Ava Williams
Shoulder height: 33 – 40 cm
Weight: 7.5 – 10 kg
Age: 13 – 14 years
Color: black, dark brown, or black-grey mottled with red and yellow markings
Use: hunting dog
The German Jagdterrier is a versatile, small hunting dog with a lot of temperament, courage, endurance, and the typical panache of a terrier. It belongs exclusively to hunters – it is not suitable as a family dog or for hobby hunters.
Origin and history
The German Jagdterrier was purposefully bred after World War I from Black and Red Fox Terriers and other English Jagdterrier breeds. The breeding goal was to create a versatile, robust, water-loving, and track-ready dog with a pronounced hunting instinct and good trainability. The German Hunting Terrier Club was founded in 1929. Even today, breeders attach great importance to this small hunting dog’s suitability for hunting, temperament, and courage.
Appearance
The German Jagdterrier is a small, compact, well-proportioned dog. It has a somewhat wedge-shaped head with pronounced cheeks and a pronounced chin. Its eyes are dark, small, and oval with a determined expression. Like the Fox Terrier, the ears are V-shaped and tilted forward. The tail is long in its natural form and is carried horizontally to saber-shaped. When used purely for hunting, the rod may also be docked.
The German Jagdterrier’s coat is dense, hard, and weather-resistant, and can be either rough-coated or smooth-coated. The coat color is black, dark brown, or mottled black-grey with red-yellow, sharply defined markings on the eyebrows, muzzle, chest, and legs.
Nature
The German Jagdterrier is a versatile hunting dog. He has an excellent nose, has innate tracking ability, and is particularly good at ground hunting and as a scavenger dog. The small hunting terrier is also ideal as a bloodhound, for retrieving light game and water hunting.
German Jagdterriers are characterized by a particularly high level of courage, hardness, endurance, and temperament. They have perfect nerves of steel, work extremely independently, and do not shy away from the well-fortified game. The passion for hunting and the independent nature of the German Jagdterrier, therefore, require very consistent training and transparent leadership. As tough and persistent as a hunting dog, it can be as loving, happy, and friendly in the company of his people.
A German Jagdterrier belongs in a hunter’s hands and is not suitable as a pure family companion dog or for life in the city.