# Picked up a Deutsch Drahthaar



## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I've been looking for a while now and purchased a 16 month old fixed male originally from Von Hardwire. He's been obedience trained but needs a little brushing up. He's also been force fetch trained. He wasn't in the best situation at his old house. It's hard to say exactly where he's at until I get a chance to work with him. I'm new to this so I'll have a lot to learn as I go. Right now we're working through the "new home" anxiety but he's adjusting well. Our family has to adjust to having a dog as well. I think my wife was ready to turn the car around a mile after we picked him up. :lol: I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions. I live on a river so I'm looking forward to working with him retrieving.


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## FieldWalker (Oct 21, 2003)

With that breed, you may want to look into your local NAVHDA chapter.


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I'll have to do that. 

Thanks


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## jfn (Apr 24, 2011)

Freestone said:


> I've been looking for a while now and purchased a 16 month old fixed male originally from Von Hardwire. He's been obedience trained but needs a little brushing up. He's also been force fetch trained. He wasn't in the best situation at his old house. It's hard to say exactly where he's at until I get a chance to work with him. I'm new to this so I'll have a lot to learn as I go. Right now we're working through the "new home" anxiety but he's adjusting well. Our family has to adjust to having a dog as well. I think my wife was ready to turn the car around a mile after we picked him up. :lol: I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions. I live on a river so I'm looking forward to working with him retrieving.


Con grats on your new addition.........myself and my GWP are newbees to this upland hunting too


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## N M Mechanical (Feb 7, 2008)

Buy your self a coat king(stripping comb) and all your hunting permits because you never know what they will bring you. Good luck with that breeding
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

N M Mechanical said:


> Buy your self a coat king(stripping comb) and all your hunting permits because you never know what they will bring you. Good luck with that breeding
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Are there problems with Vom Hardwire I should know about?


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

You are right in the neck of the woods of Pine Hill Kennels. Scott is a breeder handler trainer of Drats. If your looking for some assistance i would suggest you give him a call. He frequents this board a bit also. Scotts a nice guy and will steer you and your dog in the right direction. In fact he is so pro Drat i think he may a liter of Drat blood pumpin through his twiggy little body (eheheheh).

michiganbirdhunter.com

-Bob


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I'm going to really concentrate on the obedience work right now and mix in some retrieving. He's really not ready for much at this point. He is an expert face licker though.


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

If he has been force fetch trained and is 16 months old, he is ready! Get that dog on birds, the more wild birds the better!

Have fun!


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## FSHHNTR (Mar 7, 2007)

First off....Congrats Freestone on your Draht! You will soon find you have hunting ADD! Bob....twiggy little body!!!! now thats funny!:lol:


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

Only thing twiggy on your is your little finger.....heck that's prob the size of my thumb, ahahahahah.


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I originally thought about the duck opener down here but I'm now leaning more towards a pheasant hunt the first week of November. It just seems like there's either a lot of puppy in him yet or lack of discipline. Probably the latter.


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

He might seem like a puppy now....get his nose on a bird and i bet you will see a new side of all business from him.

My 3.5 yo GSP is a dang goofey puppy wann-a-bee 24/7 around the house. Get him in the woods and fields and he becomes a pure work horse!


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

Here are some pic's of him.


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## DENVAN (Sep 22, 2011)

These dogs are extremely intelligent. They need to be dealt with firmly but *DO NOT GO OVERBOARD*, they will quit on you if you get too heavy handed. They do not kennel well either, they want to be with you, curled up at your feet.They are tuff as an iron ball and smarter than most of there owners. Trust his nose, hunt where he wants to hunt instead of where you would like him to hunt, you can hunt your spot after he hunts his.Train in short intervals, you will get more out of several 20 min. training sessions than 1 long drawn out session.Start with the "whoa" command, it is the basis for everything else. omce you get your dog to whoa immediately on command getting him to hold a point and back another dogs point will be much easier. Train your dog to whoa on the flush. In other words if a bird flushes unexpectedly your dog should stop (whoa) and not chase after the bird. I used a tennis ball tied up in a white garbage bag to simulate a flushing bird. I would make sure he could see me as he was casting a field, then throw the ball/bag in the air and signal him to whoa.Get yourself a Navda Green book (for training) and there are instructions in it for building an elevated trainging table (2' wide by 8' long) to use for your whoa traing.


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## jfn (Apr 24, 2011)

DENVAN said:


> These dogs are extremely intelligent. They need to be dealt with firmly but *DO NOT GO OVERBOARD*, they will quit on you if you get too heavy handed. They do not kennel well either, they want to be with you, curled up at your feet.They are tuff as an iron ball and smarter than most of there owners. Trust his nose, hunt where he wants to hunt instead of where you would like him to hunt, you can hunt your spot after he hunts his.Train in short intervals, you will get more out of several 20 min. training sessions than 1 long drawn out session.Start with the "whoa" command, it is the basis for everything else. omce you get your dog to whoa immediately on command getting him to hold a point and back another dogs point will be much easier. Train your dog to whoa on the flush. In other words if a bird flushes unexpectedly your dog should stop (whoa) and not chase after the bird. I used a tennis ball tied up in a white garbage bag to simulate a flushing bird. I would make sure he could see me as he was casting a field, then throw the ball/bag in the air and signal him to whoa.Get yourself a Navda Green book (for training) and there are instructions in it for building an elevated trainging table (2' wide by 8' long) to use for your whoa traing.


The GWP is really smart !!!! I am new to this .....Been a deer turkey hunter for years ! So learning every day !! One thing true our GWP does want to be right with us at night :lol: I got a barrel from a trainer for thw WHOA command ....really works well !!


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## N M Mechanical (Feb 7, 2008)

Treat them just like any other bird dog. This oh it is breed X that is why it does "Y" does not fly if it is a pointing breed it points and if it retrieves make it do th retrieves. With the breeding you got the dog seemed to turn on at 18 months close working dog under 75 yards in the woods and the males seem to be the 70 pound range. But if you want it to be a kennel dog it will do just fine
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## chewy (Mar 27, 2006)

hmm I had one I could beat with a belt and he would get up wagging his tail ready to screw up all over again. I have never seen a soft one. they can be hard headed so obedience training is important let him always remember who the master is or else he will be the master. 

regardless of the breed all dogs are different. some can take pressure some cant. don't sterotype your dog based on what breed standards say. u will learn what works and what doesn't. 


_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I've got to get him off the Purina Pro Plan. His dumps are way too sloppy on that food.


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## greene125 (Sep 22, 2011)

HUNDENFLOCKEN - Solid gold is a great brand for active dogs. My dog loves the Wolf King which is bison and we switch it out with Lamb and rice every other month. There is also a super high protein version called barking at the moon which is great when you're running him in the field but would only use that occasionally. I think pet supplies plus and pet smart carry it as well as specialty stores.


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## greene125 (Sep 22, 2011)

Your new dog is a cutie. Looks like he has potential to be a real clown! If you take him on a long walk, swim, bike ride, every day you will have the most enjoyable pet you've ever had. If you don't you will have a hyper mess getting in all sorts of trouble. And his definition of long is much longer!


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

Holly hair!!!

Scott post up pics of your line(s) of Drats.

I agree...treat it like a bird dog and base your level of pressure on the specific dog, not so much the breed.


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

If you're talking about Boshko yeah he's a hairy lug and he's pushing 75 pounds :lol:. He could stand to lose 5-10 pounds. We went to the river and worked on retrieving this evening. He'll sit & wait for the command to fetch, then he'll fetch but sometimes he'll drop it as he comes out of the water. Maybe I'll have to bring some snacks and reward him when he does it correctly.


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## FSHHNTR (Mar 7, 2007)

Rugergundog said:


> Holly hair!!!
> 
> Scott post up pics of your line(s) of Drats.
> 
> I agree...treat it like a bird dog and base your level of pressure on the specific dog, not so much the breed.


 
Attached are two pics.


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

Amazing how different they can look. Mine is like Grizzly Adams compared to yours.


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## J-Lee (Jul 11, 2000)

Freestone, I would get your dog to a groomer, who is familiar with Wirehaired breeds. They can strip the coat, trim the ears, strip the head. It is money well spent, I took mine to the breeder who did it for me, a couple times a year. When you start running him through the briars, you will be happy you did.


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I'll have to check out some of the local groomers. We had him down to the river again. We were having him retrieve in shallow areas before but today tried some deeper areas. I don't know if he hasn't been worked in water before because he doesn't want to go in water where he actually has to swim. He fetches well in the shallow areas. Is this something I should slowly try to get him to go deeper or all at once. I know he can swim because I've seen him do it but he looks all out of sorts while he's doing it.


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

I suspect there is a breed standard for the coat, not familiar with the fine details of the breed to know if your dog is outside of the standard. Standards aside ive learned from Scott of many of the benefits of the longer hair on a wirehair breed. I "think"....maybe someone more familiar can back me up or correct me, but if the coat is coarse to the standard even though its long and sort of "shaggy" it should be less prone to burrs than say a setter or brittany with same length of soft fine fur. eh??? or nay???

Keep working your dog in areas of warmer water and keep it fun for his introcuctions to water if you don't know his past. Water that will get gradual deeper as well. Soon that fur monster will be leaping in like superman!!! I can't keep mine out of the water...or get him to enter with finess like he is trying to make the biggest splash possible for a score. ahahahaha


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

There was a time that I had 2 Brittanies and it could take half an hour to clean them up.

I'll keep it fun for him and gradually try to get him in deeper water. The waters warm yet so I'll do what I can this year. I was watching Youtube videos of DD's swimming across small lakes and Boshko looks at me like he wants a small boat to retrieve anything he has to swim to. We were walking back and he locked up on something on the ground. I had him on a short leash and he nearly ripped my arm off. It was probably a squirrel or something.


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## J-Lee (Jul 11, 2000)

The coat on his body looks good, it is just his beard and ears that need a little work. A Furminator will get a lot of the dead hair out, or as someone else mentioned a stripping comb. With a wire a lot of dead hair is in the beard, they don't shed as much as most. You get the dead hair out their coat it functions better. They are great dogs, you are in for a fun ride.


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## greene125 (Sep 22, 2011)

Breed standard for conformation allows you to trim ears and legs with scissors but rest of coat must be stripped. The strip comb is inexpensive and a valuable tool but best if you have someone show you how to use properly. The breeders in MI are a great bunch and depending where you live I could connect you with one. Tuckers in grass lake, Sargents in Charlotte, and Degraws in Macomb. My dog also loves water. We always praised him even if he just dipped his toes in. Now he'll break through ice to get a swim!


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## chewy (Mar 27, 2006)

greene125 said:


> Breed standard for conformation allows you to trim ears and legs with scissors but rest of coat must be stripped. The strip comb is inexpensive and a valuable tool but best if you have someone show you how to use properly. The breeders in MI are a great bunch and depending where you live I could connect you with one. Tuckers in grass lake, Sargents in Charlotte, and Degraws in Macomb. My dog also loves water. We always praised him even if he just dipped his toes in. Now he'll break through ice to get a swim!


the listed breeders have German wirehairs. not draghthars. just pull the hair out with your fingers. they don't mind it. they actually like it. 


_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I'll pick up a strip comb and do some work on him. I don't think I could just pull it out.

I worked with him in the yard fetching. He really does well with it. He holds the dummy real softly and brings it to hand. These dogs just seem to want to please. Even with heeling I can get him to walk right beside me even turning unexpectedly he'll quickly heel when I point down and say heel. I've never had such a trainable dog before.


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## greene125 (Sep 22, 2011)

chewy said:


> the listed breeders have German wirehairs. not draghthars. just pull the hair out with your fingers. they don't mind it. they actually like it.
> 
> 
> _OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._[/QUOTE Drahthaar.
> ...


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

He is a VDD Deutsch Drahthaar. I found a stripping comb in our box of grooming supplies. I did some work on him but I'm thinking I may have to get him groomed and maintain it from there. He looks kind of menacing right now. People are a little uneasy when they first meet him. : )


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## slammer (Feb 21, 2006)

There are plenty of drahts in the U.S.
It is the norm to hand pick the dead undercoat but a stripper works fine, look for a coat king they work well.
A groomer is not necessary, the coat is meant to be that way.
You should join the vddna to be better informed.
All "gwp" are not the same.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## WestCoastHunter (Apr 3, 2008)

FSHHNTR said:


> Attached are two pics.


what kennel(s) did these dogs come out of? Particularly the one not in the boat.


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## greene125 (Sep 22, 2011)

Good grief! Your drahthaar is cool Freestone. I hope he turns out to be a great hunting dog for you.


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

Thanks! I hope he works out well too. I've been working almost every evening with him retrieving from the river. He gets a little more comfortable every time. I've been communicating with the breeder a little bit and he said Boshko had the nicest personality out of all the pups in his litter and he considered keeping him. Maybe that's a standard "line" I don't know :lol:. 

I'm also considering getting an e collar and working with him on that. Sometimes I think I may need that as a gentle reminder when he's off leash in the woods.


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## chewy (Mar 27, 2006)

I hand pick mine every day. just a quick pull. the light color fur is dead and pulls right out. they enjoy it. 


_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._


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## Freestone (May 15, 2003)

I'll try it tonight. He's got quite a bit of it on his head, muzzle. It doesn't want to comb out and I haven't had a chance to get any of the other recommended brushes. Maybe I just have to get more aggressive with the comb too.


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## FSHHNTR (Mar 7, 2007)

WestCoastHunter said:


> what kennel(s) did these dogs come out of? Particularly the one not in the boat.


The one not in a boat is vomkervinshof and the one in the boat vombrosius.


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## greene125 (Sep 22, 2011)

FSHHNTR said:


> The one not in a boat is vomkervinshof and the one in the boat vombrosius.


They are beautiful dogs.


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## iLiveInTrees (Jun 29, 2010)

Congrats on your Draht! I got mine last December, and let me tell you, he is a ball of fire! He is one hyper dude, and is turning into a great hunter. I was totally new when I first got him. I've been working really hard on waterfowl retrieving this year, and he is doing well. I can't seem to get him to trust his nose 100% as he has a hard time finding downed birds, but he is getting better.

I bought some chukar a few weeks back and have been working on upland with him as well. You definetely want to work hard with the WHOA command, as mine wants to eat the bird! He goes on point, but will not hold for long. As I am extremely busy, I don't have time for a NAVHDA or VDD chapter unfortunately, but I am trying my best to turn him into a great bird dog.

Good Luck to you!


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