Internationally, the F.C.I. standardizes the outward appearance of a dog in a breed standard. The tests to measure hunting performance, however, vary greatly by country due to tradition and the legal framework. A comparison of international test results is therefore difficult to impossible. In order to internationally preserve the Kleine Münsterländer as a versatile hunting dog—before and after the shot, in the field, forest and water—and to be able to test hunting performance internationally in a comparable fashion, a committee of KlM International has been working together since 2007 on international test regulations for an International Münsterländer Test (IMP). The goal was to develop test regulations which are practical and similar to hunting and which take criteria relevant for breeding into consideration, because KlM- I has found that the breeding of hunting dogs can no longer be managed at the national level alone.
The test regulations were tested in two trial runs, in 2010 in Austria and in 2011 in Germany. The experiences from these two test runs have been incorporated into the revision of the test regulations. The test regulations were agreed upon at the Annual Meeting of KlM International in 2012 and further developed since then.
Furthermore, at the Annual Meeting of KlM International in 2012 the proposal was made to develop additional test regulations at a somewhat lower level, alongside the challenging IMP test regulations at an elite level. This performance hunt test should also serve to determine breeding potential, but at a “basic level”. With this, two International Münsterländer tests can be offered. The test regulations already agreed upon were renamed IMP A. In the future, both tests can be publicized as taking place at the same overall event, and handlers can then decide which test variation they wish to participate in.
The IMP A (selective) is a breed test at the elite level. The IMP B (basic) is, on the other hand, a breed test at a good performance level. In the case of the IMP A, the requirement is having gained national breeding approval, while the IMP B can be completed as a test of natural performance abilities without previous breeding approval. Similar tests of natural abilities have already been practiced for a long time as a Youth Test as well as a Fall Breed Test. With this new scheme they will be combined in one test. Since 2016, a passed IMP B fulfills the requirements for breeding in the mother country Germany. Whether this is possible in other member countries, will have to be discussed with the national KlM-I member countries in the future. As part of making compromises, the national member country may require additional accomplishments in order to obtain breeding approval for performance breeding.