Double Feature in the Badischer Dachshund Club magazine

I was ecstatic to receive our quarterly magazine from the Badischer Dachshund Club about a week ago and see that both Simon and I had articles in there. Mine was about our spurlaut exam (based on this text) with translation assistance from Simon and Simon's was about his BHP exam with Baxter. I know I have written about both tests on the blog, but I thought it would be fun to see the articles. Sorry to our English readers for the German!

I love the photo of Freddie at the top. It captures him perfectly.

A good time had by all and lots of great results!

Last, but not least, our SDC magazine came the other day and we were happy to see our results in the Ausstellung in Ausland section (Exhibitions outside of the country-for Karlsruhe and Wels) as well as in the Prüfungs in Ausland section (Tests outside of the country). As I mentioned last week, Simon won the Wanderpokal given out by the Jagd group for Best dog handler in the section, and these tests contributed to that score. 

Even though I am a driving force for practicing and participating in tests with the dogs, Simon really is the man that does the performance work and I am very thankful for that. Now as we start on new practices and tests, I will definitely be helping out. This year we will be working with the boys on tracking and getting into the fox/badger dens and we hope that we will have success on both fronts. Time will tell, but for now we are happy with our success in 2013!

Good News from Switzerland

We received an e-mail the other day that Simon was the best Hundeführer (dog handler) in the hunting group in the SDC for 2013! Combined, the dogs had a total of 440 points and tests in 3 countries- Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. The point score should have actually been 540, but Freddie only had 1 of his 2 fox trials in Italy counted, but that doesn't matter.

I hope to get a picture of the real award soon

Now that we are in the north, the tests are a bit different and it is a bit like starting over again. Regardless, we are already in contact with our local dachshund club and gearing up for blood tracking and checking out how the underground tests are run (with a badger!). We will also be taking part in a dachshund camp in Finland this year to practice and take part in more hunting exams. I'm so proud of the dogs and all that they have accomplished this year and while the dogs are still young, as in April, Freddie will turn 4 and Baxter 2. Additionally, we are currently taking the first steps to getting our hunting licenses. Hopefully in a year's time, we will be licensed and able to do hunting tests all over Europe. Here is to many more exciting years to come!

Freddie, Simon, & Baxter 

Water retrieving practice with his favorite dummy duck

Spurlaut practice in the Pfalz

Prizes from our most recent trip to Italy

   

Italian trip 2013

This year we decided to make our trip to Italy slightly earlier this year to ensure that we would be able to get in some tracking trials. We signed Freddie up for tracking as well as fox trials and with Baxter we focused on tracking.
We went down a few days earlier this year in order to do a Saupr. practice as well as try our little dog on the fox. We couldn't have picked a prettier day to drive down. Please enjoy some of Switzerland's gorgeous views. :)

Driving through the Vierwaldstättersee in Central Switzerland 

Simon is from this area and I have to say, I'm jealous I didn't have this view growing up

A view of the Alps 

Our last sunny view before the Gotthard tunnel

  

Ticino was cloudy, but the hanging clouds are beautiful

Getting closer!

This region of Italy is often quite foggy

A little sun to end the day

We were extremely happy with the extra private practice at the Palladini's house. Antonio and Barbara are really some of the nicest people that I have met. Antonio was more than willing and happy to allow us to try Baxter in the artificial fox den and pit both dogs against the boars. Success in both practices and maybe we will try the small one on these trials in another year or so, but we didn't want to overwhelm him this time.

The boys were ready to go! Freddie spent much of the time in the front seat "driving" the car while we were waiting for our start times. Baxter occasionally jumped to the front, but preferred sitting on top on the wine that we picked up.

Waiting for our tracking trial

My team

Success! Great track guys!

Picking up our awards for tracking

All I can say is success! Freddie is really coming into his own as a hunter and I really need to get my hunting license ASAP so I can continue with this talented dog. Not only did he ace his 40 hr tracking trial with 100 pts and a CAC (a certificate towards an Italian working certificate), but he once again was a maniac on fox. In both trials offered (BHFK95 and FBJA) he received 100 pts, 1st prize and 1 RRCAC(2nd reserve) in FBJA. The Fbja competition came down to how quickly the dogs made it to the fox. Amazingly, there was a standard long that was amazingly fast at 15 sec from the entry to the fox. Just for reference, the fastest kanninchen dachshund in an earlier trial made the trek in 9 secs, so this longhair was quick! Fred took what seemed like the longest path possible (which included a dip/incline) and took 26 sec, putting him in 3rd place of the 4 top dogs. For the BHFK95 he did amazing and pushed the fox like a champ, but did the trial in 4 min 13 sec and he would have needed to complete it in 4 min for the CAC. Oh well, no worries! Still a great job!

Atta boy Fred!

Our haul

Additionally, Baxter did amazing on his tracking exam. Both Simon and the judge were amazed at how meticulous and focused the small dog was on the trail. He just needs a bit more practice on corners as he tends to overshoot, then back track and start again. We are planning to continue with tracking practice this autumn since it is great exercise for the dogs and for me! Hopefully we can continue to get better and better. Next year's goals include finishing Freddie's Italian working championship, tracking and hunting tests in Germany with the boys, and hopefully partaking in working trials in the Nordic countries. Of course at least one of these goals require me to follow up in my goal to complete my hunting license/exam! Let's see what next year brings!

A marathon Spurlaut exam

When I checked the weather for Altenheim on Sunday, I kept it to myself- 10˚C max temp and a 80% chance of rain all day. Yup, just what I wanted to see for a Spurlaut test... ugh. The thought of being drenched and wandering through muddy fields in search of hares did not make me very happy, but it was our last opportunity until March/April to perform the exam. Baxter had showed promise at our practice in Grünstadt (which I still need to write about) and the concept of hares + chasing + trailing + barking, seemed to finally switch on in his, sometimes thick, head. With trailing he is excellent. His nose is fantastic and he has been beautifully trailing hares since he was ~ 1 year old, but the sound wasn't coming. On the last few practices he actually saw the hares and I think that triggered something. Those few sichthase (sight hares) were a blessing and since the end of September we knew he was Spurlaut.

This pleased us and also his breeders. In the nordic countries, Spurlaut isn't a requirement for any tests and, thus, many don't know if the trait is retained. From their first litter, only their own bitch from their 1st litter, Baxter's 1/2 sister Barbwired Austria, was tested for Sp when they were living in Switzerland. Aura did a phenomenal job and earn 100 pts and tagessieger in Austria for her work. Baxter's mom Iiris (at age ~5 years) had also been tried on Sp, but by this time she was accustom to blood tracking and fox work and was quiet while trailing the hares. Maybe with sichthase, this would have been different and triggered her voice a bit, but as I've mentioned before, hares in Switzerland are not plentiful and even Germany can be a gamble. We knew from the Palladini's that Baxter's dad Apollo was spurlaut, so we hoped that Baxter retrained this trait. Once we knew that he was Spurlaut, even if he still needed practice, we figured that we would take the gamble and sign up for the last test of the year in our region in an attempt for him to earn the achievement: Sp. 

On Sunday the conditions were not the greatest for this exam, but they were better (rain-wise) than the forecast had predicted. A foreboding sky that looked ready to storm at any moment, standing water on many fields, still many fields covered in left over wheat and corn, and winds that reminded me of tornadoes made this an interesting exam. Furthermore, in order for all the dogs to have at least 2 hares (and for 2 dogs to have 3) we walked 3 different sets of fields from 10am until 3pm, making for a rather exhausting day and likely about 10-15 km worth of field walking...which I am feeling today!

Of the 5 dogs that were examined, Freddie and Baxter were the only dogs to pass.  Since Freddie had a score of 2nd place last year in Nordbaden, he was eligible to take the test again for a chance at 1st place. This was advantageous as we were in need of 1 more dog to partake in the exam in order for it to happen. In the end there was a late entry and Freddie wasn't needed, but he loves running hares on the field, so we thought we'd give him a shot. It was also an experience for me as it was my first time participating with a dog in the exam (I was handling Fred). Freddie's first hare was a rückwards hase (backwards hare) the jumped up from behind and ran where we just walked. I didn't see the trail of the hare as I was trying to calm Freddie down because a deer had jumped right in front of us and of course he saw it and wanted to chase it. So, all in all, it was a bit of a disaster. He tried to follow the hare, made some progress, but with the commotion, the scent of 10 people and dogs, etc... he just didn't do it. It would have been great if he did, but even the judges agreed that it was a difficult situation.Fred's second hare was much nicer. It jumped about 20 feet in front of me while we were waiting on another dog. Fred did a great job trailing it, but the wind was strong and I could tell in the end he was struggling to find the scent line, which by that time was likely dust in the wind. Regardless, he performed and was the best of the day with a 2nd place rating.

Baxter was our wild card. We knew he was Spurlaut, but he was still rather inexperienced since he had run about 3 "proper" hares in practice not as sichthase. His first hare was a good one, the judges had to jump it from it's sitting place, it ran straight and over the road, but I think Bax, as the 1st dog of the test, didn't quite know what was going on and started doing more "Stöber" type work on the field. He failed this hare horribly, but we knew he at least got another chance. The second hare jumped on his own, ran a weaving pattern and disappeared over a hill and onto a grassy field. Bax was loud on the hare all across the first field until he broke the hill and then Bax was quietly searching for the scent. By this time the wind was getting extremely strong and though he searched, the little dog didn't pick up the line again. The judges felt that this work warranted a 3rd bunny to see if the 1st one was just a fluke. On his 3rd and final hare, it jumped, ran a straight line over the road and into the corn. Bax found the line, took off like a rocket and barked his little heart out. He searched the road for the scent and with a little coaxing, found it again and trailed it through the corn. We didn't hear much more due to the wind, but Simon had to retrieve him, still trailing, 2 fields over. Baxter found his voice, but still needs more practice to be very confident in trailing the hares, especially in hard situations like over roads. Regardless, the judges said, Yes, this dog is definitely spurlaut and has the desire to follow the game and awarded him a 3rd prize. Now we can continue on with more work with the small dog, such as fox and Stöber. We are all exhausted, but happy with the results.

Baxter Passed his Wassertest

Today in Uezwil, Switzerland, Baxter (Barbwired Better than the Rest) passed his Wassertest with flying colors! Simon and Baxter were the first team to participate and Baxter was SUPER excited to go. Simon said he flew into the water, grabbed the duck, and brought it back to shore like a pro. I wish I could have been there to see it. The judge said that there was nothing more to comment other than it was great work!

The boys are gearing up for Wassertest!

So we had an EXTREMELY cold and rainy May. There wasn't a lot of opportunity for the dogs to go swimming since the river was super high and super fast. We were in Central Switzerland visiting Simon's parents last night and decided to take advantage of the fantastic weather today to explore some spots on the lake for Wassertest (Water test) training. Simon's father suggested a little part of the lake near a swimming area and nature reserve, but not in either. The water is fairly shallow, so Simon and I could easily go in about calf/waist deep and get the dogs if they were in trouble.

Not a bad view, eh? I think we will be coming back for more practice in July.

 One of our problems with Freddie and water retrieving was always that if the toy wasn't interesting enough and went too far in, then pffft, forget it. The toy was gone. We have lost several floaty toys due to our hard headed, brown dackel. I saw this wonderful idea on http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/ a while back, but I currently can't find the post! Basically, one of the dog owners tied feathers to a floaty toy in order to make it more interesting for the dogs. Since we had 2 frozen ducks in the house, I thought I'd give it a try. We took a wing off of one of the ducks and tied it to the dog's orange floaty. Man! You would think it was Christmas!

I love swimming dackels! They look like otters.

Baxter easily went into the water for a few short and progressively longer swims. He did a couple ~8 meter retrieves before getting tired. Swimming is new exercise for him and although he loves it, he seems to get a bit tired after a while and gets a more nervous about the longer swims. I'm not positive if he really is tired, but this is what it seems like. Not wanting to have a negative experience, we kept the remainder of the swims shorter (max 4-5 m) and provided a LOT of praise. I know he would have gone in for the toy without the wing, but this really helped with the prey drive.

Our big surprise came in our water hating brown dog! I've mentioned several times that Freddie is NOT a water dog. He goes chest deep and then does a lot of thinking, seeming to weigh his options in order to decide if he really needs whatever it is that's in the water. We were planning that our practice today would be just for Baxter, but nope! Low and behold Freddie's amazing hunting drive turned on and that one duck wing was more than enough to make the orange floaty worth saving!

Freddie jumped in in front of Baxter on a long swim...

and the boys brought in the toy together!

close up of the long swim

Here you can see the distance a bit better. The other shore was ~25m (70+ feet away)

There was a sand bar, so some of the time Freddie was able to "hop" his way along for about 4 m before swimming. Baxter, being shorter, had to swim more. Regardless, both dogs did fantastic! It was a great surprise and now I'm hoping that we'll be able to sign these 2 up for Wassertest with the SDC this August. Now both boys are pretty tired from their morning swim. The ducks are ready and waiting, all we need is a bit of time. :)

Trials, Shows, and The DTK Dachshund Illustrated

I know that I have veered away from hunting tests lately and have only been talking about our show successes. This is mainly because this spring our main goal was to focus on Spurlaut with Baxter as he needs to pass a Sp test in order to continue on with other tests. As we are still not 100% positive that he is Sp, the rest of our tests are on hold until the fall. From the 1st of May until mid-August there is a hold on Sp tests in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and I believe France. This is when the Hares are mating and having their babies and so it would be disastrous to have a bunch of dachshund running the fields. So we will wait until August and enjoy the "show" season. We are hoping to get the dogs swimming this summer and perhaps we can do Wassertest this August. This will be a bit of a challenge with Freddie as he is a wonderful swimmer and retriever, but a bit unreliable when he has to do both at the same time. I'm hoping that with practice and a real duck instead of toys will motivate him enough to be a good water dog.
 
So about the shows. I realize that I talk about shows I never really state the obvious... they are beauty contests. Of course if you've seen Westminster, Cruft's, or even the fantastic Christopher Guest movie "Best in Show" (2000), you actually have a decent idea about dog shows or the crazy things that can go on there. There are good things about dog shows though. I think that one that I like the most is the comradery between the people. Of course it is a competition, but as you go to these shows, you recognize people and talk to people about their life and their dogs. You get to learn about them and even though some of these people can be a bit... intense... it is a great experience. The goal is to win, plain and simple. Winning brings you CACs and CACs bring you titles, which in turn make your dog more known in the dackel community and more likely to produce offspring. This is, of course, all theory. Hunting trials, to us, are just as important and more fun then going to these shows. In my opinion, a winning dog should still be a useful dog. I'm hoping that our little one will prove to be as  good a working dog as he is a show dog.

Speaking of shows, I never posted pictures from Baxter's big BOB win last weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of the BOB ring because I honestly never thought that he would win. Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

Patiently waiting

Having teeth, tail, head, etc... checked on the table

Standing in the ring. This was a challenge since the judge kept the dogs in the standing position during his entire written evaluation. It seemed like forever.

Walking

The original picture was way too dark, this is a bit better

V1 CACJ Jugendsieger!

If you are interested in how dachshunds are judged in FCI countries, there is a wonderful set of illustrations from the DTK club of Baden Württemberg & Hohenzollern: http://www.dachshundklub.de/dwh/der-rassestandard/illustrationen-aktuell
It mainly shows what is a fault, but nonetheless, I think that it is a very informative set of photos.

Sorry that they are in German, but I think that you get the idea about what the judges are looking for.

This weekend we have a "normal" weekend with training with the dogs and some work for Simon and I. Luckily for us it is Ascension and that means that I have a 4 day weekend! Next week will be quite a week for us, aside from being off to Saarbrücken for a dog show, it is Pentecost, and I will be celebrating the last days of my 20s. Another year older and so much more to look forward to!

First time in the Saugatter

Even though the spring weather has turned from warm and sunny to gloomy and rainy, training never stops. Yesterday Baxter went to his first clicker class even though it was quite cold and rainy. I think that this may be the magic trick to getting him to walk normally on a leash. It is really amazing, he walks nicely on the show line now, but goes like a bat out of hell on the normal line. Time will tell.

In other news, we ventured to France today to try our luck in the Saugatter. It was a 27 hectare fenced in area (roughly 67 acres) contain 2 boars ranging from 30-60 kg (65-130 lbs). The area was roughly 1/2 covered in brush and forest area and 1/2 field, but the forest wasn't continuous so there were a lot of places for the boars to hide. Our group was made up of 6 dackels and 1 Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound and 2-3 dogs were out searching at one time. We followed the dogs, with large sticks in hand, through the whole area, up and down steep, slippery, muddy hills for about 1.5-2 hours, but alas, we did not find the boars. Maybe we were lucky. The first group of the day did find the smaller of the 2 boars and it didn't end too well. The boar decided to run at the dog and handler instead of turning and running. Luckily no one was too hurt. The dog had a minor injury on its foot, which needed to be looked at and bandaged and the handler had to get 3 stitches to close up a cut on her shin. Nonetheless, this really illustrates the real dangers of hunting for these animals. The boars we were working with were relatively small and tame. If it were bigger it could have done quite a bit of damage.

We decided to only go out into the enclosure with Freddie, since he is older, more experienced and has better obedience and recall in case we needed to quickly get him out of the situation. He did really well in searching the forest on his own without going too far. It was good practice for a potential future Stöber exam. Only one dog let out any indication that he had found something, but it was really short. A few barks and that is it. Ideally, the dog should work the boar, alerting it's owner as to where the animal is and keep it from going too far. I think this was a great place to practice, but too big for the inexperienced dogs in our group. Later this year, there will be the possibility for going to a 2 hectare (5 acre) saugatter and I think we will try our luck there. For now we are all quite tired and I'm sure we'll all have sore muscles tomorrow. Til next time...