Korthals' breeding line began in 1874 with "Mouche", who would be used as its foundation bitch, as well as five other dogs described as "Griffons": Janus, Satan, Banco, Hector, and Junon. He interbred the dogs carefully until offspring were produced that resembled his idea of an ultimate hunting dog. In any event, the resulting offspring (Moustache I, Lina, and Querida) are referred to as the "Korthals Patriarchs" because they are the Griffon's direct ancestors. In 1888 the first "griffon club" was formed as an international organization with local clubs in Bavaria "Southern German Griffon Clue" in 1895, in Belgium the "Royal Belgium Griffon Club" (1895) in France "French Wirehaired Griffon Club (1901) soon followed.