Working hard

Pretty dogs can work too! Here is Baxter coming out to greet me after working hard an a gryt apportering training. It took Bax a while to realize that the fox staring him in the face was dead, but once he had, he started moving it. The fox used was FAR too heavy (about 2x heavier than it should have been), but regardless, Bax got it about 1.5m down the tube before I called him out. The fox was so large it was getting caught in the tunnel. He was tired and the training was a huge positive as he kept returning to the tunnel to work, even when I hadn't asked him.

I am so very proud of this boy. 

Liina also did a great job in anlagsprov training. She is still not convinced that the tunnels are so fun to enter, but she is working the badger in an excellent way. Maybe it is hormones as her heat should start soon or maybe she is just tired from a lot of travel, but it's ok. She is still a relatively young dog and just the fact that she is so good working the badger and that she *will* move in the tunnels is enough for me right now.

The negative of all these trainings, is that they are few and far between. It is hard to practice well with a dog if you only go once every 2 weeks. Plus, training is now finished for the summer... already. I'm super disappointed. Ah well, there is always next year.

Continued success for Freddie!

This past Sunday the Skåne-Blekinge taxklubben hosted a grytanlagsprov and grytapporteringsprov. Both Freddie and Baxter participated. Sunday was not Baxter's day. He was a bit distracted and spent the 3 min time sniffing and wandering around instead of entering the den. Since he did not enter, he could not get a grade, but the judge wanted him to have a positive experience, so I was allowed to put him in myself and allow him to bark. He entered and did good work (the judge apologized since he would have passed had he entered). In all the practices this year he was working at the bars of the pot and working for a good amount of time, so I was hopeful, but unsure that Bax would perform to the best of his ability. Oh well, dogs are not machines and some days work and others don't. Baxter has great hunting drive, but Sunday just wasn't his day. Baxter received a Kval 2 last year at the same test, so I had hoped for a Kval 1... anyhow, there is always next year.

Freddie on the other hand is a hunting machine. He received a Kval 1 last year on his grytanlagsprov and loves the den. He is in amazing shape this year (he has lost about 1 kg and is pure lean muscle) and was SO excited to be at the grytprov location. On a previous practice, the Kval 1 dogs were allowed to try apporteringprov. This involved dragging a dead fox (approx 6 kg) roughly 6 m in length which includes one of the turns in the den. The dog is allowed 10 min time and the owner is allowed to encourage the dog by voice. The dog MUST pull the animal to within arms length of the opening and the owner is allowed to pull out the dead animal.

5 dogs were tested on apportering and all 5 dogs passed! The fasted dog retrieved the fox in as little as 1 minute (not Freddie, but a very talented Danish female wirehair)! All got high praise from the judge.  :)

He looks happy after a good day's work! Good boy Freddie!

What is MORE exciting is that Freddie now qualifies as an Eftersök dog for Gryt (Tracking dog for underground). To qualify this, he had to pass the following:

1.) Grytanlagsprov Kval 1 (den test quality 1)

2.) Viltspåranlagsprov (blood tracking aptitude test)

3.) Grytapporteringsprov (den retrieving test)

Now we really have to get the brown dog a jaktprov! Good boy Freddie and good work!

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...

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!