Small Munsterlander
 

My wife and I are looking into possibly getting a dog and we both agree that if we get one it may as well be able to come out bird hunting with me. We both like the Small Munsterlander breed, beautiful dog, not overly big, seems to typically have very healthy lives from what I've read.
Just curious if anyone on here has had any experience with them? I've read a few articles and they sound like they are great family dogs to have in the home with a other pets.

We have cat (extremely loving and i like to say "annoyingly cuddly", Often people we know that "don't like cats" completely fall in love with her when it comes to our cat.) that seems to get a long with guests that comes to the house and doesn't seem to be threatened by other animals she has been in contact with. (Often people we know that "don't like cats" completely change their mind when it comes to ours haha) Thats one of the main things I'm concerned with, is hoping the SM and our cat get a long. If anyone has personal experience on this breed interacting with other house pets that would be great to hear.

Our local NAVHDA chapter has multiple members that have this breed, including breeders. I have been in the field with several of them and they do well as hunters. If you contact Prairie Vista NAVHDA, they will provide you with the names of breeders in our club, and you an come out to one of our field days, and see these dogs work and talk to the owners/breeders.

Prairie Vista NAVHDA

This option is definitely open. There is a nominal fee for non-members, for insurance purposes. You might also check out Riava Small Munsterlanders.
Getting along with cats is probably more up to the individual rather than the breed. I expect that being raised with a cat as part of the 'pack' would probably help.

I have seen the dogs from Riava and I was super impressed. Lovely, lovely dogs. I am confident in saying that you will not go wrong in going out to a training day and meeting the breeders personally. They are really nice people and they loved to talk about the breed. You will also see other dogs. In that same size grouping, you may also consider a Brittany. They are equally lovely.
Btw, Alacringa has one of the really nice ones!

A good thing about coming out to a field day, is that you will see several breeds to compare, and see them all working. There will be young pups and finished adults, as well as dogs in between, so that you can see them at various stages.

I have a male from Riava's C litter. He is now 6 months old. He is an amazing dog. Smart, affectionate, and has a great temperament. Nothing seems to really scare this dog and he socializes really well. So far he is great in the house.

His nose is fantastic, Does great with tracking and he found 16 grouse on 4 different outings last week. He retrieves great and I had him whoa broke at 5 months. His point is getting strong. I cant wait to get start training on planted birds with the guns. He is going to love it when he realizes the whole game with birds.

This is my first gun dog and I probably have gone too hard with training for his age but he has progressed better than I could have imaged. He never stops amazing me.

We have two cats and like mentioned they are fine when they grow up with them as part of the pack. He loves to play with them (even if they don't).

Wild rose NAVHDA is training in Benalto this Saturday. I will be there with Trapper. Janet from Riava will have one of her adults there. She also lives really close and you probably could see both her male and female if you want.

And also you could see the other dogs there as well.

as the picture shows he gets along well with our Bearded Collie and our cats

What a gorgeous dog who sounds like he is doing super, super well. You are a fortunate fella who will have years of memories to come. Good for you!

What's WHOA Broke??

I love Brittany’s, my cousins always had Brittany’s growing up so I’ve been around them from time to time. SM seem similar which is why I like them! Haha This is all great info, keep it coming! Haha I’ll look into if I can make it out for a field day, that would be beneficial. We were actually on the call list with Riava before and got a call a year or so ago but timing wasn’t right. We are thinking of doing a day trip to Riava at some point to check them out

whoa broke
 

pointer talk for stop, dont move, freeze
like in horses "whoa"

It's a good idea to introduce your pup to the cat(s) while it's very young so the cats don't recognize it as a threat. All those cute internet videos of cats pawing at dog's faces make me cringe. With their claws out, they can do real damage to the eyes of a too-curious dog. Our pup almost lost her sight in one eye from attempting to be friends with a stupid cat.

Yea I figure that’s the best way to do it, get a pup and introduce them so they get comfortable with each other. I’m not too concerned with my cat going ape on a dog like I said she’s extremely friendly. She used to by shy and to herself when she was young (rescue cat) but now she crawls all over anyone that comes over and has no problem drooling on you when she’s getting a nice scratch behind the ear.

With us it was pup on a leash, approached by a friendly looking cat. Both leaned forward to sniff noses - all cute and friendly like, and pow - the cat lashes out across the pups face, and then calmly walks away. Dog yelped but looked OK. It wasn't until later that she wouldn't stop rubbing her eye so off to the vet. Pills, drops and $300 later and she was fine. Won't have anything to do with cats now.

SM do fine with cats in the same house.
they're great family dogs.
As for the hunting - it depends what and how you hunt.
May not be ideal dog for first time trainers, but more do fine with some support.
I wouldn't trade mine for any other breed :)

I have a 10 year old small Munster.
He has been an absolutely outstanding dog!!
Even with my limited to non existent training, he is a damn good pied dog. Pointing and retrieving. He is also a very nice house dog.
The only real negative to this breed is that their long hair collects every single burr he runs past!!

I’ve been doing some reasearch on my next small Munster and will likely get a dog from a breeder in cochrane.

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?i...content_filter

looks like we're going to check out one of the field days in June. We've been added to the list for the next litter at Riava and hopefully we get a call! Thanks everyone for the replies!

We're on a list for the next litter from four points kennels as well l, looks like great dogs coming from that kennel. They are affiliated with a well regarded kennel out of Nebraska.

we're driving down to Calgary may long weekend and probably taking a day trip to banff with some friend, so we are going to see if its possible to stop at both 4 point and Riava that weekend. I'll shoot them an email in advance as it is the long weekend.

my wife and I visited both Four Points and Riava this weekend. It was great to meet the Tanner at Four Points and Janet/Garth from Riava. All the dogs/pups we met were so great. Both breeders answered all the questions we had. Really looking forward to getting a chance on one of the next litters. I really want to try getting out to one of the field days likely next month. Thanks everyone for all the info!

Keep us informed on the search for your new pup.

*update*

We visited with Riavas D litter the other day, and will be visiting again on Tuesday to make the final decision on which pup we decide on! So some pretty exiciting times! Can’t wait till we bring her home.

Just wondering what Insurance you guys would recommend. I’ve done some research and found a couple choices I might go with but would like to know what some of you use.

Really nice dogs.

A new puppy is always exciting - congrats!

I opted not to go with insurance, instead setting money aside for unexpected dog expenses. There is an element of risk if something serious comes up, especially with the way some of these dogs tear around. Can't remember insurance costs, but my vet costs (including annual physical/vaccines, as well as minor accidents (cuts from barbed wire/sticks, amphibian ingestion, etc.)) average less than $500/yr.

my son has been checking into insurance, best deal he found was $50/month, and there are many exclusions. i think alacringa is on the right track with just saving the $50, if you don't use it, nice little nest egg..............

Small Munsterlander
 

Congratulations on new pup. Exciting times for you & family

We have a b litter dog from riava. Bella is very much part of our family and joins us in our winter retirement community in Arizona. She is an enthusiastic upland hunter but goes slow enough & waits on point for this old, fat hunter with poor knees. She is a bigger SM @ 55 lbs and handles geese ok, loves water & retrieving ducks. Bella and wife compete for being mistress boss of our household.

Highly recommend you join one of the two versatile hunting dog clubs in central AB. They will help with training your dog, but more important are a great resource to train the trainer. Janet is a great gramma.

I met Janet at Navhda training days when I was checking out dogs. She was a very nice lady and had wonderful dogs. I just loved em.

Unbelievable dogs. I can’t say enough about Riavas dogs and my Trapper boy from C litter.

Riava’s D Litter
 

We were just at Janet’s this weekend to pick out our D litter pup! I already miss the little guy, going back this weekend to see him again. I can’t wait to bring him home and start his training and get into the NAVHDA training. :sHa_shakeshout:

We decided on one today when we stopped by on our way home from Calgary. Such a tough decision but glad we decided while we were there rather than mull it over at Home the rest of the week!

Janet is great to work with. She is very welcoming and helpful with our endless questions. As far as all the good things I’ve heard about her past litters this D litter looks to be a great one as well! My wife and I have already spent lots of times with these puppies. There’s gonna be some real happy owners!

Can’t wait till we can bring her home!

Congratulations. Look forward to see you at training this year.