their face. I have to limit her to lighter/easier cover on week-long hunts.
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Out west last year she proved herself to all in the hunting party as she made some excellent retrieves on downed pheasants in the heavy cover of drought-stricken Iowa. On one occasion our hunting group split up around two large cattail areas to cover more ground. A pheasant was downed by the other group and they never found the rooster. Later, I took Hadlee to the area where they thought the bird went down. I ventured into the thick cover about 15 yards and watched/listened to her search. Soon she was gone. 30-40 minutes had gone by and now I’m worried. I had all the guys looking for her. Some went to high ground for a better vantage point. We eventually spotted her about a quarter mile away coming down a hedge row BEHIND us with a pheasant in her mouth!!! Was it really this same hit pheasant? I was proud of Hadlee anyway as she did an amazing job. When we returned to our trucks an Iowa DNR officer had stopped as he saw Hadlee a lot further away and wondered who she belonged to. While chatting with the officer he asked to check our ammo as we have to shoot non-toxic shells. That’s when I realized we could possibly figure out if it was truly our bird. My friend Bill is the only one in our group shooting BOSS ammo 3/5 shot mixed load. It’s a unique copper plated bismuth ammo and he’d shot the bird. We examined the bird and found the exact BOSS ammo and shot size that Bill was using. Now we all knew for sure Hadlee had made a truly amazing track and retrieve of a crippled pheasant. We stopped at a local tavern on our way back to camp to get a bite to eat. My buddy Bill, who is a big guy, ordered an extra burger with his meal. I said “Man you sure eat a lot.” He said “The extra burger is for Hadlee. She earned it!” |
Hadlee’s Crown Jewel retrieving is close to what the Jagdgebrauchshundverband (JGHV) testing system describes as Verlorenbringer. It’s tough to translate but literally Lost-Retrieving, or Lost-Game Retrieving. It’s abbreviated Vbr in German and here is what it says on LMAC’s ‘voluntary’ adoption of it (e.g. LMAC Policy & Procedures Manual) which is used when it applies on all Sunnynook pedigrees:
Historically, around 100 years ago, when the Jagdgebrauchshundverband was already two decades old, the member breed clubs were still tweaking a jointly approved performance-testing program for breeders. Tasks like the Vbr are tough to create in a testing situation and so the Verband (= Association) created what they called Leistungszeichen (Performance certificates) that a dog can earn while hunting if reported by a JGHV judge who had participated in the hunt.
The Vbr and other Leistungszeichen are part of revolutionary change centred around Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany of how hunting breeds were developed. Field trials were common in Europe and North America but these central European hunters were dissatisfied with the stylized and limited-task trials. They wanted a non-competitive test for the broadest possible set of tasks encountered while hunting. Hence the name Jagd Gebrauch or ‘hunting use.”
The late versatile dog Guru Dr. Carl Tabel writes that the full Vbr task is sufficiently difficult that the majority of dogs need to be bred and taught to be fully reliable. The big obstacle, he notes, is that most dogs are too excitable to settle down and work the track methodically to the end. On Hadllee’s pedigree, none of the 8 LMAC-bred dogs have a RbT designation, but 7 out of 22 Austrian & German dogs had earned the Leistungszeichen Verlorenbringer (Vbr). Hadlee now has one of her own, RbT (Pheasant).
Rich Sajdak & Joe Schmutz, 19 April 2024
Eagle Rock's Alpine pointing a Blue Grouse
The Large Munsterlander is one of several continental breeds of versatile hunting dogs. It gained breed recognition in the Münsterland of northwestern Germany in 1919. Although this makes the LM the last of the German breeds to gain official representation by a separate breed club, the LM was recognized as a black color variant of the brown German Longhaired Pointer going back to its breed club formation in 1878. Even before that time, the forerunner of the modern LM can be recognized in artists' representations of hunting scenes as far back as the Middle Ages.
The LM is a black and white dog with hair of medium length. They weigh 50-75 lbs with males about 60-67 cm and females 58-63 cm at the shoulder. In its German homeland and some other countries, this dog has been bred for over a century for hunting and not show. Hence coat color is highly variable, ranging from predominantly white to predominantly black. Markings occur as solid white patches, or ticked or roan regions.
This field dog characteristically is calm, gentle and intelligent, and therefore also valued as a family dog. The versatile and cooperative characteristics of the LM provide for a reliable companion for all facets of hunting. It is well suited for a variety of game, including the tracking of big game as practiced by some owners. On average, LMs search well outside of gun range in open country but are still responsive and not independent. LMs excel as bird finders before and after the shot due to excellent noses and a purposeful searching style with good coverage, rather than speed. Many LMs point with intensity from puppyhood on, and many honor naturally. Given their passion for retrieving, steadiness needs to be encouraged through training, especially in the exuberant youngster. LMs tend to be strong in the water. The LM's long and thick coat protects them against cold and allows them to search dense cover thoroughly. Even so, their coat is a compromise well suited for temperate climates. Short-haired breeds may be better suited for upland hunting in the hot South, while the oily and dense coat of retrieving specialists makes them better suited for prolonged water work in the late-season North.
The Large Munsterlander was introduced to North America by Kurt von Kleist of Pennsylvania in 1966. By May, 2007, at least 78 dogs had been imported to North America from Europe. The first LMs were brought to Canada in 1973. There have been 368 pups born in Canada, from 55 litters.
The best method of obtaining a pup of your choice is by reserving from a breeder who plans a litter. Most pups are born in spring or early summer. Occasionally pups are available immediately.
LM breeders, see below, will place pups only in hunting homes for several reasons. Breeders rely on progeny performance data when planning future breeding - a dog that is not hunted/tested is in that sense lost. Although LMs make good companions, their insatiable hunting instinct can lead to frustration for non-hunters when their dog insists on chasing nearly everything - even the squirrels during a picnic in the park.
We encourage potential owners to do their homework, including meeting an LM owner and dog where possible. Even "retired" breeders may be willing to show their dogs and answer questions about the breed. Most breeders encourage continued contact with puppy buyers/owners.
All sires and dams have earned at least a Prize III in the NAVHDA Natural Ability test or a Fair in the VHDF HAE test or a Pass in the VJP test. Their total test scores and accompanying ratings are shown below. Most dogs have also run in intermediate level hunt tests, such as NAVHDA UPT or VHDF AHAE, or JGHV HZP. Some have also run in the highest level tests, such NAVHDA UT or the VHDF PE test or the JGHV VGP test. All dogs were judged to be of normal temperament in their test. They have all been certified HD free and are free of elbow dysplasia. Some dogs have received Progeny Performance Awards when at least four of their pups from a single litter have passed first level tests.
The early litters born in North America were registered with the Verband Grosse Munsterlander in Germany. From 1983 to 2011, all LMs born in North American were registered by the Large Munsterlander Club of North America (LMCNA®), and since that time all litters born in Canada were registered by LMAC. Such registration implies that both parents have met breeding eligibility criteria, which include passing a test of hunting performance and certification free of hip dysplasia. ALL litters listed below are bred under the guidance of the Animal Pedigree Act of Canada.
The Large Munsterlander Association of Canada has been formed to foster the continued breeding of LMs in Canada and by like-minded U.S. breeders. LMAC registered dogs will have a "C" at the beginning of their individual tattoo in their ear.
Litters Expected early 2025
Litters Planned for early 2025
2024 Litters with Pups Already Placed
LMAC Breeders
Some of these kennels have not breed a litter recently, or have retired from breeding, but are shown here so that owners of pups in the past have their current contact information.
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Performance Requirements for Breeding LMs
All LMs in North America that were eligible for breeding in LMCNA® as of Dec. 31, 2011 will continue to be eligible to breed until they are 10 years of age (see list of eligible sires) in LMAC. From January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2020 LMs registered by LMAC could be registered in the standard fashion or in the Original Stream.
Based on the LMAC Bylaws of July 1, 2020, to be eligible to breed a dam or sire:
Breeders who plan to have a litter or have pups to be registered by LMAC should contact the LMAC Registrar, Derek Oderkirk.
Please direct general questions about the content of this page to: e-mail
