Developed by, and taking their name from the Dutchman Eduard Karel Korthals, the Korthals Griffon is a rough-haired multi-purpose Hunt/Point/Retrieve breed (HPR) designed to fulfil multiple roles in the hunting field. At the time, hunters were not particularly concerned with the appearance of the dog, as long as their conformation was sound and the dog could easily be seen in cover – they were far more concerned with working ability. Korthal’s goal was a rough coated working dog that bred true – in other words, puppies could be expected to resemble their parents – and worked well on all types of terrain, all game and all-weather conditions, a tall order indeed!
Korthals created his breed from the existing pointing dogs from France, Belgium and Germany, and almost certainly culled (removed from his breeding programme) anything that did not make the grade. In a short time, he produced a stable type that worked well, and at the invitation of Prince Albrecht zu Solms-Braunfels, he was invited to take over the training of the Prince’s Pointers. He took five young Griffons with him and continued his breeding program, started the first Stud Book in 1872 and eventually from around 600 pups, registered 62 in the Stud Book.
Korthals died at the early age of 45, but his work was continued by his friends in Germany, Holland, France and Belgium. The dogs proved popular for working on pheasant, grouse, woodcock and snipe but also for tracking boar and other large, wounded game such as deer.
It is likely that Korthals Griffons were first shown at Crufts in 1892, certainly ‘Griffons’ are mentioned in the schedule, but they were also shown 4 years earlier at Barn Elms in 1888.
Very few Korthals Griffons exist in the UK today, with the first four reintroduced in 2001/2002, and the breed is on the Import Register where they will remain until they are seen in the show ring in larger numbers. Most of the Korthals Griffons in the UK are working dogs as well as pets, as the breed retains an excellent working ability and strong desire to hunt.