[music playing] Kelly:   A four-legged friend joins us in studio for  this episode of the Paw Report.

This breed   is known for being friendly, devoted, and  absolutely trainable.

Trainer and dog owner,   Ruth Vogel, is our guest and  she'll talk about the hardworking,   outgoing, and eager Wirehaired  Pointing Griffon.

Stay with us.

[music playing] Male voice:   It's almost impossible to imagine life without  internet today.

It keeps us connected to work,   school and loved ones no matter where they are.

Fidium fiber internet now serves over a million   locations providing reliable, consistent service  that keeps these connections strong.

From vibrant   cities to quiet rural areas, fiber broadband is a  key driver of economic growth.

Fidium is dedicated   to supporting communities and enhancing lives  through this essential technology.

Learn more   at Fidiumfiber.com.

Olivia:   At Tender Touch Grooming, we groom dogs of all  sizes and breeds tenderly.

Our team pampers your   furry friend with care, because every pet deserves  a tender touch.

Appointments are available via   text at (217) 317-9489.

Rameen:   The Paw Report on WEIU is supported by Rural King,  America's farm and home store, livestock feed,   farm equipment, pet supplies and more.

You can  find your store and more information regarding   Rural King at ruralking.com.

Rob:   Dave's Decorating Center is a proud supporter  of The Paw Report on WEIU.

Dave's Decorating   Center features the Mohawk Smartstrand Silk  Forever Clean carpet.

Dave's Decorating Center,   authorized Mohawk color center in Charleston.

Kelly:   Thanks for joining us for this episode of the  Paw Report, and it's fitting, it's called the Paw   Report because we have four paws with us today,  and of course, a human friend too.

We'd like to   welcome Ruth Vogel and her buddy Hart to the Paw  Report program today for a special episode on   well, Hart and his breed.

So thank you so much for  joining us, Ruth.

We appreciate you traveling from   Effingham County to join us in Charleston.

Ruth:   Happy to be here.

Kelly:   And this is Hart.

We're going to, as we always put  our new guest on the spot, introduce yourself and   talk about your introduction into being  a pet mom and training Mr. Hart here.

Ruth: Okay.

I'm   Ruth Vogel.

I have been training dogs since I  think 1985, which kind of gives away my age.

My first dog was a Rottweiler and within a week,  I knew I had to do obedience training with him.

Had several other Rottweilers after that,  and just got hooked on the sport of dogs.

Kelly: And Hart-   Ruth: Here.

Kelly: There you go, Hart.

Ruth: Good boy.

Kelly: Introduce us to Hart and   how you migrated from having Rottweilers to now,  maybe you can introduce us to the breed of Hart,   how you introduced yourself to the Griff.

Ruth:   Okay.

This is Hart.

Moonshine's Hart Beats Red,  White, and Blue.

He is a Wirehaired Pointing   Griffon, a versatile hunting dog, fur and fowl.

Though in the States, mostly they're used for   upland game and waterfowl.

I was watching the  Westminster Kennel Club dog show one evening-   Kelly: Like all of us do.

Ruth: Yes,   thinking about a different breed of dog and I  saw the loveliest, we call them WPGs, on there,   Fireside's Rollicking Ruckus.

And the name  caught me.

The look of the dog caught me,   so I started researching.

Looked at that dog's  pedigree, looked at that whole breeding program   and thought, "Well, that's probably where I  want to get mine."

And mostly, I thought I was   going to have to drive to one of the coasts, East  Coast or West Coast to get him.

As it happened,   I was at a dog show in Des Moines, Iowa,  showing one of my Rotties, and they have   a Meet the Breed program and somebody had written  in Wirehaired Pointing Griffon and I looked under   the table and there was a Wirehaired Pointing  Griffon who lived about 30 miles from me.

Kelly: Oh my goodness.

Ruth: And just the pedigree I'd been looking at,   so I was delighted.

Talked with the owner.

She told me they would be breeding her if   she passed her health clearances before her next  cycle.

She did pass her health clearances.

They   did breed her, but in the meantime, the breeder  checked me out, asking our mutual acquaintances,   "Would Ruth be a good person to have one of  my dogs?"

And apparently, I passed the test.

Kelly: Yeah.

You said you did research,   and I know that's just not a few clicks on the  internet.

I'm sure you spent some time learning   and getting to know the breed and understanding,  which we're going to get into more about it,   but I'm sure you spent some time doing that.

Ruth:   I did.

I looked at pedigrees.

I saw common dogs  in different pedigrees that were producing coming   down to the look that I really liked, which is  what that particular kennel was producing.

I   checked with the American Wirehaired Pointing  Griffon Association, which is the AKC parent   Club for Griffs, and looked at what they required  for health clearances for breeding stock.

Learned   that overall, that Griffs were pretty healthy.

And I thought as a sporting dog, being able to   work in the field away from the handler,  go out and find their birds and be steady   while the bird is flushed and shot, and I  said, "well, that would fit with my like   of obedience and tracking."

And of course,  I love a beautifully structured dog also.

Kelly: And that he is, and I know you have another   Griff at home.

His name has some significance too.

I know that when I was first introduced to you,   I kept calling him Hank.

I don't know why.

I guess he kind of looks like a Hank.

Ruth: I bet there are a lot of Griffs named Hank.

Yes.

Kelly: But this beautiful boy, his name is Hart.

Tell us again his papered name, maybe a little bit  about his litter, and how he got his name, Hart.

Ruth: Okay.

His full registered name,   without titles is Moonshine's Hart Beats Red White  and Blue.

Hart is spelled H-A-R-T. Moonshine's   is the kennel name.

The breeder happens to like  moonshine.

And all of Hart's roan marking here,   the mixed colors, when the puppies are born,  that's almost a solid white and the dark is so   dark, it's almost black, though a Griff should  never have black.

On his right shoulder here,   is a marking that's just kind of a lopsided heart.

The red, white and blue part came because they   were whelped on July 3rd.

So the whole litter,  nine of them as I recall, all had some sort of   patriotic theme.

He has a sister named Sparkles.

Kelly:   Well, I tell you what, he has a big heart.

I  greeted you at your vehicle and he was wagging   away and slobbering away and wanting to give  kisses.

And then when we walked into the building,   every person he greeted, he just came up,  gave a kiss and wagged his tail.

So big heart,   he definitely has.

Ruth:   He is very friendly and social.

Kelly:   You talked about doing a lot of research and you  mentioned that, but you also probably had to do   some research on the history of these dogs, and  these dogs date back to the 1800s.

Tell us about   their origin.

Ruth:   Yes, they do.

I'm going to  have to look at my notes here.

Kelly: Absolutely.

That's okay.

Ruth: The person who developed the breed   was Eduard Karel Korthals.

He lived from 1851 to  1896.

Died at a very young age.

He was the son of   a wealthy banker and cattle man, and he also, in  1873, started breeding to create what he called   the ultimate walking hunter's dog.

They're bred  to be hunting behind with the hunters walking.

Some of the other field dogs are bred  to where the hunters are on horseback,   but he's the walking hunter's field dog.

Of course, it's training in part,   but he'll go out, he'll come back, he'll  go out, he'll come back.

Always comes back   to check on me.

So probably within 20 years,  Mr. Korthals had developed what he considered   the Korthals Griffon, it was called, in Europe  at the time.

He had some friends helping him   with the program, but it's amazing that in  just 20 years, he developed what he wanted.

Historically in Europe, the Griffon was a type of  a dog.

It was a wire coarse-coated dog rather than   a breed of a dog.

So Mr. Korthals took several  of these different Griffons, maybe some setter,   maybe some pointer, he kept very careful records,  and developed the Korthals Griffon.

In the States,   it's the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon.

Kelly:   What are some of its traits?

And I'm sure you can  point them out with Hart here, but personality and   coat, and those types of things.

I'm sure the list  is long, but you could go through some of them.

Ruth: Yeah.

Well, the coat, obviously,   should be a Wirehaired coat.

The dark hair is  softer because that's considered an undercoat.

They're double-coated.

These white hairs are the  coarse coats.

And yes, they do shed.

As I showed   you earlier, they shed.

Kelly:   Not like a Lab- Ruth:   No.

Kelly:   But they shed?

Ruth:   It rolls up into dust puppies in your house.

Kelly:   And you mentioned as far as  height and weight, he's standard.

Ruth: He's a tad   over the standard.

There is a written standard  for every breed of dog that AKC recognizes.

The   Griff standard for males is 22 to 24 inches at  the Withers, which is the top of the shoulder.

He's just a tad over that.

The Griff standard  says that oversize is to be severely penalized,   but it's not a disqualifying fault.

So when I show  him in the confirmation ring, if the judge likes   him better than the others, he will- Kelly:   Kind of let that- Ruth:   Yeah.

And I've had them tell me he is oversize  and that goes against the...

I understand that.

Kelly: Right, right.

What about energy level?

He's   obviously taking a little snooze right now.

Energy  level, good with families, his activity level,   those types of things.

Ruth:   He does have an off switch, as you can  see.

He travels beautifully.

We can go   across country and never hear a peep  out of him in his crate in the back.

Kelly: Good family dog?

Ruth: Yes.

Kelly: You said he'll sit in your chair at home   and he's just right there with you, and- Ruth:   He's always with me.

He follows me from place to  place to place in the house.

Maybe that's how he   gets some of his exercise.

Kelly:   Gets his steps in, right?

Ruth:   But as soon as I let him out the door, he is off.

In our relatively small backyard, he chases Tweety   birds, he chases bird shadows.

Kelly:   Do you chase cicadas?

Because right now,  we've got those all over the place, bud.

Ruth: Yeah.

Kelly: What about with kids?

I would   assume that he loves people.

Ruth:   He loves people.

He has been good with all the  kids that he has met.

It's rare to find a Griff   with an aggressive or a dangerous personality.

In  their hunting test, they have to hunt as a brace,   two dogs loose together.

They have to get along  with other dogs and with the other hunter in   the field.

And when he's tested, there will be  two judges, two gunners, bird planters, and the   two handlers and the two dogs all in the field  at the same time.

Hart here.

Hart.

Good boy.

Kelly: He's a tireless hunter.

He   loves lots of rigorous exercise, top-notch  hunter, swimmer, pointer.

All accurate?

Ruth: Yes.

Yes.

I had the good fortune to get acquainted   with a lady not far from here who raises German  Shorthaired Pointers.

Hart, good boy.

Sit.

Good   boy.

And she has done a test with her dogs,  and so she was able to train me to train him.

Kelly: Now you mentioned German Wirehaired   Pointer.

Different than Griff.

Ruth:   Yes.

Entirely- Kelly:   Hart.

I'm sorry.

Ruth:   Entirely separate breed.

The German Wirehair,  in my opinion, and I'm not an expert on this,   is probably a little taller dog, certainly  less coat than him, though you would find some   with a heavy coat and they might be a little more  hardheaded than a Griff, though I'm not absolutely   sure of that.

Kelly:   What about some other grooming, exercise,  nutrition?

And we're going to spend some   time doing training because that's what you focus  a lot of your energy on, but just somebody that's   out there curious about this breed, what are  some of the other things that you can tell us   about those aspects?

Ruth:   They do require some grooming.

For the show ring,  we hand-strip them, as I showed you how some of   the hair comes out and you can literally  pull the hair out, pull out the dead hair,   which takes his coat down.

Kelly:   Exercise?

Ruth:   Lots of it.

On the groom- Kelly:   Being a hunting dog?

Ruth:   Yeah.

On the grooming, this is one of  the types of combs we use because the...   Kelly: Oh yeah.

Ruth: The tines roll.

Kelly: Oh.

Ruth: And it goes through that wire coat easily.

Kelly: But lots of exercise.

Ruth: Yes.

When we go out sometimes, I might   walk a mile, mile and a half and I'm sure he's  covering 10 because he's off lead.

Fortunately,   with all of his training, if we run into wildlife,  I've been able to call him off the wildlife.

To this point, I've called him off a running  deer, a running cat and a running rabbit...   Kelly: You follow commands, Hart.

That's good.

Yes.

So let's talk about commands and training,  because you spend a lot of time to this day doing   that with him.

Take us through when he was a pup  and what you've been through with him and what you   continue to do today and how important it is.

Ruth:   Well, we went to Pennsylvania to get him.

I  said I'd have to go to the East Coast, but once   we got him home and he'd had his second round of  vaccines, then the first thing I did was put him   in a little harness and we went tracking, which is  one of the things I love.

It's an AKC sport where   they're in harness on a 30 to 50-foot line and  they have a start point with a personal article   of the person who walked and laid the track.

And just from their nose, with me as a handler,   not knowing where it goes, theoretically.

In  training, I do know where it goes, but for a test,   I don't know where the track goes, and he has  to use his nose to follow that person's scent on   the ground and find whatever articles were left.

That's what I love the most.

I always do obedience   training with my dogs because what the heck?

It's  fun and it's nice to have an obedient dog.

If I   hadn't trained him, I wouldn't have been able to  call him off that deer or the rabbit and the cat.

Kelly: Or bring him in an environment like this-   Ruth: Exactly.

Kelly: ... where it's new, it can be   stressful.

There's a lot of lights and new people  and that sort of thing, and he's been perfect.

Ruth: He's had a lot of experience.

He's   been to a lot of shows.

We were in Bloomington  this past weekend, although I couldn't show   him because he had injured a toe.

And you ask  about exercise, that's how he injured a toe,   by just going too hard.

Kelly:   I know you've won a lot of awards, Mr. Hart.

Can  you tell us about all the awards that you've won?

Ruth: The American Wirehaired   Pointing Griffon Association, he's going to  want to stay with you, has an awards program,   and at their awards banquet, in conjunction  with their national specialty each fall,   they give out the annual awards that  one has applied for.

We were in Helena,   Montana for our specialty last fall, and he won  a field dog award, Field Dog of the Year award.

Kelly: Wow.

Ruth: Korthals Griffin Vision.

Kelly: Which is the man that   you talked about was- Ruth:   Yes, and that vision, for that category, one must  be a bench champion, which he is.

He's a grand   champion, plus have field titles to, I believe the  master hunter level, which he is.

He's a master   hunter.

Then there's also the Versatile Griffon  Award, which is where all of my other activities,   the tracking and the obedience work comes  in.

They have six categories, and you   need to give a number of points out of four of  the categories for a Versatile Griffon Award.

Kelly: Have you ever been   called or asked about helping track something or  other than training?

Like Bloodhounds sometimes   are called in for something similar.

Has he  ever been called for anything like that?

Ruth: No, we have not.

Fortunately, in McLean County,   there's a very good search and rescue group that  they get call-outs frequently.

Unfortunately.

Kelly: Right, right.

Ruth: Somebody has inquired about   if I get a deer in the fall and we can't find it,  could he track it?

And I said probably, we'd try.

Kelly: Yeah, yeah.

Ruth: A lot of people use dogs for blood tracking,   which is tracking deer.

Kelly:   Right.

If there's a family out there that maybe  like you is doing some homework, they're seeing   this episode and they're inspired by this breed,  what can you tell them?

What would be some of   the most important things that you could tell  somebody that's considering owning a Griff?

Ruth: Well, first of all, as   a sporting dog, he is high energy.

He's a cuddler  too, but he's high energy.

He needs his exercise.

He needs good quality food.

And if somebody is  considering a Griff, or any breed for that matter,   do your research, find out what the breed was  originally bred for because that is how they're   going to be.

He's bred to be in the field for all  day long, and you'd expect him to be active for   the greatest part of that time.

Kelly:   What gives you, as a pet owner, the most joy  with him?

And I know you have another Griff   at home that's a little bit older, but it's funny  because you said you started off with Rottweilers.

And sometimes, when pet owners get attached to  a breed, that's the breed.

That's what they stay   with and keep because they're comfortable and they  know them.

But what gives you the most pleasure   with this type of dog?

Ruth:   With the Griffs specifically, they're so friendly  and affectionate.

They're soft.

In the training,   you do need to be careful.

You can't be harsh with  them.

My first Griff, after training 15 years of   Rottweilers, I was probably too harsh with him.

And with him, I need to be sure that he's happy in   his training.

We spend a lot of time praising him,  giving him treats.

He's very fond of Swiss cheese,   and it's just when I can get him to understand  what it is I'm asking him to do and he does it   correctly, that's just such a joy to me.

And it  makes him happy too, when I praise and treat him   for, "Hey, I did it right.

She likes it."

Kelly:   Well, we have just a couple of minutes left in  our talk today.

Can you think of any funny, silly   stories that maybe Hank, that you think about  and it just makes you laugh?

Probably several.

Ruth: Probably several.

I have a   friend who refers to Griffs when they're running,  as they look like demented teddy bears, and they   do.

What grabs me every morning is I swear he  hears my eyes open.

He goes into the bathroom,   grabs up the bath mat and brings it to me.

Kelly:   Why the bath mat?

Ruth:   I don't know.

Kelly:   You want a bath mat?

Ruth:   That's just what he chose.

But he is... Hart,  here.

He always has to have something in his   mouth to greet you with.

My husband's shoe, like  his not, because he leaves his shoes around.

He   doesn't chew on things.

Kelly:   Just brings them.

Ruth:   He just brings them.

Kelly:   And the best thing that you could  tell pet owners out there, again,   maybe somebody that has a Griff, getting a  Griff, best advice you could give to them.

Ruth: First, be very careful about   where you obtain your Griff.

I would recommend  people go to the American Wirehaired Pointing   Griffon Association, which is the parent  club.

They have a website, or the NAVDA,   North America Versatile Hunting Dog Association.

They both have breeders' programs.

The AWPGA, in   particular, they have suggested health clearances  where any breeding stock should have hip x-rays,   elbow X-rays, eyes cleared by an veterinary  ophthalmologist, heart cleared by a cardiac   veterinary, and a thyroid test.

But some of them  do have a thyroid problem.

And by getting all   of those things cleared, you're having a better  chance of having a healthy animal, a healthy pet.

Kelly: And a great pet Hart is.

Ruth   Vogel, thank you so much for making the drive to  Charleston to see us and bring your friend, Hart,   and tell us all about the Wirehaired Pointing  Griffon.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Ruth: You're welcome.

Thank you for asking.

Kelly: And thank you, Hart.

It's been a pleasure meeting   you and having a good visit.

And thank you, our  viewers of the Paw Report, for joining us for this   episode.

Until next time, we'll see you then.

Rob:   Dave's Decorating Center is a proud supporter  of The Paw Report on WEIU.

Dave's Decorating   Center features the Mohawk Smartstrand Silk  Forever Clean carpet.

Dave's Decorating Center,   authorized Mohawk color center in Charleston.

Rameen:   The Paw Report on WEIU is supported by Rural King,  America's farm and home store, livestock feed,   farm equipment, pet supplies and more.

You can  find your store and more information regarding   Rural King at ruralking.com.

Olivia:   At Tender Touch Grooming, we groom dogs of all  sizes and breeds tenderly.

Our team pampers your   furry friend with care, because every pet deserves  a tender touch.

Appointments are available via   text at (217) 317-9489.

Male voice:   It's almost impossible to imagine life without  internet today.

It keeps us connected to work,   school and loved ones no matter where they are.

Fidium fiber internet now serves over a million   locations providing reliable, consistent service  that keeps these connections strong.

From vibrant   cities to quiet rural areas, fiber broadband is a  key driver of economic growth.

Fidium is dedicated   to supporting communities and enhancing lives  through this essential technology.

Learn more   at Fidiumfiber.com.

[music   playing]