The episode, hosted by Craig Koshyk, a renowned dog historian, explores how early German immigrants, particularly those who settled in Texas, may have introduced hunting dogs before the popularization of breeds like the German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP). Koshyk, author of Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals and Pointing Dogs, Volume Two: The British and Irish Breeds, provides historically accurate insights, suggesting that settlers arriving in the 1830s and 1840s could have brought ancestral hunting breeds, challenging the belief that German gundogs first appeared in America in the ..read more

Craig Koshyk, author of Pointing Dogs, Volume Two: The British and Irish Breeds, explores the unlikely story of how the Pointer rose to fame over the English Setter in America. At the time, this was something no one in the field trial circuit ever imagined possible, and before long, the Pointer dominated trialing. This is a story of culture, changing times, and America's continued efforts to advance everything they put their hands on ..read more

We’ve been talking about the role of “place” in the history and culture of hunting dog breeds, but not every breed fits neatly within geographical boundaries. There are several breeds in North America who have a foot in two worlds: the parent country (often Germany) as well as North America.   We explore breeds such as the Deutsch Drahthaar, Deutsch Langhaar, and Deutsch Kurzhaar which are known by their German language names in order to differentiate from the German Wirehaired Pointer, German Longhaired Pointer, and German Shorthaired Pointer. Even though the names directly translate, th ..read more

This season of Hunting Dog Confidential will explore the history of hunting dogs as a function of place and time. We begin in North America, starting with the earliest evidence of domesticated dogs from about 10,000 years ago. This episode brings us right up to the end of the pre-colonial era in the fifteenth century. We’ll continue our exploration of North American hunting dog history in the next episode.   Fossil and DNA evidence suggests that dogs arrived in North America about 5,000 years after the first humans arrived. These dogs were descended from wolves but were partially domestic ..read more

Anthony Williams is the epitome of versatility when it comes to the bird dog world. Growing up in Queens wasn’t going to dissuade him from his goals of hunting, running bird dogs, and flying a hawk. His initial exposure to birds was raising pigeons in urban New York, followed by his first experiences with falconry in an overgrown junkyard. This eventually led him toward bird dogs, where Anthony developed a love for the versatile breeds and also became a hound trial judge. Now, he has wirehaired Teckels, a Drahthaar, and a wirehaired Vizsla in addition to his hawks.   We follow a few rabbi ..read more

The end of World War II saw thousands of American servicemen and servicewomen returning home to the United States and Canada, many of whom brought home new dogs they’d met while in occupied Germany. These “new” dogs were unlike the setters and Pointers that dominated the bird dog scene in North America. Defying labels, these dogs could search, point, retrieve, and track.   Some of these dogs fit in well with the American field trial culture and found success alongside setters and Pointers. Others, however, struggled to find success in the competitive environment that favored fast, big-run ..read more

Up until the late nineteenth century, the use and breeding of hunting dogs in North America was rather chaotic. Dogs were used in a variety of different ways, whether it was market hunters using Setters to retrieve waterfowl or big game hunters using Pointers to track and hold wounded elk at bay. There was no consistency in the breeding, either, as different types of dogs were often mixed and matched at will.   Before long, though, some of the same concepts from the industrial revolution found their way into dog fancy. In order to achieve consistent results, fanciers knew they needed to a ..read more

We start this episode with a discussion about versatile dogs or, as they are known in Germany, “useful” or “practical” dogs. In North America they are primarily used for bird hunting, their roots stretch back to a variety of purposes related to hunting and tracking. We discuss a couple of fun examples of the usefulness of hunting dogs, including a Boykin Spaniel who finds and retrieves box turtles in the name of science, as well as a hunting dog that is used to locate invasive Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades.   Our guest interview this week is with Nadja Niesner, a German hunter ..read more

We continue the history of hunting dogs as a function of place and time, resuming our discussion about dogs in North America in the colonial era.   When Europeans arrived on North American shores—whether it was the Spanish, the French, or the English—we know that they had dogs with them. Early writings and paintings from this era depict a variety of dogs that accompanied the colonists for purposes of protection and hunting. Some of these dogs bear a strong resemblance to old varieties of pointers and hounds.   In order to better understand the development and use of hunting dogs duri ..read more

We’ve been talking about the development of hunting dogs and how they were shaped by the humans and cultures where they originated. We received an interesting listener question asking us to consider the inverse of this concept: would human development have been any different if we did not have dogs at our side? It’s a fascinating thought experiment to consider what might have been different, which of course leads us down a few trails.   Back on the topic of hunting methods, we also addressed some listener input regarding the current status of hunting with crossbows across the United State ..read more