No. I didn’t invent them. No one in my family did.
But they were developed in the same region (Westfalen/Westphalia) where my ancestors lived in during the Middle Ages.
The breed was founded in the 1970’s, when Manfred Rüter started his breeding program in Dorsten, which is in far western Westphalia near the northern edge of Rhineland.
He originally started crossing fox terriers with Lakelands, but he then outcrossed to the German hunt terrier (Jagdterrier). It is designed to be a versatile hunting dog like the Jadgterrier and the dachshund. They retrieve, trail, and “do terrier work.” Like the Jagdterrier, they may be a little big for some terrier people in this country.
Two other dog breeds come from Westphalia: the Westphalian dachsbracke (the ancestor of the more common drever) and the Kromfohrländer, which was developed in Siegen in South Westphalia.
There is also a strain of warmblood horse, which is called the Westfalen or the Westphalian.
These dogs are now being bred in the United States.
I hope they stick with the name Westfalenterrier and not the English translation of “Westphalian terrier.”
I prefer it only because it’s closer to my last name.
Crossing different breeds of dogs?
Scandalous!
Who would want one of these crossbreeds when you can have a purebred [insert name if closed registry breed working dog here]?
Cool, your ancestors were like Herr Dobermann!
No, they weren’t.
They didn’t even live in Westphalia after about 1300, when they moved east to the area around Stettin, which is now in Poland.
My error.
hmmm… little bit of bullterrier in the nose of that dog…
I am having a hard time distinguishing between this breed and the red fell terriers, which are the working version of the Lakeland.
I think the dog looks good, I’ll have to check into it’s health and temperament before I make a full decision on if I like the breed or not.
Don’t you forget the two ponys that originated in Westfalen!
The Dulmen Pony http://www.hevosmaailma.net/dulmen.shtml
and of course, a childhood favorite of mine, the Westfalen Pony, the pony version of the Westfalian horse:
So different animals as kann be.