vom Altmoor Drahthaars - New Jersey German Wirehaired Pointer Breeders

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We placed this listing under German Wirehaired Pointer because a great many folks hear "Wirehair" or "Drahthaar" and think they're the same thing. Actually, there are a number of different registries, each of which use a different name for their breed, but the breeds are not the same thing at all. For example, there's the AKC "German Wirehaired Pointer". Then there's the FDSB "German Drahthaar." And there are others. Although they all started out years ago as Deutsch-Drahthaars from Germany, over time they've evolved into something else, and today saying that a DD and a Wirehair is the same thing is akin to saying that Cockers and Springers are the same thing. Some of these breed clubs specialize in bench show dogs or various other specialty strains within the breed. There are individual wonderful dogs in each of these breeds. However there is only one breed club that can provide you with a dog which is the product of over a century's rigorously controlled breeding for just one purpose - exceptional upland work for the foot hunter, incredible water work for the dedicated duck hunter, and determined blood tracking for the big game hunter, all rolled into one dog. The breed club that provides you with this companion is Verein Deutsch-Drahthaar (VDD), which is based in Germany but also has member groups in the USA and Canada. Only a VDD-registered Deutsch-Drahthaar is the product of mandatory field and water testing, and conformation and coat evaluation, and HD certification, of every dog in the breeding program. And, each of the field, water and appearance evaluations are conducted by a team of three independent experts, certified by Germany. A VDD pup is identical in quality, whether obtained from a breeder in the USA, Canada, or Germany. We feel strongly that a serous hunter can best maximize his chances of getting the gun dog pup of a lifetime only through a VDD breeder. On the other hand, if dog sports, such as competing against other dogs in field trials or running around the country to see how pretty your dog is every weekend is your thing, that's fine, but you should look elsewhere.

Only a visit to our website, http://altmoor.com/Drahthaar/index.html can give you the answers to all of your questions. For now, we'll try to be brief. We are a husband-wife team, both passionate hunters who, after years of breeding Brits and Springers and owning and/or professionally training Labs and many other gun dog breeds, in the early '80's found that the Deutsch-Drahthaar was the all-around sportsman's answer for a family gun dog that excelled at everything - waterfowl, upland, and blood tracking. But, first and foremost, our DD's are companions and our best friends. They are equally suitable even if you are primarily an upland hunter or mostly hunt waterfowl - their water abilities are unequaled.

VDD is the world-wide breed club of over 11,000 members, with over 1,100 members in the USA - VDD-Group North America. Both of us have served terms on the Executive Board of that organization, as well as our local chapter. We were among the first judges in the USA to be approved by the over-seeing organization (JGHV) in Germany in 1990. We constantly try to give back to the breed that has given us so much and have received several service awards from our breed club. We are the authors of The Drahthaar Puppy Manual, a book which numerous DD, DK, and DL breeders give out with each pup they sell. With a combined total of nearly four decades in law enforcement and almost nine decades of hunting and gun dog experience, we think you'll find that we are very knowledgeable and trustworthy, and have a nationwide reputation for support after the sale. We are also this continent's most experienced VDD breeders, starting through the alphabet for the fourth time in 2012 (our 79^th VDD litter). We average two to five litters each year. All of our bitches whelp in our house, where the pups spend their first 3 to 4 weeks. If you pinned us down and asked what qualities we breed for, we'd say that hunting traits are a given, but sound and friendly temperament with a high degree of cooperation and biddability are at the top of our list. Our dogs work with you and for you, and will hunt till they drop. Check our website for testimonials.

Finally, as you look through this site and other sources in your search for the pup of a lifetime, you'll find many who tell you that they breed Deutsch-Drahthaars. In fact, some of those will actually be breeders of AKC GWP's, FDSB German Drahthaars, or of some other registry. Or, they are producing more than one breed of gundog. Only a VDD-registered breeding can offer you a pup which is the product of decades of objective water and field testing and evaluations for suitable conformation and coat by independent experts. VDD pups are registered in Germany, come with a registration document in the German language, and have their German registration number tattooed in their right ear. If you don't get your pup from us, at least please check the Breeder Listing page on the www.vdd-gna.org website to be sure that you'll working with an actual VDD breeder and are getting at least the same quality pup that you would if you went directly to Germany, where the DD is far and away the most popular gundog.

Breeding quality gun dogs for over 46 years.