Sunday, September 15, 2013
Black and Tan Longhair dackel puppy looking for a home
Are you searching for a new puppy from hunting lines? There is a male standard, black and tan longhair Dackel pup looking for a home. Both parents have been rated "Excellent" and are in active hunting homes. If you are interested, please contact me and I will put you in contact with the breeder.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
For the betterment of the breed?
There has been an issue in Switzerland that has been really irking me lately in regards to dackels. This happens to be the change that took place at the General assembly last March regarding dogs in working class. In Switzerland (as in many countries) up until this year a dog could pass a 1000m Blood track (of any known PO) or Sp+ BhFK/St/Vp/Was in order to obtain a working class certificate. This certificate makes the dog eligible for the working class in exhibition, but, to me, it also proves that the dog has qualities that are desirable and are more than just a pretty face. Furthermore, to obtain beauty titles from many countries, working results are required because why have a pretty dog that isn't at least somewhat functional.
This past April there was a vote to change the rules for working class, to add a working title, AND to also effectively make the International Beauty certificate unattainable to Swiss dogs owned by non-hunters. Basically the new rules read like this:
GHK (Working dog class):
The dog should have the following tests-Sp, BhFK/95,SchwhK/St/Vp
OK, this I was ok with. It is harder to obtain since there was 1 more test required for the certificate, but still doable. These are all tests that I would always train my dogs on anyhow as the dogs should be able to work above and below ground.
A new title was added, or rather resurrected, the VollGebrauchsHund (Full working dog), which entails that a dog complete BhFK/95 and Vp. Fine, great! We now have a title similar to a German Gebrauchssieger. The GS title is much more elite, though, as you must have a natural Bauprüfung as well as 1st or 2nd prize in a Vp.
What absolutely irritates me is that for the international beauty certificate (which is sanctioned by the FCI) is now linked in Switzerland to the dog being a VGH. Again, why does this matter? Well, in order to participate in tests other than Sp, WaT and BhFK/95, in many countries requires a hunting permit. This means that only the people who have the money and time to obtain a hunting certificate (which can take 2 years and over 2000 CHF) could obtain this title.
So why am I annoyed? Why am I angry and getting opinionated about this? Let me tell you...
1.) The new rules were never formally announced before the meeting and, thus, should not have been voted on. Furthermore, there was a misprint in the official GV minutes, indicating that this was only a topic for discussion. The attitude over this mistake has been "the members should have policed the board," but most members do not know all the fine details of the statues. Also, very few people were in attendance (less than 60 of the 650 SDC members) because no one knew an issue like this would be voted on. Sketchy to say the least... The vote did pass (though just as many people chose not to vote as said "yes"). Either way, I find it horrible that this could have been presented online or in the SDC bulletin that came out 1 month before the meeting and neither was done.
2.) The hunters are beginning to think of themselves as the elite. At a recent trial there was bitching over the fact that non-hunters were "taking spots" in blood tracking practices. One of the judges pointed out that this was a crap statement and it was first come first serve for those that want to work with their dogs! This is an attitude that I appreciate and admire. All of these tests which are listed above are artificial. There will be no injured deer or boar at the end of a track, no rabbits will be shot during Sp, no foxes injured in BhFK/95, so why need the license to take these tests? Technically according to the DTK, it is at the judges discretion if they allow a non-hunter to participate. It can happen and we know a few judges that would likely allow it, but you have to have an in. Simon asked our hunting test organizer last spring what the chance was that we could take a hunting test without the hunting license if there were open spots. His answer "Slim to none." Why? Our money is just as good as anyone else's! It is really a bit of an elitist attitude. For example, only 1 dog participated in the SDC blood tracking exam (1000m) this year. Freddie would have been qualified and I would have been happy to lay track, but we did not even apply since we were told earlier this year that we absolutely needed the license. This brings me to my next point:
3.) French hunting licenses. This is what is suggested to us EVERY time we mention that we don't have a hunting license. The french license is cheap, fast, and easy (by Swiss standards). The same hunting guy who told we needed a hunting license, followed up by saying, "Ya, but just get a french one!" Ummm... what? Technically the rules say that you can have a hunting license from where ever as long as it is valid. Why don't I just spend $100 and order one from the US? I would just need to take a safety course when I'm back home this fall. Ya know, I maybe I'll just do it.
4.) This whole change really dampens my attitude towards the club and the hunting club, especially since Simon and I have been some of the most active members. We began blood tracking practices on our own because of the attitude of some of the people in the Jagd club. When Freddie was a puppy his first practice track with the club was 500m. He did super well for the 1st half, but then started to get bored and sniff whatever because 500m is TOO LONG for an inexperienced young dog. Furthermore, the track was super near to a walking path, so everyone and their dogs, horses, etc... were walking past and poor Fred was getting distracted. We contacted the club president to ask if we could have a shorter track (250-300m) for our inexperienced pup and the response was "if your dog cannot complete a 500m track it is either very bad or you are very bad at motivating the dog." Well WTH! This is like expecting children to know how to read without ever learning the alphabet. Ugh. So we began blood tracking on our own and soon after Freddie was completing 500m, 40 hr tracks easily in 15 min. I think our work with Freddie has paid off as he was 4th on the working dog list in Switzerland last year for tests passed. He would have been 1st if both of our fox tests in Italy would have counted (he is missing 94 points), but no matter! I was very proud of the work that we did with him.
With all of these new rules I feel very torn as to what to do. I would love to continue with the club. We have friends in the club, but these new rules seem to target people like Simon and I and tell us that we are basically not good enough. Do I really need to learn French, German, and/or go into debit in order to continue working with my dogs? No. I don't. The problem is that any tests that we perform outside of Switzerland, Germany, or France will not count for anything in the eyes of the SDC.
5.) Oh yes, Switzerland now has the rule that only tests in Germany, France, Switzerland, or organized by WUT (Welt union teckel) will be counted towards working results in Switzerland. This means that any tests performed in Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungry, Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, etc... essentially the whole of Europe, don't count towards the Swiss working dog certificate OR the VGH/CIB title. I realize that each and every country can decide which tests it accepts, but, for example, Italy conducts tests according to the DTK PO. It should count in Switzerland, right? Wrong. Sigh. Furthermore, the dog could be a working champion in any of the above mentioned countries, but unless it was a German or French Gebrauchssieger it would not count in Switzerland. Actually, a dog could technically be an International working champion, but not qualify for the working certificate in Switzerland. How messed up is that?
All these new rules would make sense if Switzerland was able to conduct all of the trials that it requires for its working certificates/VGH, but right now only Wassertest, Spurlaut, and SchwhK is conducted in Switzerland and this is only 1 of each test per year with a maximum of 8 dogs per test. We don't even have the facilities to do BhFK/95 in CH and this test is under scrutiny in many areas in Germany, so soon that may not be an option either. So the Swiss that want to work with their dogs will have to compete to get spots in the already crowded tests in Germany.
So what will we do? Well, we will continue on as we normally would. We will do the tests that we can in Germany/Switzerland (Sp, BhFK, maybe St if we can find a colleague to help us out). We will also do trials down in Italy this year and get results. It is not only fun, but fantastic practice for more tests later. Although I am not in agreement with all of the new rules, we will likely get a hunting license because we want to keep working with the dogs. We will likely never be hunters. I love to eat venison, boar, rabbit, but I rather be tracking the wounded animal than shooting it. Plus, I'm not actually sure that I could get a license for a gun since I am a foreigner...
Who knows what will happen in Switzerland in the future, but I can tell you I think that this new set of rules is not going to help the breed. From what I have seen personally, there is already a distinction between show dogs and working dogs. As we were told, "working class is for dogs with more faults," which I think is complete bull shit. By implementing these types of rules, I can only imagine that the difference between working dogs and beauty dogs will grow. In the worst cases, it could end up like the dackels in the US where it is hard to convince people that the overangulated lawn-mowers are the same breed as the agile, light weight trackers. I think that this is a negative step for Swiss dackels, but only time will really tell. Until then we will continue doing what we are doing and trying to make our dogs the best that they can be.
This past April there was a vote to change the rules for working class, to add a working title, AND to also effectively make the International Beauty certificate unattainable to Swiss dogs owned by non-hunters. Basically the new rules read like this:
GHK (Working dog class):
The dog should have the following tests-Sp, BhFK/95,SchwhK/St/Vp
OK, this I was ok with. It is harder to obtain since there was 1 more test required for the certificate, but still doable. These are all tests that I would always train my dogs on anyhow as the dogs should be able to work above and below ground.
A new title was added, or rather resurrected, the VollGebrauchsHund (Full working dog), which entails that a dog complete BhFK/95 and Vp. Fine, great! We now have a title similar to a German Gebrauchssieger. The GS title is much more elite, though, as you must have a natural Bauprüfung as well as 1st or 2nd prize in a Vp.
What absolutely irritates me is that for the international beauty certificate (which is sanctioned by the FCI) is now linked in Switzerland to the dog being a VGH. Again, why does this matter? Well, in order to participate in tests other than Sp, WaT and BhFK/95, in many countries requires a hunting permit. This means that only the people who have the money and time to obtain a hunting certificate (which can take 2 years and over 2000 CHF) could obtain this title.
So why am I annoyed? Why am I angry and getting opinionated about this? Let me tell you...
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| Traditional Jagdhornbläser. Simon has now picked up this hobby. |
1.) The new rules were never formally announced before the meeting and, thus, should not have been voted on. Furthermore, there was a misprint in the official GV minutes, indicating that this was only a topic for discussion. The attitude over this mistake has been "the members should have policed the board," but most members do not know all the fine details of the statues. Also, very few people were in attendance (less than 60 of the 650 SDC members) because no one knew an issue like this would be voted on. Sketchy to say the least... The vote did pass (though just as many people chose not to vote as said "yes"). Either way, I find it horrible that this could have been presented online or in the SDC bulletin that came out 1 month before the meeting and neither was done.
2.) The hunters are beginning to think of themselves as the elite. At a recent trial there was bitching over the fact that non-hunters were "taking spots" in blood tracking practices. One of the judges pointed out that this was a crap statement and it was first come first serve for those that want to work with their dogs! This is an attitude that I appreciate and admire. All of these tests which are listed above are artificial. There will be no injured deer or boar at the end of a track, no rabbits will be shot during Sp, no foxes injured in BhFK/95, so why need the license to take these tests? Technically according to the DTK, it is at the judges discretion if they allow a non-hunter to participate. It can happen and we know a few judges that would likely allow it, but you have to have an in. Simon asked our hunting test organizer last spring what the chance was that we could take a hunting test without the hunting license if there were open spots. His answer "Slim to none." Why? Our money is just as good as anyone else's! It is really a bit of an elitist attitude. For example, only 1 dog participated in the SDC blood tracking exam (1000m) this year. Freddie would have been qualified and I would have been happy to lay track, but we did not even apply since we were told earlier this year that we absolutely needed the license. This brings me to my next point:
3.) French hunting licenses. This is what is suggested to us EVERY time we mention that we don't have a hunting license. The french license is cheap, fast, and easy (by Swiss standards). The same hunting guy who told we needed a hunting license, followed up by saying, "Ya, but just get a french one!" Ummm... what? Technically the rules say that you can have a hunting license from where ever as long as it is valid. Why don't I just spend $100 and order one from the US? I would just need to take a safety course when I'm back home this fall. Ya know, I maybe I'll just do it.
4.) This whole change really dampens my attitude towards the club and the hunting club, especially since Simon and I have been some of the most active members. We began blood tracking practices on our own because of the attitude of some of the people in the Jagd club. When Freddie was a puppy his first practice track with the club was 500m. He did super well for the 1st half, but then started to get bored and sniff whatever because 500m is TOO LONG for an inexperienced young dog. Furthermore, the track was super near to a walking path, so everyone and their dogs, horses, etc... were walking past and poor Fred was getting distracted. We contacted the club president to ask if we could have a shorter track (250-300m) for our inexperienced pup and the response was "if your dog cannot complete a 500m track it is either very bad or you are very bad at motivating the dog." Well WTH! This is like expecting children to know how to read without ever learning the alphabet. Ugh. So we began blood tracking on our own and soon after Freddie was completing 500m, 40 hr tracks easily in 15 min. I think our work with Freddie has paid off as he was 4th on the working dog list in Switzerland last year for tests passed. He would have been 1st if both of our fox tests in Italy would have counted (he is missing 94 points), but no matter! I was very proud of the work that we did with him.
With all of these new rules I feel very torn as to what to do. I would love to continue with the club. We have friends in the club, but these new rules seem to target people like Simon and I and tell us that we are basically not good enough. Do I really need to learn French, German, and/or go into debit in order to continue working with my dogs? No. I don't. The problem is that any tests that we perform outside of Switzerland, Germany, or France will not count for anything in the eyes of the SDC.
5.) Oh yes, Switzerland now has the rule that only tests in Germany, France, Switzerland, or organized by WUT (Welt union teckel) will be counted towards working results in Switzerland. This means that any tests performed in Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungry, Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, etc... essentially the whole of Europe, don't count towards the Swiss working dog certificate OR the VGH/CIB title. I realize that each and every country can decide which tests it accepts, but, for example, Italy conducts tests according to the DTK PO. It should count in Switzerland, right? Wrong. Sigh. Furthermore, the dog could be a working champion in any of the above mentioned countries, but unless it was a German or French Gebrauchssieger it would not count in Switzerland. Actually, a dog could technically be an International working champion, but not qualify for the working certificate in Switzerland. How messed up is that?
All these new rules would make sense if Switzerland was able to conduct all of the trials that it requires for its working certificates/VGH, but right now only Wassertest, Spurlaut, and SchwhK is conducted in Switzerland and this is only 1 of each test per year with a maximum of 8 dogs per test. We don't even have the facilities to do BhFK/95 in CH and this test is under scrutiny in many areas in Germany, so soon that may not be an option either. So the Swiss that want to work with their dogs will have to compete to get spots in the already crowded tests in Germany.
So what will we do? Well, we will continue on as we normally would. We will do the tests that we can in Germany/Switzerland (Sp, BhFK, maybe St if we can find a colleague to help us out). We will also do trials down in Italy this year and get results. It is not only fun, but fantastic practice for more tests later. Although I am not in agreement with all of the new rules, we will likely get a hunting license because we want to keep working with the dogs. We will likely never be hunters. I love to eat venison, boar, rabbit, but I rather be tracking the wounded animal than shooting it. Plus, I'm not actually sure that I could get a license for a gun since I am a foreigner...
Who knows what will happen in Switzerland in the future, but I can tell you I think that this new set of rules is not going to help the breed. From what I have seen personally, there is already a distinction between show dogs and working dogs. As we were told, "working class is for dogs with more faults," which I think is complete bull shit. By implementing these types of rules, I can only imagine that the difference between working dogs and beauty dogs will grow. In the worst cases, it could end up like the dackels in the US where it is hard to convince people that the overangulated lawn-mowers are the same breed as the agile, light weight trackers. I think that this is a negative step for Swiss dackels, but only time will really tell. Until then we will continue doing what we are doing and trying to make our dogs the best that they can be.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
This weekend in Pictures
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| The ring set up at the Swiss club show. The weather was absolutely perfect. |
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| Spectators |
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| Junior male ring at the Swiss Clubshow |
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| Simon and Baxter, Barbara Palladini with Castelpetroio Fa' Baccano and Dr. Marlies Müller with Lukas vom Linteler-Forst |
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| Baxter stacked |
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| View from our balcony in Pringy |
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| In the European Dog show in Geneva |
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| Baxter stacked on the podium |
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| Competing for Best Male (CACIB) |
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| On the down and back |
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| European Champion 2013 Lollipop della Val Vezzeno |
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| Markku and Iiris (Baxter's mom). Iiris at 8.5 years old is now European Veteran Champion 2013! Congrats Iiris!! |
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| Markku and Iiris competing for Best Veteran |
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| Best of Breed from Kennel Idesüss |
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| Awesome castle bridge on the way back to our hotel from Geneva |
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| Enjoying the gorgeous scenery |
Monday, September 2, 2013
CH Landessieger, Eurodog Show & Formwert
Hi everyone!
Please forgive my tardiness as we have been having a great couple of days in the Geneva/French area! Yesterday was the Swiss Landessieger show and today was the Euro dog show.
I am happy to report that we seem to have broken our SG streak and now have a few more "V"s under our belt. In the Swiss landessieger show Simon and Baxter received a V3 in junior class. Not too shabby considering the other competitors were the WUT Weltjugendsieger and the German Klubsieger. Baxter was officially the best junior male from Switzerland. ;) Maybe next year the competition won't be so tough!
Today was the Euro dog show in Geneva. Baxter was in a class on 12 junior males and managed to receive a V rating. The competition was tough and the dogs that won yesterday also received Junior Winner and Junior Reserve Winner today. Simon and Baxter are still learning, but showed very nicely after a few tips from our mentors/breeders.
Big congrats today go to Baxter's Mom: "Taxette's Isla Margarita" who was V2 Veteran Reserve at the Swiss Clubsieger yesterday and V1 European Veteran Winner today! Congrats Iiris!!!
We are so excited to own such a wonderful dog and hope for many more great show days.
Furthermore, Baxter received his Zahnstatus (tooth status) as well as him Formwert evaluation. Bax has no missing teeth and received a great evaluation. After sending in the paperwork, Bax will be approved for breeding in Switzerland.
Great and fun weekend so far!!!
Please forgive my tardiness as we have been having a great couple of days in the Geneva/French area! Yesterday was the Swiss Landessieger show and today was the Euro dog show.
I am happy to report that we seem to have broken our SG streak and now have a few more "V"s under our belt. In the Swiss landessieger show Simon and Baxter received a V3 in junior class. Not too shabby considering the other competitors were the WUT Weltjugendsieger and the German Klubsieger. Baxter was officially the best junior male from Switzerland. ;) Maybe next year the competition won't be so tough!
Today was the Euro dog show in Geneva. Baxter was in a class on 12 junior males and managed to receive a V rating. The competition was tough and the dogs that won yesterday also received Junior Winner and Junior Reserve Winner today. Simon and Baxter are still learning, but showed very nicely after a few tips from our mentors/breeders.
Big congrats today go to Baxter's Mom: "Taxette's Isla Margarita" who was V2 Veteran Reserve at the Swiss Clubsieger yesterday and V1 European Veteran Winner today! Congrats Iiris!!!
We are so excited to own such a wonderful dog and hope for many more great show days.
Furthermore, Baxter received his Zahnstatus (tooth status) as well as him Formwert evaluation. Bax has no missing teeth and received a great evaluation. After sending in the paperwork, Bax will be approved for breeding in Switzerland.
Great and fun weekend so far!!!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Back!
Dear readers,
I am back! The thesis has been turned in to my committee and the other copy will make its way to the Dean's office by the end of the week. I am happy that is over, now I have to study for my exam...
But currently, that is neither here nor there. This weekend is a big weekend for us as we are hosting our friends and breeders in Switzerland for the Eurodogshow! I'm more excited for the people than the show, but I think it'll be an experience. Over the course of 4 days there are supposed to be 11,000 dogs (of course some of those dogs are also registered for the all breed show tomorrow). It's a big deal and I'm a bit surprised that they would choose a country as expensive as Switzerland to host it.
We will not be partaking in the all breed show tomorrow. I wish we would have as the judge is supposed to favor our type of dog and there are NO intermediate males. Might have been a nice start towards a Swiss Ch title. Oh, well. That's life!
Saturday will be the Swiss Club show. I'm not sure how many Dackel will show up, but I am guessing that if they come for the Euro show, they will also join for the club show.
Sunday is the Eurodog show. There are 58 standard wirehaired dachshunds entered with 30% being juniors. Baxter is registered in junior class, so we'll see if the judge is forgiving with his bit of wobble in the back. His muscles are starting to nicely tighten up, but he still needs a few more months...
After these shows, we are taking a break and going back to more hunting practices. September brings spurlaut practices and we're hoping that the small one finds his voice.
I'm going to try and blog on both days complete with pictures. So get ready!
I am back! The thesis has been turned in to my committee and the other copy will make its way to the Dean's office by the end of the week. I am happy that is over, now I have to study for my exam...
But currently, that is neither here nor there. This weekend is a big weekend for us as we are hosting our friends and breeders in Switzerland for the Eurodogshow! I'm more excited for the people than the show, but I think it'll be an experience. Over the course of 4 days there are supposed to be 11,000 dogs (of course some of those dogs are also registered for the all breed show tomorrow). It's a big deal and I'm a bit surprised that they would choose a country as expensive as Switzerland to host it.
We will not be partaking in the all breed show tomorrow. I wish we would have as the judge is supposed to favor our type of dog and there are NO intermediate males. Might have been a nice start towards a Swiss Ch title. Oh, well. That's life!
Saturday will be the Swiss Club show. I'm not sure how many Dackel will show up, but I am guessing that if they come for the Euro show, they will also join for the club show.
Sunday is the Eurodog show. There are 58 standard wirehaired dachshunds entered with 30% being juniors. Baxter is registered in junior class, so we'll see if the judge is forgiving with his bit of wobble in the back. His muscles are starting to nicely tighten up, but he still needs a few more months...
After these shows, we are taking a break and going back to more hunting practices. September brings spurlaut practices and we're hoping that the small one finds his voice.
I'm going to try and blog on both days complete with pictures. So get ready!
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| Good night from the boys! |
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
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!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Klubsiegerausstellung, losing streak, and duck retrieving
Hello all, I know I have been absent lately. Between normal, everyday work, trying to finish up my degree, working with the dogs, and making a 3 tiered wedding cake for my very good friend's special day, blogging took a back seat.
So to briefly catch you all up...
We have been chasing a final CAC/J in Germany and we are on a "losing" streak. 3 judges, 3 shows, 3 SGs. All the judges (more or less) have agreed that Bax is a beautiful dog, but his movement isn't there yet. Some judges even commented that the movement may never come and thought that we should take him to a vet to have him examined or recommended muscle powder, etc... One actually said the he was "too low, too heavy, and too loose in the back to ever be a show dog" and that we should save our money or get him a working certificate as working dogs can be more faulty. Whaaa? That really blew me away...
I thought that youth class would be forgiving of these traits since many dogs are not finished at 1 year or 15 months or even 2 years, especially males. So, sadly, we are giving up on the last CAC/J since the shows between now and the end of October in our area are non-existent and the though of driving to Leipzig, Rostock, Bremen, or Dortmund (all at least 5 hours), plus the money and time to likely be told the same things that we have been told in the past seems like a waste.
We did, however, enter Bax for the first time in Zwischenklasse (15-24 months) at the Klubsiegerausstellung in Kaunitz, Germany. We chose this class because we knew that the youth class would be large and full of young up and coming dogs from large, well known breeders. Opting out of youth class was a good choice since there were 12 males entered! It was a VERY full ring! In ZwK there were only 4 males and Baxter was the youngest. I think that he stands out in the ring, not only because I'm partial and think that he is a pretty boy, but because there seems to be a trend lately in taller dachshunds with narrower fronts. Baxter is lower to the ground compared to many dogs and he has a wider front, but it is a straight front and if he stands properly (and not like an A-frame tent, which is his favorite to do in the ring...) he looks beautiful and well built. We came in 3rd of 4 dogs, so not great, but also not a disappointing start. We know his faults and we will get his evaluation tonight to see what the judge commented on. For the time being he is signed up for 1 more show weekend this season: the Swiss club show and the Euro dog show in Geneva. After that set we are planning lots of blood tracking, swimming, running rabbits (if we can find them) and maybe some boar work to get the little one fit and working his nose. For the time being, we will be stationed in Switzerland, but a move will be in our future. Now just to find the jobs!
The Klubsieger was a cool show to be at since a lot of prominent breeders were present and there were of course 350 dachshunds of all sizes and hair types running around. I spoke a bit with Barbara Palladini about her dog Lollipop, who is a beautiful dark, male and went WUT-WS, KS, BIS this weekend. She in turn gave me a nice evaluation of Baxter and suggested that we take about 6 months off from showing and let him have fun being a dog. She said that most of their dogs aren't ready before the age of 2 and that he just needs time. She also told us how much she liked him and then laughed, saying that "Well, he is 1/2 mine!" :) She said that a lot of his qualities reminded her of Apollo (Baxter's dad) and you can tell that she loves that dog. We also were fortunate to briefly meet Brigitte Preuss, who is one of the very well known breeders of wirehair dachshunds and helped to shape how these dackels look today. Our Züchtwartin Tanja owns dogs from Frau Preuss and they have been friends for years and she is the one that introduced us. Frau Preuss loved Baxter's head and coat and asked if she could steal him. So, even though the small one didn't win any prizes, he received a lot of love from the bystanders.
Last but not least we have been practicing our duck retrieving! I think Baxter will retrieve no problem, but Freddie is a bit of a wild card. I think that with a little pressure and the real duck, he just might pass. We'll see in a week! We are planning on taking the boys out swimming and retrieving at least 2 more times in the next week, hoping to solidify their skills. I think that this fall we will again try our dogs blood tracking and spurlaut. Hopefully we can get Baxter his working certificate before we start up with shows again. Time will tell.
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| Photo of said wedding cake. It was delicious, if I do say so myself! |
So to briefly catch you all up...
We have been chasing a final CAC/J in Germany and we are on a "losing" streak. 3 judges, 3 shows, 3 SGs. All the judges (more or less) have agreed that Bax is a beautiful dog, but his movement isn't there yet. Some judges even commented that the movement may never come and thought that we should take him to a vet to have him examined or recommended muscle powder, etc... One actually said the he was "too low, too heavy, and too loose in the back to ever be a show dog" and that we should save our money or get him a working certificate as working dogs can be more faulty. Whaaa? That really blew me away...
I thought that youth class would be forgiving of these traits since many dogs are not finished at 1 year or 15 months or even 2 years, especially males. So, sadly, we are giving up on the last CAC/J since the shows between now and the end of October in our area are non-existent and the though of driving to Leipzig, Rostock, Bremen, or Dortmund (all at least 5 hours), plus the money and time to likely be told the same things that we have been told in the past seems like a waste.
We did, however, enter Bax for the first time in Zwischenklasse (15-24 months) at the Klubsiegerausstellung in Kaunitz, Germany. We chose this class because we knew that the youth class would be large and full of young up and coming dogs from large, well known breeders. Opting out of youth class was a good choice since there were 12 males entered! It was a VERY full ring! In ZwK there were only 4 males and Baxter was the youngest. I think that he stands out in the ring, not only because I'm partial and think that he is a pretty boy, but because there seems to be a trend lately in taller dachshunds with narrower fronts. Baxter is lower to the ground compared to many dogs and he has a wider front, but it is a straight front and if he stands properly (and not like an A-frame tent, which is his favorite to do in the ring...) he looks beautiful and well built. We came in 3rd of 4 dogs, so not great, but also not a disappointing start. We know his faults and we will get his evaluation tonight to see what the judge commented on. For the time being he is signed up for 1 more show weekend this season: the Swiss club show and the Euro dog show in Geneva. After that set we are planning lots of blood tracking, swimming, running rabbits (if we can find them) and maybe some boar work to get the little one fit and working his nose. For the time being, we will be stationed in Switzerland, but a move will be in our future. Now just to find the jobs!
The Klubsieger was a cool show to be at since a lot of prominent breeders were present and there were of course 350 dachshunds of all sizes and hair types running around. I spoke a bit with Barbara Palladini about her dog Lollipop, who is a beautiful dark, male and went WUT-WS, KS, BIS this weekend. She in turn gave me a nice evaluation of Baxter and suggested that we take about 6 months off from showing and let him have fun being a dog. She said that most of their dogs aren't ready before the age of 2 and that he just needs time. She also told us how much she liked him and then laughed, saying that "Well, he is 1/2 mine!" :) She said that a lot of his qualities reminded her of Apollo (Baxter's dad) and you can tell that she loves that dog. We also were fortunate to briefly meet Brigitte Preuss, who is one of the very well known breeders of wirehair dachshunds and helped to shape how these dackels look today. Our Züchtwartin Tanja owns dogs from Frau Preuss and they have been friends for years and she is the one that introduced us. Frau Preuss loved Baxter's head and coat and asked if she could steal him. So, even though the small one didn't win any prizes, he received a lot of love from the bystanders.
Last but not least we have been practicing our duck retrieving! I think Baxter will retrieve no problem, but Freddie is a bit of a wild card. I think that with a little pressure and the real duck, he just might pass. We'll see in a week! We are planning on taking the boys out swimming and retrieving at least 2 more times in the next week, hoping to solidify their skills. I think that this fall we will again try our dogs blood tracking and spurlaut. Hopefully we can get Baxter his working certificate before we start up with shows again. Time will tell.
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