Catherine was first introduced to the Deutsch Drahthaar (DD) (translated to German Wirehair) in Germany whilst living there for 12 months on a student exchange. She instantly fell in love with their scruffy faces and unusual wirey coats. The DD is the hunting breed of choice in Germany, bred for versatility as an all round HPR (hunt, point AND retrieve) gundog on both feather and fur. They are also an excellent family dog. In Germany through the wintertime, quite often the dogs live inside. Their temperament reflects this as a dedicated hunter and loving house dog.
 Short, sharp and nostalgic, ‘Hirsch’ was chosen as her prefix. In Germany riding through the Thuringian forests is where she first came across a ‘Hirsch’ (meaning ‘stag’ in German). This seemed a fitting prefix for a German hunting breed.Catherine has been involved with the German Wirehaired Pointer breed for over ten years. She is the only person in Australasia (to date) to have owned and shown two GWP's to their Grand Champion (Gr. Ch.) status. Aust. Gr. Ch. Korskote Stop N Stare 'Bronte' who is not only the youngest, but also the first and only solid liver Gr. Ch. and RUBIS Aust. Gr. Ch. Ostoja All Rapt Up 'Ollie'. Proving that GWP's are a truly versatile breed our dogs are worked as well.  At a show in 2007, Catherine was introduced to a very cool, calm and collected scruffy faced, white baby puppy atop a trolley ringside; not at all like a rambunctious wirehair puppy. This was her first time meeting an Italian Spinone. Upon researching the breed, almost 12 months later ‘Quick’ Aust. Gr. Ch. Pagliaccio Fiorela stepped onto the scene and we haven’t looked back. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her ‘kind, almost human expression’* and ‘social, affectionate’* temperament. Quick has made her mark on the Australian show scene; she was the first Grand Champion Italian Spinone not only in Australia but the world! She was the #1 Gundog Rising Star in 2008 for most of the year until she aged out and finished overall 4th (Dogzonline Pointscore (DOLPS)). She had had over 50 class in group wins, multi in show, group 1 & 2 wins under her belt also- all of this by 2 years of age.  In 2010 Catherine travelled to America to attend the Spinone Club of America (SCOA) National held in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She had the opportunity to witness over 100 Spinoni in all phases of competition- hunt tests, obedience and conformation. She had the chance to handle a young dog, Sweetbriar’s Ecco D’Orro to Reserve Winners Dog at the National under breed specialist Nicola Spencer of Bannonbrig Spinoni from the UK. Whilst in the USA Catherine attended several North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) hunt tests and a training day in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. She was extremely impressed with the hunting abilities of both GWP’s and DD’s. *The Kennel Club- Italian Spinone Breed Standard Located in the Southern Riverina, NSW, Australia. |
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