Liina passes Spurlaut!

Hi again!

Breaking the silence after several months... but with great news!

Liina has passed her Sfk and Sp exams in Germany. :) I am so crazy proud of the little Zwerg! Better yet, her score (although still second prize) of 91pts is the highest of my dogs. 

So proud, proud, proud!

The smallest member of my family added new titles to her name
Officially she is now: NORD DK FI SEU(v) LT RO ROGr SLO WUTCH SEVCH
LZ: Sfk, Sp, SE-SchwhK
FW: Ex1 CAC CACIB BIG2

Although this type of testing is not required for breeding in Sweden, I, personally, like and support the German aptitude testing. Spurlaut is genetic and even though Liina's mother carries for Spurlaut-she earned her Sp with 100pts-her father was not tested. All of the family is hot on fox and have excellent noses, so I hoped the small girl would be Sp. She also hinted at it earlier this year giving some "yips" chasing rabbits in our neighborhood.

I love this little girl to bits.  Even though she is not the standard I signed up for, she has far exceeded my expectations in terms of beauty, temperament, and now function... earning her Championship in tracking in Sweden and aptitude merits in Germany. I also know that she is courageous enough to meet the badger (caged) as well as the fox (uncaged) and hope that we can also test her in underground this year.  

I have been dreaming to one day have a dog I could attempt a Vp with... Liina might be that dog, little as she is. Time will tell, but for now... machts weiter...

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.

A Year

Sometimes it is very difficult to judge what you accomplish in a year. In my work, *maybe* a paper is published or you can flip through a lab book, but with the dogs it is sometimes a bit easier.

The above picture are some of the results that Liina earned since March 2015. 

Now I need to figure out a nice way to display her prizes. :)

I'm very excited to see what the upcoming years will bring for my little dogs.

Road tripping to Gävle

So, once a year I have to do some sort of crazy show trip. This past weekend was that trip. When my boyfriend said that he had to head up sometime in the near future to Gävle, I immediately began looking for a show possibility. Low and behold, one of my favorite judges would be judging dachshunds at a hunting dog exhibition up there in early June. I confirmed that Liina would fit in the car with an arcade machine (the purchased item that helped initiate the trip) and Baxter could stay over the weekend with a friend since there was no need for him to spend all day at a show that he really didn't need.

Admittedly I was a bit nervous. We had showed at the local shows in Hässleholm two weeks earlier and had just so-so results- 2x Excellent, but without the final CK needed for the Champion title. It was a strange weekend though, especially at the International show where no mini wires were awarded with CK and the judge was in the dog's faces, poking at them all over, lifting them off the table to test the weight, really testing the mentality. Needless to say, I won't be rushing to either of those judges again.

So I still needed 1 CK for Liina to get her Champion title and was *hoping* that this long road trip would be worth while. So after a Friday night spent at my colleagues PhD defense party, we woke early Saturday morning, loaded the car, dropped off Baxter and started the trip up to the Gävle area. We made a few stops along the way. I think our favorite was at the ruins in Brahehus.

We were graciously hosted by our friends at Skogvetten's kennel in the little village of Järbo about 100km from the show grounds and similar distance from the boyfriend's arcade. Sussi decided to brave the show with her youngest female Hera and join Liina and I for a show day in Alfta at a hunting dog exhibition. 

We had lovely weather around 15-20C with sun and a little wind. It was a long day though as we were not up until very late (the last 20 dogs) in the ring, but we had to be checked in by 9:45am. So, waiting, waiting, waiting. It was a nice show and it was interesting to see new dogs and people.

I got a little nervous waiting around so long, but it was not in vain. There were not many minis (only 3; 1 male and 2 females), but there was still competition for me. Liina and I did our best and we were greatly awarded:

In Jaktklass: Exc1 CK CERT and finally Best Female-BIM! 

With that result, Liina finished her Swedish Beauty Championship! 

Better yet... she unlocked a LOT of other Champion titles! So little Liina is now:

SEU(v)CH, SEVCH, DKCH, FICH, NordicCH, LTCH, WUTCH!!!!

I was so proud and overwhelmed and excited. No, I didn't cry, but I almost couldn't believe it! My first Champion solely put on myself (OK, so FI, LT, and WUT were helped by Markku, but close enough! ;) ).  We will continue to show a bit and hope we can add some International titles to her name as well, but for now, we can rest as her first CACIB was in March this year and we must wait at least 1 year for the final result.

Everyone was tired after the show (Hera-above- was totally exhausted on the car trip home), but we were greeted back home with lovely dinner and company. 

The next day was already time to head towards home for work the next day. On the way down we decided to stop for lunch and sightseeing in Eskilstuna, where Andreas is originally from. I very much enjoyed the city. Big enough to feel like a real city, but still small and cosy, with a nice river front, shopping road, and little bits and pieces to see. After an impromptu Fika with Andreas' brother, we were back in the car and headed on our 6.5 hr drive towards home.

We stopped in Höör to pick up a very excited and happy to see me Baxter, said our thank yous and good byes and shortly thereafter we were home. It was a long, but fun road trip. It was nice to see the middle of Sweden and it was definitely as far north as I had been in the country. We all wound down on the couch, watching an episode of the Flash... or rather, drifting off to sleep while watching the Flash. All happy and content to be back in our house. :)

Training and Enjoying life

I realize it has been a quiet year for us, but there is, as always, a lot of change. What I can tell you is that this spring and summer will bring with it underground training, a revival of tracking and practicing for 40 hr tracks, a break from dog shows, and lots of exploring nature. Until we have more news, here are a few pictures from our spring here in Skåne. Enjoy!

Wonderful day in Denmark

On Saturday, Liina and I traveled over the bridge to Roskilde, Denmark to participate in our first Danish International show. Based on general life-things, I took a chance and only signed up for 1 day of exhibition. Well it surely paid off!

Liina ended as Best Female 2 with all the prizes! So we were super excited to take both the Danish CERT as well as our very first CACIB. :)

Liina also got quite a nice evaluation from Judge H. Almgren (SE):

Translated- Well moving bitch. Eyes could be darker correct bite, good shape on ears, could be higher placed. Strong, tight back, somewhat flat croup. Strong double coat, good, strong wirehaired attributes, nice overall impression. Tail nicely worn additional to the back.

As always, the Danish dachshund people were very, very welcoming and I was extremely happy to see many facebook friends and familiar faces. 

Liina does it again!

My show girl is on a role! At the spring exhibition in Tvååker she was shown in jaktclass:

Exc1 CK Best female 3 with res-CERT!

3rd time this year as Best female 3 with res-CERT. Wish it was a bit more, but I'll take it! Happy with this happy little show girl! <3

The only thing that was a bit sad was that this was Liina's 3rd CK in jaktclass and her 2nd birthday is on Thursday. If it was a week later she would have been a Swedish CH. ;)

Ah well, we will hope the next exhibitions go just as well! 

When we returned home it was still quite early (up at 5:30, home by 15:00), so we went for a walk in the forest near our house. It was a really nice day and you could feel that spring was definitely in the air.

IDS Malmö

As I said, this spring my focus will be on Liina and trying to achieve her Swedish Championship. At the last minute this February, I decided to strip Liina and check her coat to see if we would be participating in anything this spring. To my pleasant surprise, he coat was great and it meant that we could show a bit this spring. So, with 1 day to spare, I signed up for Malmö International Dog Show.

I am happy to report that Liina received the following score:
Jakt (hunting) class: Excellent 1, CK, Best Female 3 with res-CERT and res-CACIB.

Liina with her prizes

Liina's evaluation (translated from Swedish):

Harmonious female. Feminine head with god proportions. Correct bite, excellent neck and overline. Well angulated front and back and well developed body. Could have a little more ground clearance. Fluid movement, excellent coat quality, good temperament.

I was so proud of my little girl and her great performance. The judge was a bit heavy-handed on the table, but we have been training this aspect very, very hard and she handled the situation great. Liina is a bit low, but the comment is likely due to my grooming... I forgot to properly groom her chest (oops!) so it didn't help the ground clearance. In any case, I am pleased with today's results.

We have a show again in about a month and then middle of May. I'm hoping that they will go just as well for my little gal! :D

Sorry for the silence!

I just realized that I haven't written any posts since the end of 2015!

Very sorry everyone! Our life here in Sweden has been a little bit quiet. The dogs were supposed to be on show tour starting this month, but that won't happy until later in the year. I was in a small car accident earlier this year, spinning out on black ice and damaging my poor little car. Well, now I have a sporty, little Ford and dog show money has been pumped into buying our transportation. C'est la vie! There will always be later this year...

My poor little car. Luckily I am perfectly fine.

Liina and I went up to My Dog in Gothenburg early in January and happily came home with 2x Exc and 1xCK. It was a nice weekend and we are hoping that the next couple months will bring a few more nice results. :)

Liina and I at My Dog 2016

Baxter will not be shown much this year. I am hoping he can finish his few titles with Nikos later this year and then "retire" from the show ring. He has done enough... Exc1 in 11 countries is quite a great accomplishment for a small dog... especially when he is/was mostly owner handled. Maybe we will show a little bit more in Germany or Austria or Denmark, but no stress for my handsome boy. Now I am working on taking a little winter weigh (off both him and me!) and getting ready for this fall. We may have *finally* found a couple spots to try out Drev and I would love to try out Bax and see how he does. Otherwise, he will be a happy, healthy, pretty boy. :) Maybe we will start training viltspår again and go for trials in Finland or Denmark or Norway... maybe even Germany! We will see.

Bax and his BFF Leo

My goals this year are mostly for Liina. I would love to see her get her CH in Sweden. I would love to try her again on Gryt and see if a year away sparks her interest even more. I would love to do a small show tour with her and try for a Nordic Champion. I would love for her to get a CACIB and start her international Championship. I would love to start looking for her future husband (though this is a few years off). Lastly, I would like to keep training viltspår with her and try for the 40hr exam in Denmark later this year.

Finally... This is year is a big year as Freddie should have a date in summer/autumn! We will keep you all updated if and when tiny Freddie's will make their appearance. It should be an exciting pairing and a COI of 0%, a mix of German-French and Swedish lines. If you are interested in knowing more, let me know!

Freddie on holiday in Oslo

A lot of goals... We will see what 2016 brings!

Happy New Year!

After a day of moving all of my things and another couple hours of cleaning (knowing that tomorrow there will be MORE cleaning), I decided to sit on the couch with a beer and my dogs. It is giving me a great opportunity to look back, not only at 2015, but also at the blog and life.

This past month, my little blog turned 3 years old! I really can't believe it. What does 3 years give us?

• A new dog
• A Kennel name
• A new start
• A new website: Moniker
• A loaner dog and a confidence booster
• Show/working trips to 12 countries
• 17 Champion titles
• More than 25 successful working trials in 4 countries
• 125 posts
• More than 20,000 visitors to the site

 

2015 was a year of change. Simon and I parted ways after almost 6 years. Although the break up was difficult, we are on good terms and have continued to work together with the dogs. He of course loves them as much as I do. This collaboration led to 2 bloodtracking champions and an approved Gryteftersökhund (in homologation). I have debated changing the blog banner and information. The name of the blog (WHdackel) wasn't just for Wirehaired, but also represented our last names: W & H. Although our tag says "a couple and their dogs," I still don't feel it is totally wrong. The blog was made out of love for our boys and it will continue to function as a medium for me to report their awesome accomplishments and bitter losses.

2016 will continue to be a year of change. A new house, a new start, and, hopefully, soon a new job. Where will we go next? Who knows. Regardless, we will keep you posted!

Have a great start to 2016 everyone!

Happy Holidays from Moniker!

A very Happy Holiday season from us!

This year it is warm (10C/ about 50F) and rainy, but hopefully the dogs will get to run around in the snow again soon!

We wish you a happy and healthy 2016!

Liina is home!

After 3 months away, my little zwerg (Barbwired Champagne) returned home with me to Sweden. She was a good houseguest during her stay in Finland and came home with very nice results from the 5 shows she attended:

2xBOB

2xWinner

1xBOS

3xCERT

5xExc

4xExc1 CK

1xExc2

With these results, she should earn 4 new titles upon reaching 2 years of age. Not too shabby for the little girl.

Now we have a little bit of time to rest before the next shows start. Good to have you home my sassy little dog!

Liina BOB in Lithuania

Markku & Liina(Barbwired Champagne) took a show trip down to Panevezys, Lithuania on October 24/25 and came back with great results: 2xExc, 2xCAC, 2xWinner, 2x BOB!

 Furthermore, Markku also took Barbwired Austria-Liina's Mom-and Barbwired De Tomaso-Iita's puppy- who both did very well, earning the titles of Lithuanian Champion & Lithuanian Junior Champion, respectively. Great job Markku and the Barbwired Dogs!

On another quick note, 2 more of Iita's puppies were shown (bringing the total to 6/7) and have received Excellent with CK/CAC. What a super promising litter! Congrats to the owners and breeder and my little start Iita. :)

Great News from Finland!

Markku and Liina went to the National Dog Show in Tuulos, Finland yesterday. Liina had to originally be entered as a normal size wirehaired dachshund because on the closing date of the show, her Swedish confirmation paperwork had not yet come. Anyhow, as she is now recognized by the Finnish and Swedish kennel clubs as a miniature, she was allowed to change classes. This made her a bit of the dark horse in the competition... an unknown dog coming in for the first time in Finland and now as a mini.

Markku is an old pro when it comes to showing and he and Liina have been practicing together. Well, Liina was not only awarded Exc1 and CQ, but Best Female 1 with CAC and Best Opposite Sex (BOS)! Her first show in Finland and she practically took it all! Not bad from the first miniature wirehaired dachshund out of kennel Barbwired. :)

Happy breeder and little Liina!

Such wonderful news after a shitty couple of weeks! Additionally, Liina was entered in Junior class and won best junior female, so she also earns the WUTJCh title. So proud of this little girl! Also very proud that she has been awarded CERTs in 2 countries at 17 months of age and with limited showing. It also means that when she earns her Swedish Championship, she will also have earned her Finnish CH as well. I hope that big things lay ahead for her. The house is for sure quiet without her here, but the big Barbwireds and keeping me company.

Many thanks to Markku for showing Liina and I hope for continued success in the next couple of months!

My new Project

So where did summer go? Here it is, already the beginning of autumn and this year is just flying by...

I have been keeping myself nice and busy with work, visits from friends, and, of course, hanging out with my 4 leggers. Liina and I attended a couple of shows in the past month and although the results have not been spectacular, one exciting thing did happen. Liina is now officially registered as a miniature wirehaired dachshund. She has been finally measured to 34 cm at just shy of 17 months old, but even I think that is a bit big as she had previously been measured 32 & 33 cm. In any case, the little princess is indeed that...

Liina and I in Kjugekull this past May

Well, last weekend Salla came into town and brought with her a new friend for me...

Everyone, meet Baxter's sister Barbwired Bella Bambina "Iita"

A few months back, Markku wrote to ask if I would mind "hosting" Iita and doing some training and tracking with her while Liina was with them in Finland. I, being crazy, said "of course" and so Salla and Iita flew in for the Copenhagen Winner show (Iita was Ex2 in her class). Salla and I spent the weekend hanging out and enjoying Skåne's bizarre weather... snow/hail in the morning, then blue skies, then heavy wind and rain- all in a matter of hours. 

Then on Monday I did the crazy think and signed Iita and I up for an anlagsprov/aptitude test tracking exam. The weather was perfect, a little damp, but not raining and we were in a wooded area with a lot of moss and grass. I was nervous as I realized as soon as we started the exam that I had NO IDEA what language the dog was used to tracking in! Her owner Marja told me that she had been speaking English with Iita during tracking, but I wasn't sure. Luckily Iita knew exactly what she was doing and I just had to read her. She was a bit quick and overshot a couple areas, but came back with little time wasted. She did NOT seem to understand why there was an unknown woman following her though! She came back a couple times just seeming to ask me "Why is this woman out here with us?" before touching her nose to my leg and moving on. After 13 minutes we were finished with the exam and passed with very nice marks from judge Jessica. Yay! Iita was now qualified for Swedish working class at show and we could move onto Open class tracks.

Godkänd anlagsprov!

The very next day was a super busy one. After speaking with Marja the night before, I had learned a new and important Finnish work "Jälki," which was Iita's motivational word for "track". Admittedly, I tried English and German on her with piss poor results. With our anlagsprov passed, we could move onto open class and the exam that I had optimistically booked at the beginning of the month could happen. Before that though, we had to take Salla and Liina to the airport. Liina would be spending the next 3 months in Finland for shows, training, and maybe taking the PIKA trial for mini dachshunds. So I sadly said goodbye not only to my good friend, but to my tiny little girl. 

Liina the traveler en route to Helsinki

Immediately after dropping the girls in Copenhagen, I raced back over the bridge to Sweden in just shit weather conditions. It was pouring rain, windy, and cold. I was not enjoying the drive and I knew I would like the tracking even less. I also knew that with the weather we would arrive late to Görel so I sent an SMS apologizing and hoping that she wouldn't be too pissed at my tardiness. When I arrived, Görel was kind,  but I of course was a bit frazzled, tired from driving, and just ready to go. I of course apologized profusely for being late, but she shrugged it off in a kind, Swedish manner. We then went to the woods and I immediately got nervous. These were the woods where a year earlier Baxter had failed with Simon. I knew there were a lot of animals in there and the brush would be thick, so it would be a challenge. We started and I remembered that Iita had never been taught the Swedish "starting box," but at least today I had her motivation word! I told her to track and she did. She worked well despite the thick brush and was relatively easy to read when she was off. All was going well and then all of a sudden, her head was super alert and up, the body was tense and she took off like a shot. I lost hold of the line and my saving grace was that she zig-zagged and was wrapped around a tree. I didn't see the animal, but Iita certainly was after it! I immediately ran to grab the leash and told the judge I would take my 1 call back. It took longer than expected to untie Iita and the judge double checked that I did indeed request a call back and I confirmed. We came back and she was very proud of me for reading the dog and situation and call for the callback so quickly (even if it took me a few minutes to get back). Whatever the animal was (I think it was a Roe deer or maybe a small Red deer) it decided to sit and watch us for a while. Iita was a bit more wide in her tracking after that, but she immediately picked the track back up and followed it with relative ease to the end. All-in-all a good track in tough terrain, but my quick thinking I believe secured our 1st prize. :) 

With that result Iita now qualified for her Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Welt Union Teckel Championships. 

The new Champion playing at home

We have taken a short break from tracking as I had a work conference, but Iita is a natural. She loops a bit more than I like, checking and double checking corners, leading to me working hard to keep a long, loose line, but she is a good tracking partner. We will do a few more tests and a show before she heads home at the end of the month. She has been a very good houseguest and is basically a female Baxter. She wants to be with me and be my shadow and has decided that I am her person. It is rare to find dogs that are so calm and adaptable as these two. Feed them and give them love and they can be almost anywhere and with anyone. Baxter is a little jealous though that his sister wants to be my lapdog, but he just squeezes himself on there as well.

17 Beauty and work titles between these siblings

Tracking training and trials will start again this week. I decided I wanted extra practices with Iita so that I can learn to read her a bit better. Baxter will be so mad that he is AGAIN not going tracking, but your time will come Bax, we will train again next year, but maybe for Denmark, Finland, or Norway and their tests. ;)

And what of little Liina? She is enjoying time with her family at Barbwired in Finalnd. She is playing with Mom and uncle Ollie. Dad is a bit of a bother and she would like Grandma to play, but at 10, Iiris is starting to show her age. She tolerates the little girl well, but wants to be left to herself. 

3 generations in 1 basket! Here you can really see Liina's size difference.
 Grandma(Iiris) in on the bottom, Mom (Aura) on the left, and Liina on the right.

So my new project is off to a great start and I really hope that Iita will go home with a working title, but only the next few weeks will show for certain...

Liina BOS and Junior BIS-4 in Kjugekull!

I have heard a rumor that there is always rain for the yearly dachshund show in Kjugekull. Last year Baxter was BM2 with CK and CERT and this year it was Liina's turn to shine. Liina and I were up and on the road at 6:30 this morning to join our friend Marianne and her puppy Laura for the taxklub show. It was the biggest club show I have ever been to with 133 dachshunds of all 9 varieties registered! The judges were great and moved along at a relatively good pace despite the adverse weather conditions. The day started and ended with sunshine, but there was quite a lot of rain in between. Regardless, good times, good friends, and good results!

Liina was shown in Junior class as a mini wire (measured today at 32cm) with 2 other female mini wires in the class. The judge loved Liina and awarded her Ex1, CK, Junior BOB! I was over the moon! We then walked for Best female and won! SO exciting!!! Then the heavens opened up and the rain poured down. Both Liina and I looked like drowned rats, but were awarded BOS (best opposite sex). :)

Evaluation Translation " Excellent type, size and proportions. Beautifully well balanced head. Good ears, eyes (though eyes could be a bit darker). Good bite. Very good forebreast and front. Excellent neck and shoulders, good ribcage depth and length. Beautiful back/pelvis and well angled back. Excellent coat quality and excellent movement

To top it all off, we walked today in the Best in Show Junior competition and placed 4th! So proud of my little dog and how well she did today! A little more practice and she will be a superstar. :)