We have a pup!
And the best laid plans aren't always the way things work out. We had counted on coming home with a little female - and after the debates that went on for what her name would be, you'd think we would have stuck with that. We had also planned on spending a couple of hours with the litter and the breeder just to meet them (after all we were getting the only female left over - no choices to make, right?).

Headed out and really enjoyed the drive. It's beautiful country out there. Met up with our breeder, Bill Dove, at his friend's house at 10am - and we didn't leave until after 6pm! And we left with a little male.

Bill with the mother, Jazz, and her pups

The four pups left each had a neat personality difference. The red collar male was very outgoing and wanted to lead everything - but he was careful to always come back and check on you. He wanted to call the shots, but wanted you to agree with him. If Bill walked anywhere, Red was right there next to him. The blue collar male was always off doing his own thing - content to explore on his own, be left behind, or wander. The female was very pretty with expressive eyes and ticking that will turn roan. Her personality was very much like the black collar male. Both of them would roll around together, as would all the pups. If a pup wandered up to us to flop or check us out, though, it was the black collared male.

The four pups drinking. From left to right - blue male, red male, black male, female

Three of the pups jockeying for a pinecone

The female decided to do a bit of gardening - fortunately, she picked a dead plant to start with

Bill gave us all the information to make a choice and let us mull over the options, helped us think through the decisions as I changed it, and supported our decision. We were really torn between the two, but the black collar kept his tail wagging whenever he interacted with us, so the choice was clear. He's the pup that came home with us.

All the pups conked out after playing hard

Bill and the pups in the yard

Jazz and the pups

Jazz and the pups again

We were lucky in that he brought with him the mother of the litter and another female. They both were such happy, well behaved dogs. Jazz, the mother, is a leaner, lankier dog looking more like a setter in the way she's put together. Annie, the other female he brought, was a heavier body type and looked more like a retriever body form.

Annie on the left and Jazz on the right - Jazz is Roark's mother

Chris and Annie and a confused puppy

Jazz being very patient

Back on the road he did a bit of whining, but quieted within a minute or two of starting out after each stop. He investigated every corner of the house and yard, is curious about Patty (and not wary enough for his own good yet) and intrigued by Neko. So far Neko has sized him up and doesn't see him as a real threat, but a bit of an intruder. It looks like that will work out well, though.

He sleeps in his crate and will retrieve his toys. For all the toy planning, the empty paper towel roll is his favorite with pine cones coming in a close second. And his favorite activity is snuffling (named for the sound he makes) - flopping belly down in the long shady grass, and dragging himself forward with his legs laid out behind.

Roark and his paper towel roll - it's replaceable

Roark - he chews a lot

Small Munsterlanders (or Kleiner Munsterlander Vorstehund)
Not a very common breed, the Small Munsterlander (pronounced moonsterlender) these are versatile dogs, meaning that they flush, point, and retrieve. The name comes from the fact that they are the small dog for hunting from the Munster region of Northern Germany. Historically they have been called "the Goshawk dog" for their use in falconry. They are not closely related to the Large Munsterlander, but share the name for the region of Germany where they come from. They are much more closely related to the Drentse or the Drentse Partridge Dog from Spioenem, which is a Dutch dog by way of Spain. It is also thought to be more closely related to the Brittany than the Large Munsterlander. Fairly common in Europe both as hunting dogs and as household companion dogs, they are hardy and genetically sound overall, one reason why we really liked this breed.

Bill Dove's kennels http://www3.telus.net/munsterlander/

Small Munsterlander history http://www.smallmunsterlanderdogs.com/_wsn/page2.html

Small Munsterlander http://www.versatiledogs.com/breeds/smunst.html