Hi all

Today I decided to go down to my local rescue centre just to have a look at what dogs they had in as I just thought that maybe since I can't pick a breed maybe a rescue dog is a better suit as I'm also giving a dog a home at the same time.

So I went down today with an open mind and asked a member of staff if someone could help me in choosing the right one for me ( if they had one that suits that is) and one of the dog trainers came out and helped me fill in a profile form to see what dog I'm looking for and then asked about previous experience and my environment at home after that she said she will now go and see if any of the dogs currently in suit but she said if not we will keep your profile and details and let you know if a dog comes in who suits. So I waited and she came back and said there is one she feels would suit me so I went to meet him and he was beautiful, his name is Ryder and he's a 5yr old Wirehaired pointing Griffon, he's so friendly, lively yet calm and noble at the same time, tennis ball mad, is great with other dogs, cats, children , aloof of strangers but polite with them, she told me he came to us because his owner has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and no one in the family will take him on and she wanted to make sure he was safe before she passed away so brought him to us to find him a good home.

I really could not believe my luck, he's gorgeous and is very well behaved and turns into a puppy when he sees other dogs

I have reserved him so I can think things through first and the first thing I had to do was come here to see what people's thoughts are on the breed as I had never heard of his breed before as I thought he was a German wirehaired pointer but nope, he's a wirehaired pointing Griffon?

Forgot to say that she said another name for them is Korthals Griffon.

Anyone know anything as I want to be prepared and learn about the breed but can't find much online , I found a few things but not a lot.

They are fairly rare gundogs, usually called Korthals Griffons if you want to read up about them.

Here is the breed club which should help a lot.

https://korthalsgriffonclub.co.uk/

I am not saying that you shouldn't have this dog for one minute but it is a shame when the Breed Club offers a rehoming service that the original owner didn't start there and avoid the dog going into a general rehoming centre.  They look like a lovely breed and not common so I wish you a lot of fun with him, maybe you will get interested in working with him, HPR dogs are great at doing a job.

I know nothing about this breed, but if they are anything like the German Wirehaired Pointer- then you may not have trouble with small animals in your garden again
Again, GWPs can be rangey and noisy, but I'm sure they're not all like this and I don't know if the Griffon has the same characteristics.

What sort of insurance premiums do they command? Just asking because I know you have even researching insurance for other breeds

Sue Hanson has done Obedience and Working Trials with her Korthals.

It may not be the breed you think unless it was handed in with papers. It may be a GWP, a crossbreed or any large Poodle cross. Some of the Labradoodles look like a wire haired gundog.

Rescues are not the best at guessing breeds. My local one advertised a Bichon, but the dog was black. They also call any small fluffy or scruffy looking dog a Poodle cross and I'm sure some are terriers that just need a trim!

If you like the dog and he's clicked with you, that's all you need to know really.  You can research the heck out of Korthals Griffons, only to find that he, as an individual, doesn't quite fit the description.  The beauty of a 5yo rescue is you know exactly what you are getting - he already is what he will become, as he's mature. 

Still - he is a HPR breed and it would be good to do a bit of reading up on those.  Korthals Griffons tend to range less far than many other HPR breeds...

I would assume they do know as it’s not a well known breed, tbh I haven’t heard of them before and I thought I knew most dog breeds. So I can imagine the rescue wouldn’t immediately think it was this breed unless they actually had been told it. Surprised that this kind of dog would end up in an ordinary rescue though and not the breed rescue or back to breeder. I wonder what the back story is, it would be worth the OP finding out.

All I was told was that , the owner is dying from cancer and the manger of the rescue is her sister so trusts her sister more to find him a good home. He has KC papers that confirm he's a Korthal Griffon. That's all I know.

That sounds ok, at least he has his KC papers.

I should go and see him again and stay as long as you can and really get to know him. In the meantime, read up as much as you can on the breed and see how you feel.

Zara he sounds lovely.  As he's 5years old I agree that you pretty much know what you're getting.  I'm sure he'll suit you and that you will love him to bits.

I don't know what 'type' (eg active, energetic etc) of dog you think your suited to but if these have a natural hunting trait they will need to be well exercised & might need quite bit of OB training, I think you be better asking the breed club about those points & anything else

> I think you be better asking the breed club about those points & anything else

The OP has already been given the link to do so.

She has already explained that he is well behaved.

And please contact his breeder to tell him/her where the dog is.

Hi all

Well I didn't get him as I spoke with the breed club ( I phoned the number on the website of the link) and I spoke with a very lovely and helpful woman and after telling her my past experience with my Golden and what I was looking for her advice was that the Korthal Griffon is not for me , she said I strongly advice against one as she said what you described what you want really is another Golden she said they tick all your requirements and I think you are longing for another golden without realising it, the perfect breed is right under your nose. She also asked for the details of the rescue as she said most breeders put in the contract of sale to be returned to the breeder as they are a specialist breed and are not for everyone and need a certain type of person to get the best out of the dog so he should really be either back with his breeder or in our breed  rescue so he gets that special type of home for him. I gave her the details as she was concerned for him as she said normal rescues won't know enough about the breed and there special \breed requirements that make them unique and not for everyone.

She said that I should get another Golden as she said they are what your describeing and you are clearly a Golden owner

I'm glad she's going to help him as she said the first step is to find out his KC name and the Kennel he came from as then I can look at the papers and see if he should have been returned and speak with the breeder , if he's not from a good breeder ( which she said us unlikely but it can still happen even in rare breeds) then we will want to take him on as we're more experienced with the breed to make sure he gets the right home.

She also advise bro get a boy as they tend to be more aloof not always but tend to more than girls.

> Surprised that this kind of dog would end up in an ordinary rescue though and not the breed rescue or back to breeder.

Sadly owners sometimes fail to contact the breeder, or especially relatives may be unaware.

This is a very rare breed, and this dog may potentially be a real loss to the gene pool.

> She also asked for the details of the rescue as she said most breeders put in the contract of sale to be returned to the breeder as they are a specialist breed and are not for everyone and need a certain type of person to get the best out of the dog so he should really be either back with his breeder or in our breed  rescue so he gets that special type of home for him. I gave her the details as she was concerned for him as she said normal rescues won't know enough about the breed and there special \breed requirements that make them unique and not for everyone.

This is a constant issue breed rescues face with general rescue who mostly refuse to work with the people who know their breeds best.

It's even worse when the breeder and/or the owner of the sire offer to help and are rebuffed. As breeders we ant o act responsibly and are sometimes prevented.

When i was years ago looking at a rescue dog i found many small nunerical breeds in general rescue. I actually alerted the breed rescues to them but was told that the rspca and dogs trust very rarely relinquish them over to a breed rescue. Why would they when money is more important than the welfare of the breed

It's pretty sad.  We have our club members and Facebook breed group members keep their eyes open and then post whereabouts of the dogs for the folk looking for an older one. 

We often have people waiting on an older dog who will take a chance on an unknown quantity.

Those breeders who find it is one of theirs are usually absolutely distraught. Happened recently, and has resulted in one or two never breeding again, which with a KC registration figure of around 50 a year we cannot afford.

Sadly most of the ones in rescue are from commercial breeding across the Irish sea.

When I was at school they ran a week were one could do various activities & I (obviously) opted for dog one, this included a visit to Battersea. When we saw a number of Whippets we asked them to contact JR Whippet Rescue, they said its not something they do & that was 33 years ago.
It is a shame that they don't work with breed rescues to rehome them what ever breed it is (rare or popular) :(

One was an Elkhound. Anither a Samoyed. Bernese have been handed and i know all breed rescues were refused take tjem on. I kniw in some circs people from rescue go and get the dog as an adopter

On the other hand an all breed rescue used to contact the breed rescue if they had anything remotely like the breed. My friend kept a few that were not even crosses of the breed but once she saw them she couldn't leave them

Well, I don't know... I have had many HPRs over the years and some of them really are nothing like what they are said to be.  I'd have put more faith in the rescue kennel knowing the individual dog and telling you it was the right dog, than in the advice of someone generally on an entire breed, who has never met the specific dog you were looking at....