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I have been looking at getting a DD for my next dog. I have had Labs (all are gone now) prior to this, along with a GSD (gone) and a Belgian Malinois which I use for police work. From what I am reading, the VDD is the Malinois of the hunting dog world, which is perfect.

Having had the Mal since he was 18 months old, I am not concerned about my ability to handle a DD. I am interested in where I could find or meet with a few breeders. I have looked at the VDD-NA web page and I'm not sure it is up to date.

Is there somewhere else I could look for info? I'd appreciate any suggestions on stuff I could/should read. I'd get the dog ideally in Spring 2022 or 23 depending on when my wife is ready for another dog.

TIA

I've got 2 now. When I get my third, I'll be contacting this kennel. My oldest dog's dad was from this kennel and I really like him a lot. Plus its in SD so may work out well for you. They are great dogs and I'll probably have no other now that I have a couple.

http://www.vomwiredhaus.com/custom/OurDogs/litters/

Good to know, I found his kennel page but wasn't sure if he was still running or not. If anyone else knows of another good kennel, I'm located about 20 miles north/west of Rapid City. I will likely reach out to vomwiredhaus for sure as from what I can tell, they are the closest to me.

You're going to have two very intelligent dogs to contend with lol. If I think of another kennel, I'll shoot you a pm.

I've had four DDs and each one was/is a very good hunting dog with a reasonable amount of training. One reason I chose a DD was the fact that every dog bred under that German system has to be tested before they are allowed to be bred. IMO, that really increases your odds of getting a pup with the genes to make a good hunting dog. The downside to the rigid German system is that many folks won't put up with the tight rules required by the Germans, so there are relatively few DD breeders (and others like DK, PP, etc) in this country. That in turn reduces the number of pups born each year and helps drive up prices.

If you're serious about getting a pup in the spring of 2022, I would be contacting breeders right now. Many of these DD breeders have waiting lists and it could take you 2+ years to find a breeder close to your location. One of my dogs came from the Jugler's kennel in Casper (https://www.sudlichenwald.com/) and she's an awesome dog and they are super great folks. They got started in DDs and were mentored by Roger Green when he lived in WY. Roger and his wife Marge are some of the best Draht folks in North America (http://rogermgreen.com/vom_elderbach/homepage.html).

Other kennels you should check out are Heather Prunty's https://grizzlycreekdd.weebly.com/; her C-litter pups were a HUGE success and they all tested out with very high scores. I currently have a pup out of one of those vom Grizzly Creek C-litter females. There is a breeder in Bismarck (https://www.vonmakoshika.com/) that has had some good pups that isn't too far from you. East of you in Sioux Falls there is a super experienced breeder (http://www.vomikekennel.com/) that really knows his stuff. Blaine is a walking encyclopedia of DD lines, and he would be a great contact for you to learn more about the different DD lines.

And I'm sure there are other good choices out there. Like I said at the start, the German system almost guarantees that any DD pup will be at least adequate for most hunters. The lousy breeders get weeded out fast in the DD world.

Have fun with your new DD pup!

I was able to get in and get on the list with vomWiredhaus. They have two litters this spring if anyone else is looking.

You're going to be very happy with your pup. Hope to see pics and here about them in the spring.

A DD owner told me that there prey drive is insane. We have a PP and she is constantly on the hunt. However I heard from one owner of a DD that watch them around Cats, they will rid the neighborhood of them!!

I now own my first DD. He is a 1 1/2 years old. I passed the VJP and the HZP with him (took 2 tries mess up handling). He blood trails deer, kills random vermin when sicked on them, points upland , retrieves better than any nstra dog, and is a solid duck dog. Pretty much like lassie.

I got him from Tyler Wallis at Roter Erde Kennels from Tuttle OK and both of his litters have performed awesome in the testing system. OK also has Vom Dewolf Kennels from Preston Dewolf.

Lona Kluck is up in SD I think and she breeds some and is an awesome resource.

Either way if you can handle a working Mal I am sure you will be very successful with your DD if your choose the breed.

And as started before they are hell on cats.

Mine will turn 9 in March and is still hunting strong. Got him from Donny Zarra in PGH. Retrieved a triple of Canadas out of the river once when it was 10 below. He was covered in ice and my Beretta froze open. Wouldn't hurt a fly. We have chickens loose in the yard, neighbor has cats, no issues at all. He brought me barn swallow chicks this year when the wind knocked down the nests, unharmed.

The only pair that scored higher than us at the VJP was a K9 officer. Bet you'll do great and love the dog!

I was at Pheasant Fest this weekend in Omaha. I too want and have wanted a DD for a long time now. I hooked up with the Great Plains VDD chapter which also includes SD. They have a FB Group. May be good to hook up with them for training resources and info on all the area breeders.

I have family in Frontier County eagerly awaiting a pup from my two DD's, but it won't be for a while. Let me know what your timeline looks like.

Best dogs ever. But I’m biased😁

I brought home Elon II vomWiredhaus three weeks ago. I can’t recall having a dog with such natural ability. Today we were down by a lake, he air scented and brought me a dead baby bird out of the tall grass. He quasi points Robins and other small birds, and is 100 percent “go”. He gets along fine with my Malinois (I should say the Mal “tolerates” him). Looking forward to the Fall. He’s 12 weeks old.

TakeEm, congrats on the pup. They’re the greatest aren’t they? Are you going to test him? I would highly encourage doing so even if you’re not interested in breeding. I’ve “drank the koolaid” so to speak with the German hunt test system and it makes for an outstanding dog. Right now I’m helping a friend get his dog ready for the Armbruster in September and I’ll admit I’m jealous I don’t have a pup to get ready myself. Post pics if you can of yours. I’d love to see him.

Cool beans bud, your in for a few shocking moments, many surprises, what ta fuqq, really, hoooley chit!!!! These dogs are so good that until your used to them, you'll be standing around with your mouth open a lot, with yer hat off scratching your head. Have fun!!! Best of luck. GWP guy. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦👍🏻

Good looking pooches ... but aren't they just German Shorthair Pointers with beards??

L.W.

Well they are both German breeds.

Take Em, congrats on the pup. As I mentioned, I am going to look at Vom Wiredhaus for my next drahthaar. Love to hear how he does during his spring and fall tests next year. You're in for a great run. Betting your dogs become best buddies along the way.

I am willing to do it but can’t find information on what the test standards are to train for them. I joined VDD-GNA, possibly the most frustrating thing I’ve ever done as I don’t have anything besides the email saying I paid them and an email from them saying everything is coming but it comes from Germany. I don’t want my dog to hunt rabbits eithe so that part concerns me somewhat.

Just a brief synopsis on testing. The first test is the VJP. This is done the spring following the year pup was born. If they were born after October, it will be the following year. This test is more or less a natural ability test although you will want to expose the dog to a lot of things and train for it. In this test they are looking at the way the dog searches, uses his nose, cooperates with you, tracks a hare and points.
The next test, the HZP, is done that fall and requires more training. This test includes everything from the VJP except usually the hare track. So again, nose, search, cooperation, and pointing. It also has the dreaded hare drag and retrieve as well as the water work. This includes the gun sensitivity, blind retrieve and search behind the live duck. You will want to have your dog trained in retrieving (force fetch) for this test.
Then if you want to continue, the last test is the VGP or utility test. This includes everything from the first two tests but also forest work which is the fox drag and retrieve and blood tracking. The VGP is not a requirement for breeding however. If you go through the tests and want to be certified to breed, you also need to go through a breed show, where the dogs coat, conformation, height, length, gait, bite and teeth are evaluated. You also need to have hips, shoulders and elbows x-rayed and evaluated. There’s also the “hardness” test. Which is probably better explained in a PM.
As far as not wanting your dog to hunt rabbits, I was hesitant to use mine on fur at first too. But it has not affected my dogs bird hunting, both upland and waterfowl one bit. In fact, it’s made him a better dog in my opinion. Besides, it’s pretty fun to take your dog hunting everything from birds and varmints to big game. There’s a lot of information to unpack so if you want to communicate via PM. I looked for information about training for the tests and like you, found that there’s not a ton out there. I have a few resources and a little experience now so let me know and I’ll try to point you in the right direction.

I'd have no concerns about rabbit tracks and retrieving. My dogs hunt birds but if they get in a rabbit thicket its a quick beep of the collar to get them off the rabbit and back on birds. On days with few or no birds, I'll bust a rabbit for them to get a retrieve in. They just love retrieving rabbits.

Mbogo has it lined out above. Highly recommend getting with some of the Great Plains chapter up there and doing training days. Dogs get exposure to a lot of other pups and people and really is good for them.

Love to see pics when you can post them.

TakeEM, check out the videos (DVDs) made on the German testing system from Dogs Unlimited. I had tested 2 dogs through the HZP and once I started watching the videos I bought all three videos. The videos are well made and show how the tested event takes place, then how to train for that event. The VJP and HZP are on one DVD. The VGP video is something like 2 hours and 45 minutes long, so lots of info. I'm going to test on my first VGP this fall and have watched the video three times so far this summer. it will be money well spent. My advice is even if you dont plan on testing the VGP get the video, its worth it.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. The dog is very high air scent and when he can’t air scent it, and it runs away(rabbit in yard) he goes to the ground to track. He will retrieve over 50 yards and bring me the bird (dead fowl trainer dove).

I’m going to get/shoot some pigeons for him to retrieve. I’ll see if I can get some pictures of him up. He’s 14 or 15 weeks now.

Sounds like a lot of natural desire and good breeding there. He'll be an easy trainer I bet. Look forward to following along.