In North America, despite a very early start—the first wirehaired pointing griffon arrived in the United States in 1887—the breed has always played a minor role on the gun dog scene. Unlike the Brittany and the German shorthaired pointer (which coincidentally were promoted by some of the same individuals who imported some of the first wirehaired pointing griffons) the griffon never really caught the attention of mainstream hunters and field trialers in the United States or Canada.