Merry Christmas!!

From Liina (Barbwired Champagne), Baxter (SEVCh, MultiJCh Barbwired Better than the Rest), and Freddie (J, HR JW2011 Fallilou du Sangre Bleu)

... and a few pictures that are still adorable, but didn't make the cut!

Back on Track

I know, I know, what an inactive blog, right? Well, as I stated before, the weather and multiple other factors (life, work) has prevented us from doing a lot of work with 2 of the 3 dogs in the house. Baxter had a great year earning a Swedish and Lithuania CERT as well as getting 2nd prize in underground (gryt) and his Tracking Championship (SEVCH). We neglected our brown dog a bit, though he worked his way towards a fabulous 1st prize underground late this summer, and we decided that it was his turn to go out and have fun! We are still trying to set up a natural underground test for him, but this has been easier said than done. In the meantime, we decided that Fred and Liina would go and do some practice tracks.

So Tuesday we went down to Sjöbo and did some practice tracks despite the rain and crappy weather. Actually, we were supposed to go on Friday, but a strong storm called Alexander put a halt to that. It is fine to be out in the woods in the rain, but high winds and hoping that branches don't land on your head is a whole other matter! We had set up 2 tracks, one 650m track with Fred and one 250m track with Liina, both anlagsklass level (2-5hr old). For Freddie this should have been a walk in the park as he has previously received 2nd prize in Schwhk/20 and 100 pts CACT in a SchwhK/40, but we haven't worked him much in the past year, so we just hoped that he would be as good as ever.
Well, we weren't disappointed. Freddie managed the 650m track in just 17 min and would have been even a bit quicker, but deer had recently been on the track. Freddie was "laut" and would have easily gone after the deer if we would have let him. We took a few minutes and allowed him to calm down and he was back at it. Freddie is interested in wildlife, just as much as Baxter, but very easy to read on the track as when he is off or "uninterested," he looks like a pointer; head up, very stiff. The thing which is great about Fred is that if you stop moving, he immediately goes back to tracking. So a little bit of obedience training with Fred and he'll be fine, he just has to remember exactly why he is out there.

The best treat of the day was Liina. I handled the little one and she was AWESOME! She was super interested in the blood, stayed really well on the track, went back and checked the line, took the corners without hesitation like a pro and plodded confidently and not too quickly (always moving, but not running) to the end of the track. I think that she was fortunate to get a great noise from her mom! She thought it was SO fun and was very proud of herself and her hoof prize. :) She is not yet 9 months old, so she can't officially be tested yet, but I see a bright future ahead of her in tracking!

We will have another round of practices with both of the dogs on 600m+ tracks a few hours old in January if the weather holds up and then testing starts again! Wouldn't it be great to have 3 Champions in the family?

Wandering in the woods on a non-rainy day here in Skåne

What Dachshunds were meant to do!

by: Shelley Ann Jackson & Jeff Crosby

It has been a bit lacklustre around here lately. Show season is over for us as we are choosing not to go to winner shows. We have arranging to do some Drev practice with at least Freddie-maybe Bax- and we hope to set up a Jaktprov with Fred. If all goes well, our brown dog could well be the dackel in this picture. We will keep you posted.

We are slowly but surely doing work with Liina, though it is currently mostly obedience as the weather has been crap. This weekend it was so windy it gave me a bit of anxiety and reminded me of the tornadoes back in Wisconsin. Not fun at all! When it isn't windy, it is quite wet and rainy. Needless to say, not the best weather for tracking training with a young dog. 

Liina is also growing up! She will be 7 months old on Friday. Where does the time go? I think her heat is coming as the boys have started to become quite interested in her and check her out every chance they get. The testosterone factor in the house is also quite high and the boys had a minor scuffle the other day. Both are perfectly fine, but there are a lot of raised tails when they are in a room together. To be on the safe side, we have everyone a bit separated to try and promote a little calm in the house.  

All in all it is ok over here. The days are becoming so short and we are getting less than 8 hrs of daylight around these parts, which will shorten even more in the coming weeks. On top of that, the weather is very grey and I am missing the sun. Sure I grew up in Wisconsin, but I have spent the better part of the decade in warmer, brighter locations (Boulder, CO & Basel, Switzerland), so I forgot what seasonal depression was. Just trying to keep busy and snuggle my pups. :)

Liina's first time in the ring

So our little Liina (Barbwired Champagne) comes from show and working lines. We have already started working her nose with short blood tracks and hoof drags as well as hunting the mice that have been sneaking into our laundry room since the weather is turning cold. She is really promising and definitely interested in her environment, so we hope that she will be promising for blood tracking and future hunting excursions.

In order to prepare for a future show career we also have to practice. We are still figuring out how to be good handlers with Baxter, so we figured that it would be a good opportunity to start Liina a bit early. She need to get used to the sights, smells, and sounds of a show venue as well as walking on a show lead, stacking, and being examined on the table. In the upcoming month there were 2 puppy shows near us and these unofficial shows would have a lot of different types of dogs and a great chance to practice with the little girl. So today we were off to the Puppy & Junior show in Hassleholm hosted by the Southern Poodle Club. 

Group photo!

Well, Liina's first time in the ring could have gone better. She was a little melty on the table and didn't understand why the judge wanted to touch her all over, though she cooperated with him and gave him kisses. She was very ok with him checking her teeth and tail though. I think that this is where our countryside living is a bit of a disadvantage. We need to get more people over here and have them handle her and feed treats while on the table. She also was a bit of a rocket in the ring for the first 1/2 a lap. Once she settled down, she looked very nice and comfortable walking. Her stacking was also really nice. Liina is a pretty natural self stacker, so a bit more practice to hammer in foot placement and she will be great there.

So, definitely things to work on, but I think that Baxter's first time in the ring was quite similar. It will get better with time and we always have things to work on.

Results from today... 

BIR (BOB) valp 6-9 months with Honor Prize!  No dachshund was placed in group- in Sweden, FCI group 4 & 6 and judged together- but it was still fun to watch Liina trot around the BIG ring. :)

Not a bad start for the little one!

It's official! Baxter got his diploma!

Folks, we have our first Champion! This piece of paper makes me very, very happy.

So proud of you Baxter, my boy!

Dog ethics

Today I am bringing up a bit of an ethical question... When should a judge (show or working) not judge a dog?

Since showing, I have witnessed several occasions (in various countries) where the dog breeder is judging the dog. I also had at least 1 occasion where the dog that won best male, was to be bred that weekend to the judge's bitch. It is always a bit amazing to me that certain judges seem to have no problem not only judging dogs from their own breeding (read, dog's carrying the kennel name of the judge), but putting them up as Best male or female. I of course, like most people, like my dog to do well and win, but when I see a judge, judging a dog carrying their kennel name, it makes me sour. I think that this is really the right word...  I mean, why even try? If you see that "their" type of dog is not exactly your type, you may as well just go home. Ethically, I think that this situation is really shitty for everyone involved. Do you say something? Report it? Will anything be done? Or does this just make you a poor loser?

I realize in the show world that there are a lot of grey areas: You know the judge personally; you are on the board of the club that invited the judge/host the judge; the judge has used your dog in mating; the judge recognizes well known breeders; the handler of a dog in judging also handles dogs for the judge; etc... How do you handle this? Well, in FCI, each dog is evaluated individually and gets a rating, so if you are lucky, the dog/handler/breeder is not in your class. If you are unlucky, then you show your heart out and hope the judge likes you regardless of everything.

This type of ethical question doesn't just extend to shows though. If you are a breeder and also a working judge, do you judge your own dogs in tracking/hunting/underground, etc... trials? What about dogs from other judges or dogs from your breeding that are living with others?

I think sometimes I like to look through rose colored glasses. I know that you can't win all of the time and life isn't fair, but I wish the playing field was a bit more equal.

EDIT: I guess my post was rather timely. The BOB standard wirehair dachshund at the Eurodog Show was bred by the man that judged it. Needless to say, there was a lot of "colorful" comments about it on Facebook.

Working Championships in Sweden

So, I realized that I have never really written a comprehensive post about the hunting test which are performed in Sweden.


While there are many tests that a dog can do: Rally, Eftersök, BPH, Viltsvin, Viltspår, Gryt, Drev, Mantrailing, Agility- I will focus this post on the most common hunting tests that Dachshunds do here in Sweden and what it takes to become a Champion.

Let's start with Gryt Champion (Underground/den work):

In theory, this Championship sounds relatively easy to achieve, but very few dachshunds nowadays participate in Gryt here in Sweden as compared to Germany, Denmark, or Finland where den work still seems quite popular and many tests are performed each year.

The Swedish GrytChampion-SEJ(G)CH- is made up of 2 parts:
1.) Passing the Grytanlagsprov (den aptitude test) with a Kvalitet 1/1st Prize
2.) Passing the Grytjaktprov (basically the BhN (D or F) as in Germany- den hunting in the field) in 1st prize
In addition, the dog must be rated "Good" or better in exhibition.

To me, the underground aptitude test is something that I want my dogs to have. It proves to me that they can do something that the breed was originally bred to do: go into dark, tight areas, and be interested in working a badger or fox. Plus, a dog being able to fit into the artificial den puts a limit on the size of the dog. Neither of my boys are particularly small, but they are determined and agile enough to still squeeze themselves through a 13 x 17 cm space (5.1 x 6.7 inches). The Swedish den also contains a middle arm with a 60cm (almost 2 feet) vertical jump that both of the boys jumped up an explored during practice. For more information about the den set up here in Sweden, please check out this post: http://whdackel.blogspot.se/2014/06/training-with-badger.html

According to Taxen- the magazine of the Swedish Dachshund Club-in 2012  there were a reported 36 dogs that participated in the Grytanlagsprov and only 3 which went on to take the Grytjaktprov. There was a slight rise in 2013, with 51 dogs participating in the aptitude test and 6 in the den hunting trial. Now mind you I say "participating," just because you participate does not mean you pass. Indeed, at out trial this year only 5 of the 7 tested dogs passed their exams. This year only 4 of the 20 clubs hosted a Gryt test. It is a surprisingly low number, but den tests are in danger of being abolished all over Europe by activists, so I don't really expect to see an increase in the coming years. Hopefully den tests will continue and Dachshunds will continue to participate.

Next let's move onto Viltspår (Bloodtracking) Champion:

To become a Swedish Viltspår Champion-SEVCH- a dog must:
1.) Passing a Anlagstest
2.) Receive 3x 1st prize in Open class tracking exams
No exhibition score is currently needed as I believe even castrated dogs are allowed to participate in blood tracking trials.

An Anlagstest is basically an aptitude test to see if your dog is interested in blood tracking. The picture above gives a description/ gives you an idea of how the test is set up. 2 dl (200 ml) of cows blood is used on the track and "Blodupphåll" is a bloodless stretch and the track is left to age for 2-5 hrs. For the length of the test a deer hoof is dragged along with laying a blood track so the dog can technically follow the smell of a deer hoof as well as blood.

The judge takes the dog to the starting point and the dog is given a maximum of 30 min to work out the track with a deer hoof at the end. The judge looks for interest, the dog's working ability, tempo, and accuracy and in the end that dog either Passes or Fails. If the dog passes, it can then move onto the more difficult open class tracking exams.

The open class exams are a bit different from the aptitude test. The length of the track, amount of blood laid and hoof dragged is the same, but the time and how the track is set up is different. First off, the track is to be allowed to age for at least 12 hours (overnight) and be at least 600 m (650 yards) long. Instead of a clear mark to start the track, the dogs must search a 25 x 25 m "box" for the starting point. The judge brings the dog and handler to the edge of the "starting box" and tells them where the boundaries are and the dog must find the start and continue with the track. There are several bloodless stretches on the track, including at least 1 corner and a "back track" area (återgång) where blood is laid, then only the hoof is dragged back to the line/no blood, then after about 20 m the blood trail continues. Finally, 50-100m before the end of the track, the judge fires a shot to test that the dog does not react (similar to German Schussfestigkeit).  The dog is allowed 45 min to track and again the judge is looking for working ability, tempo, and that they are not bothered by gunshots.

Now a big part of the test is that it is performed in an area that is rich in wildlife. Here in Skåne that means several types of deer, wild boar, moose, fox, badger, hares, etc... We have seen all these animals, or tracks of these animals, while out blood tracking. Simon has encountered a herd of deer and a very large boar during his tracking exams. These are definitely distracting and for some dogs more than others. For us, getting Baxter to focus on the track more than the animals was a huge challenge as he much rather explore the forest and chase after all the animals, then follow a silly, old cow blood trail. 

In Sweden last year 1140 dachshunds participated in blood tracking exams, which accounts for roughly 50% of the dogs taking blood tracking exams in Sweden. It is a HUGE number. Blood tracking is by far one of the most popular activity being done with dachshunds in our area. I commend the Swedes for their forward thinking of allowing everyone to work with their dogs and not just those with hunting licenses. I know many people that have gotten their dogs 1st and their hunting licenses later. I will definitely be in that group and am excited to have well trained partners to hunt with me. Blood tracking is a great way to learn more about the dog and work as a team, plus it gets you out in nature! What more could you want? 

The last of hunting championships that a dachshund can get in Sweden is the Drevprov-literally translated "Drive test." This is the test that I know the least about at the moment, but the Drev season is starting now, so I hope to be able to write more about this in the future.

For more on Drev and dogs used for that purpose, I would highly suggest checking out the blog from Kennel Jaktvallens here in Sweden.

Swedish J(D)Champion
A dog must:
1.) Receive 3x 1st prize in a Drev exam
2.) Receive a rating of at least "Good" at an exhibition.
In order to get 1st prize a dog must:
Run/trail a hare or rabbit for 45 min or a fox, roe deer, or crown deer for 60 min or 2x 45 min.

The dog is judged on criteria such as searching ability, hunting ability, hunting drive, voice, etc...
From what I can gather, this test is a combination of the German "Stöber/Waldsuche" test and a very long spurlaut/sichtlaut type of test. Either way, it will be exciting to see and finally understand what is involved in this test.

This is a much more popular test than Gryt, but not nearly as popular as blood tracking. According to Taxen, 625 drev-tests were performed in Sweden last year. Sorry for my lack of pictures of dachshunds decked out in Drev gear!

One reason that I think there are so many trials performed in Sweden has to do with exhibition grades and championships. For example, to enter working class in a Swedish exhibition, one must pass an anlagstest. If you then get 3x CK (Certificate Quality) in hunting class, you qualify for a Swedish Show champion. To become a champion from a class other than hunting class, the dog must essentially be BOB or BOS at 3 shows, which is much more difficult. Though even if you get the CERTs or CKs, you still need a result. To be a Swedish show champion as a dachshund, the dog must also get either: 1st prize in Grytanlagstest  (G) or 1st prize in Open class blood tracking  (V) or 2nd prize Drevprov (D) or pass anlagstests in both blood tracking and 2nd prize grytprov (KoV). So being pretty isn't the only thing, the dog has to be able to work as well.

Well, that is my (more or less) comprehensive guide to what I know thus far about Swedish dachshund-related hunting tests. Even though the nordic countries all do very similar hunting tests, each are a bit different, with different rules or ratings or requirements, therefore I won't get into them now. Maybe another day...

Introducing our brand new Blood Tracking Champion!

Even though the weather has been rather grey and gloomy, we thought it was best to try and do a few more blood tracking tests before the autumn turns to winter. With luck we only needed one more 1st prize, but of course the elements, loads of wildlife, and the upcoming hunting season could turn an ordinary test into something more. We made a list of recommended tracking judges in our region and tried to figure out who was available. Simon tried his first choice, Görel, who we have been to before. Although Görel thought our boy did good work and was promising, his other test with her was not quite up to par. Too many animals in the woods (deer, boar, foxes) and a ripped up path got him once 0 and one time 2nd prize. Despite this, we really liked her as a judge as she is brutally honest, but really helpful in explaining what more to work on to make the dog-and ourselves-better. That being said, she is by no means an easy judge to please and the dog really has to be good to do well with her. She claimed that maybe there were "trolls in the woods" (a bad translation of a Swedish saying) that were being mischievous and throwing us off while tracking at her place.

So Simon scheduled a test today, but I told him that if it didn't go well, then maybe it was time to try out new grounds with another judge. Well, despite a runner in the woods early in the track, a lot of fox holes, and a HUGE boar directly on the track 1/2 way through, Bax managed to pull through and earn his final 1st prize!!! Görel said that the 1st half of the track with corners was perfect and the best work that she had seen from him and that she was impressed that even though Bax was obviously flustered by the presence of the wild boar-Simon had to take a minute or two and calm him down-he managed to get back to tracking, and made it in good time to the end (25 min total tracking time).

I waited in the car because I forgot my waterproof shoes and I didn't want to distract the dog. Simon and the judge were SOOO mean in keeping the results from me until we were back at the judge's house. Oh my gosh was I excited!

So I am pleased to announce a new CHAMPION in our household:

(Svenska Viltspår Championat/Swedish Bloodtracking Champion) 

SEVCH Multi-Junior CH Barbwired Better than the Rest

Baxter and Simon after our test results!!

Standard Male Wirehaired Dachshund Puppy looking for an active new home!!

There is one male puppy left from Barbwired's "D" litter that is looking for an active home (show/trials/hunting). The puppies parents are MultiWinner & Ch Lollipop della Val Vezzeno and Barbwired Bella Bambina. The mother is our Baxter(Barbwired Better than the Rest)'s sister. Lollipop has been tested on several trails in Italy (Sp, Fbja, BhFK95) and although the other "B" littermates have not yet begun working trials, Baxter has already completed hunting tests in several countries, including Sfk, Sp, WaT, SchwhK/40, Artificial underground & Open class blood tracking.

I cannot say enough good things about Barbwired Kennel. They are wonderful people and, although a small kennel (only 4 litters total-2 of which were this year- in over 6 years), they have thus far produced top quality dogs used in show, hunting, and trials. We were happy enough with our boy to go back for more. :)

If you are looking for a very promising new member to your family, get in touch with Kennel
Barbwired: http://barbwired.fi/  or contact me for more details.

Here you can see the pedigree of the puppy: Barbwired D Litter

Lollipop winning Best male at the European Dog show 2013

Mom Barbwired Bella Bambina "Iita" with 1 day old pups (courtesy of Kennel Barbwired)

Wow!

I just saw that this little blog has had over 11,000 visitors! How amazing is that? Thank you to all of our readers for taking an interest in our dogs and our lives. I will continue to write about our successes (and failures) and am always open to questions and comments from you. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

SO close I can taste it...

So even though my Monday started out really crappy having to deal with just a lot of bureaucratic bull shit, it ended on a high note.

Baxter had his 2nd absolutely excellent result in tracking earning him a 1st prize with HP (Hederpris/Honor prize)! Not only was this result exciting for us, but for our judge Eva as this was the first HP she had ever given out. How can that not make you feel special?

Success!

Baxter earned this distinction due to the ultimate distraction... a herd of over 10 deer directly in front of them and crossing over and (as Eva put is) totally ruining the last 1/4 of the track.

Baxter is VERY fond of the forest and all sorts of game. For the first few sessions of our blood tracking course, he thought all of the wild animals in the forest were more interesting than the track. There are pluses and minuses to the course we took, but let's just say that it was nice to meet new people and see a new area of Sweden. Anyhow, our main focus with Bax since the course has been, well, trying to get him more focused on only the track. We had to resort to being a bit harsh in order to try and get our point across as the soft/positive only method was not working. No talking unless it was a "NO" and stopping with no forward movement until he returned and started tracking again or if he was spot on, then he got a "hyvä" (good in Finnish) and "Such verwund" (search for wounded type of command)... very multilingual. We didn't want to train too much and make him bored or unenthusiastic to be in the woods, so we limited practices to roughly 1 or maybe 2 per week for the past month depending on the weather. He has been doing well, but I am not the person to go along as an observer as I expect much more of the dog then his handler (Simon) does. The dog is good and has an excellent nose, but he was more intrigued with the animals than the blood. I think he is showing signs of an extended teenage-hood, because he certainly doesn't act like an adult yet. Does that happen?

I'll just take this over here...

Back to the track. So we have a good dog that is too interested in wild game and a herd that just crossed the path. Both Simon and the judge thought and said "oh, shit" this is going to be disaster. To their surprise it wasn't. Bax had to be kept on a slightly shorter leash, but kept on the track and even completed the very difficult corner. The deer decided to turn left, while the track continued to the right and what did Bax do? Followed the blood track to a "T" and plodded his way to his prize at the end. So I guess our additional trainings did the boy some good! Bax was much quicker, less ditzy, and Simon was more confident in reading his dog and all the elements came together in one beautiful day and track.

Of course now we have 2x 1st prize and inching ever closer to the tracking championship. When will we get there? I'm not sure, but when it happens, you can be sure that there will be a lot of celebrating in our household! Good boy Baxter. Amazing job!

And then there were 3

It has been 3 weeks since Liina joined our little band here in Sweden. Where does the time go? She is a funny, vocal little girl. She loves snuggling on the couch, recently learned to use the dog stairs up to the bed (oh no!), and has quite the little nose on her. We have starting short tracking practices with her. She has gotten 25m tracks aged 30 min-1 hr and she works them SO well for such a young girl. She also is really good at following the scent from hoof drags. Deer hooves are quickly becoming one of her favorite things to play with. In addition, we practice basics and she is already really great walking on a leash, sitting, holding in stand (show training), comfortable in the car, and EXCELLENT recall on whistle. We need to find a dog class in the area for better socialization and basic obedience relatively soon. Anyhow, she will really be something at this pace.

Liina at exactly 4 months

She and Baxter are very close. They lay with each other, play together, and most often Liina is following Bax around in the house and in the yard. They both also have the very annoying habit of liking to be very close to me in the kitchen. Neither of them beg, instead, they think lying next to, or between my feet is the best place in the world. I think I need to institute a no dogs in the kitchen rule.

2x Barbwired

How can I be mad at these faces?

Freddie has also taken a liking to Liina. Even though he is over 4 years old, he still plays like a puppy. He has shown Liina all the best areas in the garden to explore (and dig). We are re-proofing our fence as we write this as Freddie and Liina decided to explore the neighboring field through a hole they dug. We don't let the dogs out in the yard unsupervised. With a new dog (and a female) in the pack and two males (even if they are great together 99% of the time), we don't want to take any chances of a fight or an escape. Luckily, we caught the dogs in the act and got them back into the yard within minutes and could fix the fencing. Oh dogs, what will you do next? 

For us, having Liina has been a new experience. It isn't having a female dog that is different, but living out in the countryside! Admittedly, we don't take long walks as much anymore with the dogs and certainly not several times a day as we did in the city. I know, it is horrible, but they get tons of time every day to run in the yard and explore. We do still go on walks around our area 3-4x per week depending on the weather. Additionally, we try to do a lot more individual activities with the dogs: dog shows, tracking and trainings, etc... With Liina, this has been taking trips to the city. We want to make sure that bikes, cars, crowds of people, and other dogs are not scary to her. Recently we went to the Stadtspark in Lund and took a nice walk and then practiced Liina's ability to be a "cafe dog" that could quietly sit under the table while we stopped for 20 min and drank a coffee. Baxter is an excellent cafe dog, whereas Freddie needs/wants more attention and would rather go, go, go. Liina did a nice job at lying down and observing, rather than barking at everyone that wandered by. Good training for a little girl. 

So this feisty little girl has wiggled her way into our heart and our home. I think in the future she is going to be the ruler of our pack, but for now she is enjoying being a puppy. The boys tolerate her to a point and then put her in her place, but I have found everyone happily lying together on our living room carpet. I think they like her all right. :) I can't wait to see what this girl can do!

The boys and the badger

All I can say is success! Freddie did an excellent job and worked a Kvalitet 1 (1st prize)!!! His one faux pas was that he had problems turning himself around  Baxter did an okay job, but was overall a little bit slow to start and could have been a bit more persistent, but barked himself a Kvalitet 2 (2nd prize). His practices were by far better than the test, but this was his first result underground, so I was happy! I think both of the boys could have done a bit better if there would have been a practice closer to the test, but I can´t be too sad.

The boys with their loot

Out of the 7 dogs that participated, 5 passed: 4 with Kval 1 and 1 with Kval 2. The judge commented on how happy he was to see dachshund participating in underground trials again. Supposedly there has been a steep decline in the amount of dachshund participating in, and being used for underground hunting, in Sweden. To have a test with only dachshund participants made him very happy.

This is Freddie´s first result from Sweden and he killed it! Now we have to decide what to do next. With this score, if Freddie is able to pass a real life hunting test (equivalent to the German BhFN/BhDN) and spring a fox or hold off a badger, then he would gain a Hunting championship. Alternatively, we could start training him in Denmark or Norway or Finland and try to get results from those countries. Currently, we are hoping to try Fred on Drevprov here in Sweden while we try to decide what we want to do with the underground test. Freddie is readily Spurlaut and has a lot of hunting drive, so you never know. Maybe he will end up a hunting champion... One can dream. :)

Freddie showing us all how it's done!

Finland and more

Well, we are back and feeling rested after a nice holiday. We spent 10 days in Finland, visiting friends, enjoying the very hot summer (over 27C EVERY day), and attending the World Dog Show. We did a bit of swimming and sunbathing, but not a lot of outside activities with Bax due to the horrid heat since it was well over 25C every day by 10 in the morning. Hot, hot, hot! We were very lucky that we brought a fan with us since our hotel, though nice in a lot of other ways, had no air conditioning. This meant that Bax did some swimming and otherwise had a lot of activity in the early morning or after dinnertime when the temperatures dipped to a more comfortable temperature.

My favorite sign from the archipelago

 Freddie stayed with a friend back in Sweden since he wasn´t going to the show and sitting in a box or hotel room for several days in a row is no fun. He enjoyed the lap of luxury in a nice house in the suburbs and was treated like a prince. What a lucky dog! He was very happy to be home though, let me tell you!

Nothing exciting happened at the dog shows. We knew that at a big show like this, it was unlikely that we would get anything, but why not try? For the 2nd time in my life, I handled Baxter as his breeders, Simon, and I decided that he looked and behaved better with me, than he did with Simon. We only got Very Goods, but pretty good evaluations and it was a good learning experience for me since I will be handling Baxter this autumn at shows. He looked especially good at the World dog show (as told to me by his breeders), which made me very happy. Excellents would have been amazing, but at the same time, good evaluations and not falling on my face are just as important.

In addition to the show, we combined our holiday with the pick-up of our new puppy. Yes, that´s right, we picked up a puppy!  Meet our new girl Liina.

This is our new co-owned girl Barbwired Champagne (MultiCh. Gordon Forte-Forte de Buch de la Perouse x MultiCh. Barbwired Austria) aka Liina and she is just under 16 weeks old. As you might recognize, she is from the same kennel as our Baxter and Baxter's mother is Liina´s grandmother. Both of her parents are successful show dogs, both have working results including Tracking championships in Sweden, a Working championship in Italy and trials in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, & Austria, and both are very loving and people oriented dogs. In fact, Aura, Liina's mother, is the reason that we have dackels. She is the dog that turned Simon into a dachshund lover. :) Liina is a very loving and feisty little girl and one day I hope that we will be able to start our own breeding program with this little one. We will see what the future holds for this girl as she will start shows and working trials next year.

The boys are both tolerating the new addition very well. Baxter is more tolerant and willing to play with the little one where Freddie is a bit more cautious and seems convinced that if he ignores her, she may go away. Liina has gotten Freddie to play with her a bit in the past day, so we will see how their relationship develops.

The weather today is less than ideal and it appears that summer is over. The rain has been pouring all day and it makes the end of holidays/starting work again not seem so bad. Back to normal life!