A German Spitz has no hunting drive!

The old, big Spitz was always a first-class farm dog who rarely left the farm and had little interest in tracks and game. In addition, the Spitz is large enough to impress as a guard dog, although it is much more vigilant than most other breeds and should it be necessary, the Spitz will take action. This leads to all sayings like  "Dogs that bark don't bite" ad absurdum: the Spitz barks and bites when there is no other option. However, it must be emphasized here that the Spitz is not an aggressive dog. Anyone who used to go quietly on their way, past the dung heaps where the farm dog was always on the lookout, was left unmolested by the large Spitz. On the other hand, anyone who stopped or behaved conspicuously had to expect to be attacked. The old wagon Spitz also had to be an absolutely reliable companion, guarding the belongings on the wagon and not caring about the game that stood to the left and right of the path. For these guard dogs there could be no poaching or straying because their area was the wagon with its precious cargo. 

The German Spitz or Wolfspitz is a naturally very tough, sharp and attentive guard dog that is not easily impressed by anyone. He is a loyal companion who is resistant to flattery and is always somehow "toujour en vendette". He doesn't like to laze around because watching is his life's work. The Spitz is robust against all weather conditions and undemanding to keep. All of this has guaranteed the Spitz its place and its areas of responsibility among humans over the past centuries. It therefore made sense to bring him out of obscurity again and advise the peasantry to take care of him. 

As early as the 1930s, the "Reichsjagdamt" (Reich Hunting Office) remembered the Wolfsspitz and recommended its reintroduction as a farm dog through the relevant hunting authorities. The Reichsjagdamt paid the hunting district offices very substantial subsidies in order to be able to purchase suitable stud dogs, and so it came about that the Wolfsspitz was bred in individual regional associations of the German Hunting Association. Whenever a poaching dog was killed, it was ensured that the owner of the dead dog got a Wolfspitz cheaply. 

Incidentally, there were already plans to set up a “Zentralstelle für Spitzzucht” (central office for Spitz breeding). Unfortunately, the war ruined these plans, but individual hunting groups nevertheless began systematically breeding Wolfspitz in the 1940s. The kennel names of the puppies registered at the time provide information about this, kennel names such as “vom Jagdkreis Rosenheim”, “vom Jagdgau Baden” etc. Old kennel names that end in “-hof” (-yard) also indicate that the breeding here was mainly carried out by farmers and hunting associations. 

At a meeting of the Hessian hunting cynological working group, Denner's reports on the Wolfsspitzes were received with great interest, and it was subsequently decided to carry out an own "Wolfsspitz campaign" from now on. The purpose of this campaign was to replace poaching dogs in rural communities with the large Spitz. The Hesse State Hunting Association now also bred Wolfsspitzes themselves under the kennel name “Hessen”. Interested farmers could buy a puppy there for a contribution towards expenses of 50 DM (the normal puppy price at that time was 150 DM). Planning and monitoring of breeding remained in the hands of the state hunting association. It also held breeding shows himself in order to have the dogs licensed from the age of nine months. The association also took care of entering the puppies in the register of the German Spitz Club itself, as they had experienced that only purebred dogs offered the guarantee of having the desired farm loyalty and the lack of hunting drive. In order to be able to carry out breeding at all, the LJV had to become a member of the German Spitz Club and comply with its breeding regulations.

At the beginning, the State Hunting Association of Hesse deliberately decided not to go public or to the press with its campaign, as they rightly feared that there would then be such a great demand for Wolfsspitzes that they would not have been able to satisfy. This would probably have jeopardized the action, or at least not been beneficial to it. So they quietly worked towards setting up new breeding facilities in order to have enough young dogs at a later date. For a better overview and stricter monitoring, breeding center managers responsible for the individual breeding centers were appointed. These were either Wolfspitz owners from the countryside or hunters, who also had a great interest in breeding and the campaign, and who quickly took the lovable Wolfspitz into their hearts. The kennel managers also monitored the proper breeding of the puppies, as well as the keeping and care of the puppies, and also made sure that in the event of any missteps with foreign-bred male dogs, puppies from such relationships were killed. They were therefore important sponsors of the “Wolfsspitzaktion”. 

When planning the entire breeding process, a particular focus was placed on getting male and female dogs with fresh blood into the individual breeding facilities when purchasing the breeding animals, so that one day they would not find themselves at the end of all efforts due to a breeding base that was too narrow. This was not always easy, as the Spitz was no longer very common in the 1960s. The dogs were purchased at dog shows and from abroad, among other things. The Hessian State Hunting Association also contacted the chairman of the Austrian Spitz Club, Dr. Gottlieb, because the Austrian club was carrying out a kind of “Wolfsspitz campaign” at the same time. Among other things, the exchange of puppies between Austria and Germany was planned. 

At the dog show in Frankfurt/Main in 1963, 11 Wolfsspitzes from the “Edersee” kennel of the Hesse State Hunting Association were presented to the judges. The state hunting association even held its own annual breeding show, at which the offspring were judged. This is also where the pedigrees were handed out to the owners. All of this was unlikely to contribute to the improvement of the breed, as only Wolfspitzes that showed the desired characteristics in terms of domestic loyalty and alertness were considered for breeding. On May 26, 1963, a breeding show took place in Goddelsheim, at which 20 Wolfsspitzes and also Black Giant Spitzes appeared for getting the permission to breed with them, all of which (except for one) met the requirements.

In 1965 there were already 36 breeding centers with a total of 106 Wolfspitzes and black Giant Spitzes in 20 districts of the State Hunting Association of Hesse. The trust in the reputation of the “non-poaching Wolfspitzes” had also been placed in the German Giant Spitzes! In Austria, at the same time, white Giant Spitzes were sold to farmers by the Carinthian hunters. The hunters also subsidized the purchase of a white Giant Spitz (only this breed) with 300 Austrian Schillings. The Styrian hunting community was also interested in this breed, and a Mr. Pichler - at that time the largest hunting landsowner in Heiligenblut am Großglockner - bought a total of 20 white Giant Spitzes to give them to the farmers in his area. None of the animals were ever observed poaching or straying.

In 1968, the Hesse State Hunting Association visited international breeding shows for the first time, after only taking part in breeding shows at district level in recent years. So now they went public with their “Wolfsspitz campaign”. The black Giant Spitz "Lauritz Hessen" exhibited by the Hesse State Hunting Association was able to achieve V1 (first place) four times at four exhibitions and for the first time a group of black Giant Spitz was exhibited at the dog show in Wiesbaden, which also placed well. This group attracted great interest from visitors and exhibitors because a state hunting association was a breeder of a non-hunting dog breed. What a sensation! While this was initially strange and inexplicable to the audience, the campaign received great praise and recognition after explaining the reasons for their breeding program.  

In total, the Schleswig-Holstein State Hunting Association bred a total of 273 puppies between 1957 and 1972. The Hesse State Hunting Association was able to register a total of 209 puppies between 1964 and 1973, and 53 black Giant Spitz puppies were also bred there between 1965 and 1968. 

In 1974, the “Wolfsspitz Campaign” unfortunately reached too large a scale and subsequently became too expensive, meaning that the campaign was no longer viable for the associations. The breeding of the large Spitzes was gradually left to private individuals, and the State Hunting Associations were seen only as intermediaries. 

Nowadays, the much-quoted “lack of hunting-drive” is unfortunately no longer a selection feature in current breeding. Because many Spitzes live in fenced-in properties and only know deer and poultry from the zoo, no one can really say how strong their instinct to hunt and prey is. It is not very unlikely that adult Spitz dogs have a tendency to hunt, as they noticeably like to retrieve, like to carry objects around with them and shake them off, or go on wild chases with other dogs. 

But despite the presence of these hunting Spitz specimens, the fact is that the real German Spitz - the actual Spitz - has never been a poacher. Not only because he lacked interest in hunting, but also because of his body, his short back, which made him a very bad hunter. These characteristics clearly show that it is the symbiosis of exterior and interior that makes the Spitz a Spitz. Therefore, one cannot simply classify characteristics as "less important" and subsequently no longer promote them in breeding (such as the short back) and think that this would have no consequences for the German Spitz as a breed in the holistic sense.

Likewise, the hunting associations would certainly not have adopted the Spitz for no reason or even bred him themselves - completely trusting in his reputation as a reliable farm dog - if the Wolfspitz or the black Giant Spitz had shown even the hint of a hunting drive back then. In the 1950s to 1970s, the Spitz was even advertised in the trade magazines “Der Deutsche Jäger” and “Wild und Hund” (hunter's magazines) as showing no interest in hunting. In a standard book for hunters ("Die Jägerprüfung"/ "The Hunter Examination"), the comments on paragraph 25 of the hunting law still answer the question  "Which breed of dog is recommended for the country as a guard dog?" with "The German Giant Spitz or the Wolfsspitz. They don't poach."

Therefore, the answer to whether the German Spitz is a hunter or not is quite simply “no”. The Spitz doesn't hunt!