Trials this weekend

Last year we went down to Italy to participate in our first Dackel trials. The advantage of driving the 4.5 hours to Italy versus sticking around up here and doing trials is:
1.) Timing
2.) Cost
3.) Variety
4.) Need for hunting license

Since neither Simon nor I are hunters and mainly participate in these trials for the fun of working with the dog and harnessing its natural talents, we do not yet have hunting licenses. To participate in certain hunting exams such as blood tracking in Germany or Switzerland, you need to have a hunting license. The German and Swiss hunting licenses are INTENSE. They are, more or less, equivalent to a Master's degree and a lot of work and money. Right now my German is not up to par to pass a test like that and we don't have the time or money at the moment. Several Swiss hunters actually pass the French hunting exam, which is not as intense and perfect for people like us who don't necessarily want to hunt at the moment, but may some day. Right now we just want to be active and train our dogs and will consider studying for the French exam after we are both finished with our degrees.

The variety of tests that you can participate during these weekends are mind boggling. They have fox, tracking, Vp, Sau, etc... Last year at the same trials they had 170 exams in one weekend. Crazy. This was a bit insane and we were only 1 of the 170 signed up for. This year we will participate in 5 exams: Fbja (Italian Fox test without contact), BhFK/95 (according to DTK rules), Sauprüfung (Wild boar test), SchwhP. o. R. (blood tracking without judge), and SchwhK/40 (40 hour old blood tracking). We're hoping for positive results in all trials, but we will see.

The timing for us is great. Italy is warmer and drier this time of year (on average) than Switzerland, so it's a nice winter holiday.

Lastly, the cost. Most things are cheap compared to Switzerland, but these trials are a great deal, especially for first timers like us who just want to try out a bunch of trials and see how our dog does and have fun with it. As members of the DTK/SDC, we would pay ~ 300 Euro ($390) to participate in these 5 trials, in Switzerland we would pay ~250 CHF ($270) for only 2 tests (Switzerland doesn't have the equipment/ability to host Fox tests or Wild Boar tests). With the Italian tests, we will pay around 150 Euro ($195). For PhD students with a limited income that still want to work with the dogs, this is great to try out, plus it's Italy. The food, the sights, and the people are great. It's a really nice weekend.

I can't wait to see how Freddie does and to hopefully see his natural talents shine!