Baxter passed his Wesenstest!

So just a brief update for you all. We had a very eventful week, Simon successfully defended his PhD thesis and now Baxter passed his Wesenstest with flying colors!  Unfortunately Baxter was 2 days too young to also do his Formwert, so we are doing that privately in about a month. I was not able to attend as I had my own challenges today... I'm making a wedding cake for our very good friend's wedding in 2 weeks. So I have baked 9 cakes today, but I still need to bake 3 more and work on the frosting. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyhow, for dogs to be approved for breeding in Switzerland there are 3 things that are needed: Wesenstest, Formwert, and an eye test. The Wesenstest can be performed after the dog is 12 months and the formwert after the dog is 15 months. The eye test can be done at 15 months as well...maybe before, but I don't see the point in having it done unless you plan on breeding your dog. The Formwert is basically a dog show. The judges check the teeth, testicles, tail, etc... make sure that the dog is structurally sound and if it is awarded a SG or V (very good or excellent) they can be bred. 2 judges are present in case of discrepancy. I'm not too worried about the formwert, but we have to wait now until August to have Baxter approved.

Our little guy hanging out after a show

So the Wesenstest is basically a character test for the dog. The dog shouldn't be too afraid or aggressive or needy. These are all traits that aren't good for breeding stock. The test goes something like this:
First the dogs in the test group are unleashed in a field to run around while a shot is fired from a starter pistol. This is to make sure that the dogs aren't afraid of gunshots. The dogs are then called back and the testers proceed one by one.
The next step is an obstacle course where the dog has to go over different surfaces (wood, concrete, metal, etc...), go through tunnels, through hanging bottles, by open umbrellas, boxes, and buckets of toys. All of this  is done off leash, but with the owner and judges walking with the dog. Baxter had no problems and was more than happy to go through all the obstacles. The dog and owner then have to walk past a man with a chainsaw/lawnmower/weed wacker type equipment. Baxter was really interested in this guy and went in for a bit of a closer look. Then the dog and owner have to walk through a crowd of people, again all off leash. One of the people in the crowd read Bax's name off his hunting collar and said "Hi Baxter," which got his attention and made him go all happy, wiggly. All got a little laugh and then it was time to finish the test.
The last part of the test is to check for aggressiveness. The dog is tied up and the owner goes away out of sight. Whining is ok, but aggressive barking is not tolerated. Freddie whined a lot during his wesenstest. Baxter, in Simon's words, "sat there looking like a doofus." No whining, crying, barking, just watching. There are 3 things that go by: a person on a bike, a person with crutches and a hat, and a person with a dog of another breed.

All in all the weather was crappy, but the little guy passed with no problems! Furthermore, even though Simon was alone, there were several other club members that we knew there, so he didn't have to be bored. Now just an eye test and "show" eval and the little guy is ready for breeding. :)

"Self-confident male that mastered the obstacle course with no problems. Again, great dog!"