The New US German Shorthair Club
In 1993, a small group of dedicated Shorthair fans from across the U.S. & Canada were looking for a better way to test, breed, enjoy & improve their Shorthairs. To that end they invited Claus Kiefer, the long-time President of the Deutsch Kurzhaar Verband (DKV), to come to the United States.

On Monday, April 26th, Claus Kiefer flew over the pole from Frankfurt to Chicago, where he was met by Herb Hasemann of California and Willy Engelking whose King's Kennels are only 20 minutes from O'hare. Claus & Herb stayed at the Engelking place. Tuesday, all three headed for the well-known field trial grounds at Bong Recreation Area to run dogs and Wednesday after showing Herr Kiefer a few of the Chicago sights, they headed northeast some 300 miles in Engelking's motorhome to Port Huron (MI) at the southernmost tip of Lake Huron, arriving about 6:30 PM.

Most of Thursday was devoted to a very enlightening and educational indoor seminar lead by Herr Kiefer, and held at the Blue Water Sportsman's Club. Many questions were asked, and the detailed answers and discussion provided considerable knowledge and a greater understanding of the training, testing, breeding and hunting of the Shorthair.

Fridaythe seminar moved into the field at the nearby Smith Creek Hunt Club where Claus Kiefer demonstrated and explained all that had been discussed on the previous day. He showed how the Derby-for pups up to 15-16 months of age-are tested for nose, search, pointing and cooperation. The same characteristics are tested in the Solms/AZP but because of the increased age and experience of the dogs, the standards are set much higher. Additional Solms/AZP field work includes a variety of retrieving tests, a feathered drag, a furred drag, and a duck search.

On Saturday four pups were officially Derby tested and the practical aspects of the testing process were shown. The Derby is the "youth test" or the "natural ability test". As Herr Kiefer judged, he kept a runing commentary on the reasons for his judging decisions. This added greatly to the learning process. Herb Hasemann and David Peasley assisted Claus since three judges are always required. Herr Kiefer was greatly impressed when all four American-trained Shorthairs recieved a Prize 1. He reported to his DKV compatriots when he returned home, "All four (Derby pups) were extremely well prepared and showed outstanding ability...just like what we expect of an excellent dog in Germany." "...all those attending (the seminar) proved to be knowledgable..." "Some of the dogs presented would even have satified even the greatest demands in Germany."

Sunday May 2nd, 1993, the NADKC was founded. The group, 18 strong, met back at the Blue Water Sportsman's Club to elect officers and orginize the North American Deursch Kurzhaar Club. Herr Kiefer's input also added much to this process. The group set these aims & goals: promote, breed, and improve the Shorthair in accordance with the priciples originated by the Deutsch Kurzhaar Verband; test and breed as recommended by the DKV: sponser, promote, and participate in tests designed to evaluate all of the hunting qualities of the Shorthair and all versatile breeds; familiarize hunters with the history, use value & characteristics of the Deutsch Kurzhaar. Last was a request to President Kiefer for the NADKC to become affiliated with the Deutsch Kurzhaar Verband. That request was taken back to the DKV governing body, and after a one year probation, the NADKC was unanimously granted that afflilation in 1994.