Form & Function: An Important Part of Helping Dogs Live Long, Healthy Lives

A longtime breeder of German Wirehaired Pointers, Laura Reeves is an expert on how a dog’s form can impact its function. It is a subject dear to her heart.  

Over multiple generations of Wirehairs bred under the Scotia kennel name, Reeves, of Grants Pass, Oregon, has produced dogs that have earned over 100 titles in conformation, agility, obedience, hunt tests, field trials and tracking. Add to this, she worked 25 years as a professional dog handler, is an AKC judge and the host of the popular podcast Pure Dog Talk.  

“Form developed because of a dog’s function,” Reeves told attendees during her talk on the subject last fall at the AKC Breeders Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. “It starts with the breed standard, which is the blueprint for building a structurally sound dog that can do its job.” 

Only the day before her talk, Reeves was part of the gallery at the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America National Field Trial in Lincoln, Nebraska. She had a fresh picture in her mind of the versatile hunting dog that exudes the qualities of the breed standard.  

As they hunted birds, staunchly pointed game and were steady to wing and shot, they were a testament to how a dog with proper form can perform the function for which the breed was developed. More than training and talent, they depicted why form and function matter in breeding programs. 

“All dogs whether they are pets or performance or show dogs need to be structurally sound as described in their breed standard to live long, healthy lives,” Reeves says. “Although form and function is often misunderstood, it literally means that the ‘form,’ or shape of the dog, is dictated by its function or job. 

“The breed standard describes the ‘ideal’ dog of the breed, the one that did the job the best, when the original breed standard was written. The essence of type in any breed should lie in the breed’s original purpose.” 

In the book, “How Form Should Follow Function in the English Cocker Spaniel,” author Genelle Joseph talks about how proper type relates to the breed’s purpose.  

Reeves told attendees, “Joseph writes, ‘From the opening paragraph of the standard, the English Cocker Spaniel is described as an active, merry sporting dog, standing well up at the withers and compactly build. He is alive with energy, his gait is powerful and frictionless, capable of covering ground effortlessly and penetrating deep cover to flush and retrieve game. His enthusiasm in the field and the incessant action of his tail while at work indicate how much he enjoys the hunting for which he was bred.’” 

Many of the qualities of the English Cocker Spaniel are applicable to the Cocker Spaniel, as they share the same early roots as merry, biddable sporting dogs. Both breeds began as flushing bird dogs whose job was to work in dense cover. 

After nearly 10 years of breeding Cocker Spaniels as family companions, Jen Bontrager, owner with her husband, Dale, of Five Star Canine Kennel in Shipshewana, Indiana, was thrilled with the opportunity to bring a show bloodline into her breeding program.  

Among the differences she has noticed, Bontrager says, “We can see the breed’s drive and energy that we could not see in our original bloodline. 

“I always dreamed of owning a champion Cocker Spaniel. I fell in love with the breed and was always looking at them in books and pictures. It has been so hard to find Cockers that look like the breed standard and to get good breeding stock.” 

That began to change in 2021 when the Bontragers got a black female Cocker Spaniel from a prominent conformation bloodline with the intent of finishing the dog’s AKC championship and breeding her. They hired a professional handler, whom they met through an AKC representative. She became their mentor. They attended the American Spaniel Club National Specialty in July 2022 at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri. 

In her own breeding program, Reeves says, “I have always focused on good-looking, good-working, happy, healthy family companions that are successful in a variety of competitions. The vision for the breed’s show and performance dogs is often found in the same puppy. They share attributes of confidence and boldness, a desire to explore independently and a nearly equal desire to interact with humans.” 

“The role of breeders in helping to educate puppy buyers about dog breeds is also tied to the breed standard,” Reeves says.  

“Puppy buyers learn about breeds from studying the standard online on websites of parent clubs, the AKC and other sources as well. The standard tells puppy buyers what to expect in terms of size, coat and temperament. Part of breeders’ job is to educate puppy buyers,” she says. 

“Purebred dogs are a living history in which each recognized breed is a conduit to specific people, places and times in history,” Reeves says. “Purpose-bred dogs were developed by humans to serve a specific purpose. Some guarded flocks, others moved flocks to new pastures, some moved goods to market, and others guarded their people and property. Hunters brought food to the table.  

“These inherited behaviors, such as pointing, herding and guarding, have both a genetic and an environmental component in how they are manifest in dogs. The role of responsible breeders is to produce dogs that adhere to the breed standard as closely as possible so they can physically do the job they were bred to do.” 

At Five Star Canine Kennel, Bontrager says learning about the breed standard and proper form and function has been an eye-opening journey. They currently have a buff and white female being shown by their professional handler. Two young Cockers out of their first show Cocker female will be shown in the future. 

“Going forward, we will continue breeding our show Cockers, as the females from our original bloodline are retiring,” Bontrager says. “We are still learning. I hope to go to more shows and get more experience. I also hope I can set an example and help educate more breeders.” 

Reflecting on the vision of German Wirehairs, a breed developed in Germany in the late 1800s to hunt upland birds and waterfowl across varied hunting lands, Reeves repeats her message. “All dogs, whether pets or performance or show dogs need to be structurally sound as described in the breed standard to live long, healthy lives.”  

How to Incorporate the Breed Standard into Your Breeding Program

• Study the breed standard for your breed, learn about the breed’s original purpose and look at photos of quality dogs of your breed in books and magazines. 
• Attend dog shows to observe the characteristics that are deemed important for your breed and to learn from breeders, owners and handlers. 
• Find a mentor who can advise you about proper form and function for your breed and can help you get started by finding breeding stock and making sound breeding decisions. 
• Attend a sporting event for your breed to observe how the dogs work and how their form affects their function.