Freddie and Freja's puppies are 3 weeks old!

A little late, but Freddie and Freja's puppies at Skogsvettens kennel are now 3 weeks old! Their eyes and ears are open and they are starting to wander around. All are gaining weight and doing all the things little puppies should. The puppies are having their first meetings with their new owners as well.

Photo: Skogsvettens

(from left to right: Vile, Thekla, Ymer, Troja, Idun)

As of now, all puppies are spoken for.

2 male Standard wire dachshunds from hunting lines available!

Freddie's pups are now 3 days old and growing up quickly!

I have received word that the 2 males: Ymer and Vile are still available to active homes.

Both parents are excellent blood trackers, work well underground, and are chasing/hunting above ground.

Additionally, Freddie was tested in Germany and is Spurlaut (2nd prize & Best of Day).

Ymer's page: http://skogsvettens.nu/skogsvettens%20kullar/ymer.html
Vile's page: http://skogsvettens.nu/skogsvettens%20kullar/vile.html

There is 0% inbreeding in this combination. The pups are registered with the Swedish Kennel Club (and thus FCI) and the pedigree is full of hunting champions (International and National).

For more information or interest, contact me at whdackel@gmail.com

Freddie's puppies are born!

Late last night in Järbo, Sweden, Freja and Freddie's puppies were born! Weighing 276-308g, 2 boys and 3 girls were born. To my knowledge, all the girls are spoken for, but a male may still be available.

The 3 girls and 1 boy waiting for their little brother to be born

The pups come from great French, German, and Swedish hunting lines:


We are excited to watch Freddie's pups grow and develop and will continue to update as the weeks progress. <3

8 weeks today!

8 weeks along and highly pregnant, Freja is still actively out digging in the garden! Breeder Sussi thinks 4 puppies, but a few others (including myself) think there are a few more puppies hiding in there. Within a week we should know the number for sure! Sussi told me that they are very active pups already, so I can only imagine the havoc that these little ones will make in the future. :)

For more info, pictures (even in English!) see here: http://stravharigataxarsblogg.skogsvettens.nu/#home

These will be the first puppies out of our boy J SEVCH Fallilou du Sangre Bleu (Freddie) and, needless to say, we are very excited to see what he produces! These pups are going to have a lot of hunting potential as both Freja and Freddie love to chase, love underground work, and have great noses. Furthermore, these pups have generations of working champions (above and below ground) behind them. Both parents have earned 1st prizes in open class blood tracking as well as 1st prize in underground testing. Freddie was also trained and tested in Denmark this year. The brown boy still has it and has crazy drive, but was unfortunately a bit too hot for the fox during the test. Ah well, let's see if we can get his jaktprov this year instead. ;)

For more information on Freddie (merit, parents, etc...) see HERE

Count down to puppies

Less than 2 weeks until Freddie and Freja's puppies are here! Needless to say we are all excited. Freja already has a rather big stomach and Sussi (the breeder) thinks there are at least 4 puppies.

The Skogsvettens' website has gotten a facelift and Sussi has added some nice videos of Freja and Freddie working- both in gryt/underground training and permodjur (animal reaction tests).

See more here: http://skogsvettens.nu/valpar%20v%C3%A4ntas/index.html

Freddie and his stick as a 5 month old pup

Wirehaired Puppies expected October 13th!

Although it is still a bit early, day 26, we are cautiously optimistic that Freddie and Freja had a successful rendezvous. Freja is acting very pregnant, complete with "morning sickness" and extreme klingy-ness to her owner. It will be another couple of weeks before I can post belly pictures, but the expected due date of the pups is October 13th.

 

Below is a link to Skogsvetten's blog where you can read about how Freja's pregnancy is going (in Swedish).Freja's Pregnancy Update

This litter has a great combination of hunting lines, full of Swedish,Nordic, German, French Hunting champions and International hunting champions. Freja has several ancestors from the famous "Mariebergs" kennel in Sweden and Freddie is out of Kobeddus and de la Meute a Cheops lines, well known throughout Europe.

Freja is used practically at home for underground work and has been tested on badger (Kval 1) and blood tracking (2x 1st prize) in Sweden. Freddie (Fallilou du Sangre Bleu) has been tested throughout Europe (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden) and has the following merits to his name:

SEVCH-Swedish Blood tracking champion

J- Jaktmerit (Hunting Merit)

BhFK/95-DE, BHKF95-IT (100pts), BHP1&2, Fbja (rrCACT), Grytanlagsprov (Kval 1)-SE, Grytapporteringsprov GK-SE, Gryteftersökhund GK, SchwhK/20, SchwhK/40 (CACT), Sfk, Sp (TS), Viltspår (3x1st prize)-SE, Approved for Den test in Denmark (test later this year).

For more information feel free to contact us or contact Skogsvettens Kennel (Who speak excellent English as well as Swedish).

Reflection on the EDS

Maybe I am a bit old fashioned... but shouldn't European style dogs that conform to the FCI standard win at the European Dog Show?

One would think. 

When I saw the online results for standard wirehaired dachshunds yesterday I was a bit shattered for a number of reasons:

1.) A very small showing of Standard wires... only 48 and some were absent. There are clubshows in Sweden that regularly have larger entries. The miniature AND kaninchen wires had more entries. I find that crazy. Was it due to the judge? Are people starting to shy away from the big shows? It has been a lot about faces and handlers in the past years...

2.) I expected to see some of the bigger name kennels... but many were seemingly absent. I don't know the reason for this, but I can say that I know I was not familiar with many of the judges names that I saw on dachshunds at EDS. Often, the international shows are opting out of breed specialists and trying to stretch their money by instead bringing in all-arounders. It is a sad reality and often the dogs that represent the standard best are overlooked, whether it be by handling,  "flashy-ness", or face.

3.) NONE of the winning dogs at the EDS this year were of full European blood. I actually did a double take when I saw the names of the winners... American and Brazilian lines and kennels dominated. 

As a lover of the old European style and firm believer that a dachshund isn't a dachshund without hunt, these results made me extremely sad. Admittedly, I do find myself ooo-ing and ahhh-ing sometimes over a dog with similar bloodlines to the winners, but the reality is, that is not what I strive for in my future breeding. I want a dog that will go to ground, track blood, and willingly and vocally chase hares and deer. Do I have the perfect dogs? No, far from it. They are excellent dogs in their own rights and I wish I could mix and match them all. Take the hunting drive from Fred, the looks from Bax, and the grace and movement from Liina. Who knows, years down the line I may have the opportunity to realize this dream. Do I strive for a World Winner Dog? Sure, who doesn't. The reality is that I want to stay true to my breed, whether or not they are the most beautiful dog in the world. I want a dog that hunts and, specifically, can maintain the courage and ability to hunt under ground and remains functional, without exaggerations. 

I fear that the dachshund may go the way of so many other dogs... labrador, german shepards, etc... and be ruined by the show ring. We don't need "show" dachshunds and "working" dachshunds. 

They should be one in the same.

*Note: The comments and posts are my personal opinion.*