Stabyhoun

The Stabyhoun belongs to the Frisian woodlands and small holdings east of Leeuwarden, and appears in Dutch writing from the early nineteenth century. Its name is usually read as a contraction of a Frisian phrase meaning roughly stand-by-me dog, which fits the way it was used: working close to a walking gun rather than ranging far ahead like the continental pointing breeds bred for open country.

Frisian farmers could rarely afford specialists. The same dog hunted duck in the ditches, pointed and retrieved for the pot, killed vermin around the buildings and kept watch on the yard. Mole pelts were a real source of income in that region, and the Stabyhoun's usefulness to mole trappers is one of the reasons it survived at all.

The breed shared its territory with the rough-coated Wetterhoun, and for a long period the two were crossed freely. Dutch enthusiasts separated them deliberately in the years around the Second World War, and the Stabyhoun was recognised by the Raad van Beheer, the Dutch kennel club, in 1942. The FCI places it in Group 7 among the pointing dogs. It reached Britain and North America only in the 2000s and is still recorded by the American Kennel Club through its Foundation Stock Service.

A Stabyhoun is a little longer than it is tall, built for stamina rather than speed. Dogs stand around 21 inches at the withers and bitches around 20, with most adults weighing somewhere between 45 and 55 pounds. Nothing about the outline is exaggerated: a moderately long head, a deep but not barrel-shaped chest, and clean, workmanlike legs.

The coat is long, sleek and lies close, with feathering on the forelegs, the back of the thighs and the tail. It is not curly, though a slight wave over the croup is normal. Black and white is far the most common colouring, usually with a solid black head and ticking or roan through the white; brown and white occurs, and orange and white is permitted but rarely seen. The ears hang flat against the head and are covered in hair that shortens towards the tip, which is one of the small details the breed standard is fussy about.

The word Dutch breeders use most is soft. A Stabyhoun is sensitive to tone and to atmosphere, quick to notice when a household is tense, and easily discouraged by heavy-handed correction. Raised voices achieve nothing with this breed and can undo weeks of training.

With its own family it is affectionate and unmistakably attached, usually choosing to lie in whichever room the people are in. It is patient with children and, as a rule, easy with other dogs and with cats it has grown up beside. With strangers it is friendly but slightly reserved at first, and it will announce a visitor at the door without being a nuisance barker.

Left alone for long stretches with nothing to do, the Stabyhoun becomes restless and can develop the usual gundog habits of chewing and digging. It is not a breed that thrives in an empty house all day. Given company, work and a reasonable routine, it is one of the steadier gundogs to live with.

In the field the Stabyhoun still does what it was made for. It hunts at a moderate pace within gun range, points game, marks a fall and retrieves tenderly, and it enters cold water without hesitation. Dutch owners use it on duck and on upland birds, and its willingness to work close makes it forgiving for a handler who is new to gundog work.

Away from shooting, its trainability and moderate size open a lot of doors. Stabyhouns compete respectably in obedience, agility, rally, tracking and scent work, and a steady individual can make a good therapy dog. The breed's calm indoor manner also suits assistance and visiting work, provided the dog gets a proper outlet for its energy elsewhere in the day.