Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Our new display case

When we moved to the new house something became apparent... the dogs also have things. Tracking leashes, spurlaut lines, winter coats (though they rarely wear them), safety vest, and last, but not least, awards.

So where to put this? Since our new place is significantly larger than our old one, Simon and I each have an office. My office is also now the "dog room," but that's ok. I like looking at our dog's accomplishments. Originally we were going to put things on the walls, but then I found this cool room divider/bookcase:
I think it's perfect :)
Maybe we will eventually need something more, but we will tackle that obstacle when we get there.

Also... This came in the mail yesterday:
I think it fits well: Besten Hundeführer 2013 

So needless to say, I'm happy. :)



Monday, March 3, 2014

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!

Dog Shows: The highlights and the hardships

 

You know, I’ve been trying to write this blog post for roughly a month now. I have started it, re-read, stopped, erased, and started over far more than I would like to admit. So what is the topic? Why so much back and forth? I’ll tell you…

So, I’ve decided that my first piece will be on dog shows.

With Westminster last month and Cruft’s just around the corner, it seemed to be a rather timely topic.

I love this poster because I'm waiting for a dachshund to actually WIN at the Garden.
This should be an easy topic, right? Pshhhh. Dream on.  People show dogs for SO many different reasons and as this is my blog, I finally decided that instead of writing just another piece on dog shows, I am opening up about the good and the bad, the highlights, the hardships, the competitions and the comradery we have experienced. We are of course still novices as we only started showing dogs in 2011 and only seriously started in 2013, but that is also the purpose of a blog-to catch a moment in time.

Maybe a little crude, but the message is spot on!
How did we get into showing dogs? Well, I can honestly and fully blame Markku and Salla. Once they helped us get Freddie, they took us under their wing and showed us the full potential of our little brown dog. Whether it was inviting us to group trainings in the Hochrhein dackel group (where we eventually became members), laying blood traces and teaching us how to do it for ourselves, and, of course, going with us to our first dog show. In fact, that is where I first met those two… at a dog show. Now our lives are very much entwined and I couldn’t imagine our life abroad without the fond memories and invaluable information we have received from them. Our first “show adventure” was actually on a trip to Croatia. We were all together on holiday in France and Markku mentioned that he had asked Simon if we wanted to take Freddie to a set of shows with them…in Croatia. Me, being an overenthusiastic travel junky, first ran to Simon to ask why I hadn’t heard of this, before saying heck ya! That was it, 4 months later we were in sunny and stormy Croatia, braving the rain and having a blast at the 4 Summer Nights show. Our goal was to get Freddie a Junior Champion title and although that didn’t happen, we couldn’t be too angry about 2x Very good and 2x Excellent with 1x junior winner/Junior BOB. Though it was very clear that Freddie was not a show dog. Although he is a very obedient dog, he didn’t want to stack and was more than happy to head out of the ring. Besides that, his large size (Freddie weighs in now at 11 kg) hindered him in the show ring in Germany and Switzerland that, until this past year, did not allow Excellent ratings for dogs over 9.9 kg. With that set of shows, though, I was hooked and I knew I wanted our next dog to be showable.
If only you could say this to a judge from time to time.

Fast-forward almost 1 year later and the arrival of our new little boy “Barbwired Better than the Rest.” This little dog had a lot to live up to, not only in name, but in pedigree, as his mom “Taxette’s Isla Margarita” has so many titles, I stopped counting and his dad “Apollo della Val Vezzeno” is a Bundessieger, World Winner WUT, Klubsieger and multi-Champion. I guessed that our work with Freddie paid off, because Markku trusted us with such a promising puppy. In taking this little guy, we had a kind of unspoken agreement that he would be shown as well as worked in the field. Since Simon and I were busy with the last legs of our PhDs, we didn’t show the small one as often as we could, but rather chose ~1 show weekend a month that was within 2 hours driving distance. The first shows had a steep learning curve. I had been practicing with Bax at home to get him to stack, but Simon, as a handler, decided to “just wing it” and practice ring walking only at the show grounds. Ugh… My gosh what a disaster! The first judge was extremely forgiving with his novice handling and told him to slow down a bit so the happy puppy could walk instead of run! This all got better with time, but sometimes I think Baxter’s idea of the show ring is a place to take a leisurely stroll. 

Sometimes this is one of the MOST difficult lessons to remember
We had the good fortune of being the only young male for our first few shows in the ring, so there was a lot of time to practice and assess what to do better for the next show. As Simon got more comfortable with handling, Baxter showed better and they were a great team in the ring. My most memorable show from this season wasn’t when Baxter went BOB, though I will ALWAYS remember the screams of joy and surprise from my friends and colleagues in the next ring, but winning Best Junior Male in Luxembourg. I signed us up for the Luxembourg dog show mainly because it was over Easter weekend and we had very good friends that lived about 20 minutes from the show grounds. I figured that it would be a great opportunity to have a “show-cation” and see more of beautiful, little, Luxembourg. When the statistics came out, I saw that we were up against two other males. This was of course nerve wrecking, as it was our first time with competition. It also proved to be a LONG day as our judge was going to judge ALL standard dachshunds-75+ dogs.  This would also be the first show we went to where we wouldn’t know anyone, which was a bit intimidating. When we got to the show and checked out the catalog, we noticed that our competition had grown from 2 other males to 4 males (2 late entries) and Baxter was the youngest of the bunch. Simon and Baxter went out and did their best and in the end, on the final go around, the judge pointed to Simon. Simon stopped dead, shook the judge’s hand, and looked on cloud nine! He ignored the handshakes of his fellow exhibitors, though not on purpose, picked up Baxter and ran out of the ring to say… Did you see that?!? We won!! The cool thing about Luxembourg is that with 1 best junior certificate, the dog earns a Junior Championship. This means that 2 Junior championships per sex can be given per breed and per year and in 2013, Baxter was one of them. How neat is that? 

Yup, this was our Luxembourg
 
That gives me a good lead in to why do we show our dog. I mean, we have both the junior and adult ratings that say he is an excellent dog, why continue? To me, champion titles are a record of your dog. They leave a legacy and a memory; long after the animal is gone. Shows are so much more than titles though. They give us the opportunity to show our boy to other owners and potential breeders. Maybe they will like him, maybe they won’t, but his results are a kind of advertisement, not only for us, but for his breeders. At almost every show that we have gone to, we have had people come up and ask us: Are we breeders? Where is our dog from? and Will he be fathering puppies? Often they then ask for a business card (which as scientist in academia we don’t have…) or website to contact and “check-in” for puppy news. Needless to say, I think Bax’s breeders should be quite honored by the attention the handsome little dog has attracted.

We have met many breeders and owners at shows and some have become quite good friends. It is always nice to see a familiar face, especially at a big show or in an unfamiliar area. Until this point, we have not had to directly compete against our friend’s dogs, but I hope that win or lose, this won’t affect our friendship.

Furthermore, shows give me time to practice my knowledge of the breed. My favorite activity at shows is to judge the dogs and make my picks to see if what I like is in agreement with the judge. Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m wrong, but each and every time I’m learning, if not about the dogs, then about the preferences of a judge. Who knows what will happen in the next 5, 10, 15 years? Maybe I’ll look into breeding or judging and then all the time I have had studying pictures, pedigrees, and watching dogs will finally make sense.
Decisions, decisions...
If you are showing dogs for the fame and glory, then you better have a once-in-a-lifetime animal and a LOT of money. Showing dogs isn’t cheap and it isn’t for the faint of heart. You have to realize that your pet that you love very much won’t win 100% of the time. The first time it happens it hurts…bad. For us, it was in Saarbrücken. I thought that we had this in the bag. We were the only junior male, Bax was showing well, and we were just coming off a BOB win in St Gallen. The evaluation that we got was completely sparkling with Excellents all over the place, except where it counted. Baxter is a late bloomer and at that point his movement in the back was very wiggly (this is continuously getting better), but with a 13 month old junior dog, we didn’t think we had to worry. Well, the judge thought otherwise and wanted the absolute whole package. I didn’t agree at the time because it is junior class and the dogs are still growing. Some lines just aren’t ready at that age and Baxter was one of them. It was our first SG and it wasn’t the last. It felt like a personal affront at the time and I was heartbroken. His German Junior champ title slipped away from us and that was that. We had only signed up for 1 of the 2 shows as we were sure we were going to win. NEVER think that just because you are the only dog in your class that a win is a sure thing. Would I show to that particular judge again once my dog is mature and his movement has solidified? Absolutely. His evaluation was beautiful and his judgement fair, our dog just needed more time to be his best.

...and this was my feeling in Saarbrücken
When you show you have to develop thick skin and an attitude that “we’ll do better next time.” We’ve had streaks where we lost and that sucks. Not only the losing aspect and how that affects your pride, but the time put into driving to and from a show and the money for entry fees, food, and potential lodging. I, though, have thought of our “year 1” as a learning experience. As we begin our second show season, we are no longer Greenhorns. We know the drill and even though the Nordic rules differ from those down south, the idea is the same.

Now with my adult dog and a more competitive show scene, I am having to pull back the reigns and learn when to show and when to stay at home. In the Nordic countries, only 1 dog and 1 bitch receive the CAC, so you really have to shine in the ring. I also have to learn about the judges up here, since previously I had mainly acquainted myself with the German and Swiss judges. I firmly believe that all judges deserve to be shown to once, but with that being said, we now have started compiling a DNS list. I am not willing to throw away money on people that can’t make decisions and march dogs in the ring FOREVER or judges set on only picking their friend’s dogs. I’ll sit out on those days or maybe join as a spectator, but not an exhibitor.

When all is said and done, I always take the best dog home. He is my companion and often my shadow. My life is better for having him in it… Win or lose.

Bax & I after my first time handling him in Lithuania. He was V1, CAC, Best Male-Winner, Best Opposite Sex losing only to his mom. :)
 


** I want to give a shout out and big thank you to Kabuki Cartoons for such great dog show comics (They are used throughout this post). She really does a great job in capturing just what it is to be an exhibitor!**

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

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

   

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Breaking the Silence

I know it has been a long time. There is a lot to catch up on and still so much to talk about. I've decided to take this blog in a slightly new direction this year. Oh, don't worry, I will still be chronicling our dackel adventures, but I felt like with a new home and new start, something different was in order. So I will try to include not just show and trial news in the blog, but more opinion pieces, historical pieces, and general interest pieces about our favorite 4 legged animals. There will be at least one of these pieces per month, at least that's the goal. As you can see, I'm already a month behind, so February will likely have many entries.

We are here! Well, I am not "officially" here yet since I still have things to settle in Switzerland, so I have helped to set up the house and will commute back and forth this month. Yes, your heard correctly... Commute. It will be a tiring month, but I am sure that it will all be worthwhile in the end.

In addition to trying out how to register and obtain a personal number in Sweden (a task of GIGANTIC proportions), we need to register the dogs with the SKK so that we can officially take part in all of the activities here. Hopefully this is a smooth and painless process.

For the moment we love our new home and the dogs seem to love it as well. They get a good dose of off leash running every day and get to enjoy the sea and chase birds and track rabbits (though luckily most of them have hidden away before our morning walk). Freddie FINALLY lost the last 500 g put on by Simon's father on the dog's last extended stay in Luzern and is looking in top condition. I can't believe that the dogs will be turning 2 and 4 this year. Time sure does fly!

We and living in a quiet village on the south western coast of Sweden. I have always lived near lakes and rivers, but a sea is definitely a new concept. I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of the wind here, but otherwise the weather hasn't been too terrible, but the snowfall already had me missing Basel.

Simon snapped a few pictures a couple days ago while out walking the dogs about 5 minutes from the new house. I hope you all enjoy!




The birds are flying off to go to bed. I think I will join them. Until next time!


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!

As 2013 ends and 2014 begins, we have a lot of look forward to in the next year. A new house, a new club, a new set of people, and new adventures. It will be a time of change, which is of course as nerve wracking as it is exciting. That being said, from our furry, 4-legged dachshunds to yours, have a Happy New Year and don't go overboard on the champagne!



Per German tradition, we indulged in a little "Dinner for One." This skit was completely new to me upon moving to Switzerland 5 years ago, now I think I can recite it. If you have 10 min, I highly recommend a viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1v4BYV-YvA


Best Wishes to all of our Friends and Readers in 2014! 

We wish you all a lot of good health, good friends, and success in the up coming year.


Tschüss 2013!