2008 North American Teckel Club Events
Patricia Nance
Patricia Nance
Maryanne Santornauro (NY), [I am sorry, I do not know the couple with the Drahthaar], Trudy Kawami (NY), Susie Gardner (OH), Jolanta Jeanneney (NY), Andreas Fichtl (Germany), Andy Bensing (PA), John Jeanneney (NY), Carrie Hamilton (PA), Patt Nance (OH), [I also do not know who is behind me], Joan Madore (PA), Larry Gohlke (WI), Anke Masters (NJ). The longhair flirting with the smooth is Nexus and I am holding Owl.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
This was the first day of the two-day Blood Tracking Workshop. The workshop was conducted in Reading, Pennsylvania on the 18 acre property of Peacock Bridge Kennels, owned by NATC member Andy Bensing. All of the people attending were dachshund people except a young couple who participated with a German Drahthaar (Wirehaired Pointer) bitch.
As I pulled in early morning and got out of the car, a big white peacock soared by me to the ground from where it had roosted the night in a tall pine. Having a peacock suddenly swoop past by my head was just the first of a number of interesting and exciting moments this week!
The morning session, held in a wonderful big barn with century-old foundation, consisted of lecture presentations by Andy Bensing and John Jeanneney.
Andy spoke on methods of laying tracks, types of blood that can be used, and the advantages of using tracking shoes. He said that using tracking shoes with deer feet attached helps teach the concept of individual deer scent, holds scent longer via the interdigital glands, appears to better motivate the dog, requires less blood or even no blood to lay a track, and saves time.
Andy said, “The most important thing is to know where you put the blood down!”, and he talked about ways of marking a blood line.
John discussed the desirable qualities in a tracking dog of Desire, Motivation, Independence, and Initiative and the benefit of working with a dog when it is very young. He also stated, however, that he has known good dogs that didn’t show their owners anything until they were 14-16 weeks old.
Challenge motivates the dog, John said, and he believes in playing the weather when working with an inexperienced dog. He also talked about the factors of adolescence and said that a very promising youngster may demonstrate decreased judgment and focus during this stage. “You have to be patient with adolescent dogs who can be extremely frustrating to work with.” John noted that there is a spectrum of temperaments from fiery to cool and that a handler must “Understand your dog”.
Then we spent time learning what a GPS is, how it works, and how GPS may be used to great advantage in laying and following blood tracks. This information was totally new to me and I really enjoyed learning more about GPS. Andy’s knowledgeable and patient instruction, the 23 pages of beautifully-presented written material given to every participant, and the fact that everyone was handed their own GPS to use for the day enabled us to assimilate a multitude of details rather easily.
After lunch at a local diner, everyone met on Andy’s beautiful large tracking field and practiced with the GPS units in following tracks that Andy had preset into the units. Later in the day, we drove 30 minutes to Weiser State Forest in Port Clinton and laid some blood lines via GPS in preparation for Thursday’s tracking sessions with dogs. Some bugs in the works had Andy frustrated at times but it was fantastic practice nevertheless for those of us who had never used a GPS for tracking before.
After some hours in the woods, we sojourned to the Westy Bar and Grill in Hamburg. We were joined there by Andreas Fichtl, our conformation judge who had arrived that day from Munich, and by Alexandra Weber on whose property the last three days of events would be held and who had brought Herr Fichtl from the Philadelphia airport. Introductions were made all around and we all enjoyed a good meal.
Thursday, September 25
We met for Day Two of the Blood Tracking Workshop at the Microtel Inn across State Route 61 from Cabela’s in Hamburg, PA. From there, we caravanned back to Weiser State Forest and split into two groups. Novice tracking dogs and handlers went with Larry Gohlke and Cheri Faust for practice on shorter, fresher blood lines. The more experienced dogs and handlers went with Andy Bensing and John Jeanneney to run the 500 meter lines that had been laid the day before. We were practicing the test called Tracking Test without Judge. From the workshop flyer:
"One of the highlights of the NATC Blood Tacking Workshop will be a mildly competitive exercise called a “Tracking Test without Judge”. This is not a totally new idea, but it is new for us in the NATC. It was originally developed in Europe, and it is now an officially recognized tracking exercise in many countries. Happily for Americans, it is especially suited for testing dogs used to find wounded big game for bow hunters. Fast, loose, sloppy dog work gets you nowhere in this test!
Besides being much more applicable to real life blood tracking, this type of test is much less labor intensive to set up and run than the typical tests done in the past. The down side is that it does require substantially more acreage to set up in order to prevent lost dogs and handlers from contaminating the next participant’s line.
As the name of the test implies, there are no judges observing each dog’s work. Instead the dog/handler team’s work is evaluated by what is accomplished in terms of finding small, scented markers along the blood trail, and of course in coming up with the deer skin placed at the end of the line.
Different types of markers can be used but for this event small wooden “indicators” about 3 inches in diameter will be sliced from a small tree branch. They will be scented with a scrap of raw deer hide stapled to each one and dabbed with blood. Five of them are distributed along each blood trail. The tracking dog must work close to the line and indicate these wooden medallions to the handler, in much the same way that a good canine tracking partner points out blood sign to his handler. As you well know, real indicators like blood sign reassure the handler that the team is on track and allow him to evaluate the wound of the animal being tracked.
The handler/dog teams are on their own in the woods; there are no paper markers on trees or anywhere else. In this initial experimental test, the blood lines will be 500 meters long and aged about 20 hours and we will use 4 ounces of blood to put down the line. 4 ounces over 500 meters is of course equivalent to 8 ounces over the typical 1000 meter line we are all familiar with. There will be two “wound beds”, not necessarily on the turns, and two right angle turns before the deer skin is reached.
For dogs and handlers not ready for a blind line, we will prepare well marked lines in the same manner to be used for training and an instructor will accompany the team to offer advice.
In Europe, where the test originated, the lines are officially 1000 meters long, double what we propose for the NATC’s first experiment. In European tests it has been rare for a tracking team to recover all five of the markers for the 1000 meter distance. The test is harder than it looks when you have no idea of where the indicators will be."
I ran two dogs, Nexus and Owl, on 500 meter overnight lines. I elected to run Nexus on a marked line, much more for my benefit than for his. The first leg of Nexus’ track we worked too fast but then I slowed down and paid attention and Nexus clearly indicated three of the wooden ‘medallions’ lying in the shrub on the forest floor. Nexus’ work on the entire track was exemplary, as was Owl’s work on his line which I ran next and which was not marked.
Unfortunately, I did not get to see the work of the three other dogs that ran 500 meter lines in these woods but was told that they, too, had done a fine job. One of them, also from the great state of Ohio, was a young standard wire bitch, Greta, bred by the Jeanneneys and owned by Jody and Susie Gardner of Buck’eye Outfitters in Tuscarawas County. On the fifth and final track, worked by Joann Madore and standard longhair Bobby, a timber rattlesnake lay on the last leg and provided some unexpected excitement!
A nice lunch at a small restaurant near the entrance to the state forest, then back to Andy’s place for an excellent blood tracking slide presentation by John Jeanneney, followed by questions and answers. Anke Masters showed a video of a Russian Jagd Terrier test on fox and on boar and also of a Russian dog show. We had a lot of fun seeing how they do things in Russia!
Many, many thanks to Andy, John, Larry, and Cheri for your considerable time and effort planning and conducting this workshop and for so generously sharing your knowledge and experience!
After we dispersed, I ran Pax on three short drag lines near Andy’s house and continued to be very pleased with his tracking ability. Both babies have been super well-behaved and have taken everything in stride.
In the evening, a few of us spent a little time at Cabela’s. What a fantastic place!
Friday, September 26
We met at the Pocono Beagle Club in Leesport, PA and conducted a gun steadiness test first which most of the dogs entered passed. Testing whether a dachshund is steady to gunfire is of paramount importance as a gunshy dog is not useful for hunting. In the DTK (German Dachshund Club) system, a dachshund must pass a gunsteadiness test to be eligible to participate in any hunting test.
In the gunsteadiness test, a dachshund and his handler walk into a field where the lead is removed from the dog’s collar and the dog is encouraged to run free from the handler. While the dog is in sight of the judges, two shots are fired from a shotgun approximately 50 meters from the dog and the judges assess the dog’s reaction. While it is acceptable for the dog to startle at the shots, it is not acceptable for the dog to evidence fear. Most of the dachshunds tested took little to no notice of the gunshots.
Afterward, 11 dachshunds participated in the NATC Small Game/Loud Hunter test. In this test, each dog is run individually on a rabbit line and evaluated on his/her ability to run that line, to give voice on that line, and to be called in to the handler or picked up by the handler in a reasonable time after the judges say “Call your dog”. A dog not passing the test on its first run of the day receives another opportunity after every dog has run once.
Lunch was eaten in the field. It was served on the hood of Larry’s truck like a picnic and I really enjoyed this.
As it turned out, eleven dogs made for a just-right entry. We beat the heavy brush for awhile between some of the rabbits and rain threatened all day though it didn’t actually begin pouring until about 20 minutes before we were done. By my unofficial count, six dogs passed this test – standard wires Eibe Bensing, Joeri Jeanneney, Emma Jeanneney, Bernie Jeanneney, Danika Faust, and standard longhair Owl Nance. (I did not run Nexus who passed this test at a previous event.)
I want to especially mention that Joeri is a great-looking seven-month old with a wonderful temperament that John and Jolanta imported from Germany in May. Today this youngster passed the gunsteadiness test with flying colors, then passed the Small Game/Loud Hunter test on his first run. To say that Joeri von Nonnenschlag is a promising puppy is an understatement!
From Leesport, we drove south to Adamstown near where the remainder of the events would be held. Several of us had a great dinner at the locally famous Stoudt’s Black Angus Brew Pub - they make their own beer! - before attending to dogs and turning in for the night.
Unfortunately, I did not get to see the work of the three other dogs that ran 500 meter lines in these woods but was told that they, too, had done a fine job. One of them, also from the great state of Ohio, was a young standard wire bitch, Greta, bred by the Jeanneneys and owned by Jody and Susie Gardner of Buck’eye Outfitters in Tuscarawas County. On the fifth and final track, worked by Joann Madore and standard longhair Bobby, a timber rattlesnake lay on the last leg and provided some unexpected excitement!
A nice lunch at a small restaurant near the entrance to the state forest, then back to Andy’s place for an excellent blood tracking slide presentation by John Jeanneney, followed by questions and answers. Anke Masters showed a video of a Russian Jagd Terrier test on fox and on boar and also of a Russian dog show. We had a lot of fun seeing how they do things in Russia!
Many, many thanks to Andy, John, Larry, and Cheri for your considerable time and effort planning and conducting this workshop and for so generously sharing your knowledge and experience!
After we dispersed, I ran Pax on three short drag lines near Andy’s house and continued to be very pleased with his tracking ability. Both babies have been super well-behaved and have taken everything in stride.
In the evening, a few of us spent a little time at Cabela’s. What a fantastic place!
Friday, September 26
We met at the Pocono Beagle Club in Leesport, PA and conducted a gun steadiness test first which most of the dogs entered passed. Testing whether a dachshund is steady to gunfire is of paramount importance as a gunshy dog is not useful for hunting. In the DTK (German Dachshund Club) system, a dachshund must pass a gunsteadiness test to be eligible to participate in any hunting test.
In the gunsteadiness test, a dachshund and his handler walk into a field where the lead is removed from the dog’s collar and the dog is encouraged to run free from the handler. While the dog is in sight of the judges, two shots are fired from a shotgun approximately 50 meters from the dog and the judges assess the dog’s reaction. While it is acceptable for the dog to startle at the shots, it is not acceptable for the dog to evidence fear. Most of the dachshunds tested took little to no notice of the gunshots.
Afterward, 11 dachshunds participated in the NATC Small Game/Loud Hunter test. In this test, each dog is run individually on a rabbit line and evaluated on his/her ability to run that line, to give voice on that line, and to be called in to the handler or picked up by the handler in a reasonable time after the judges say “Call your dog”. A dog not passing the test on its first run of the day receives another opportunity after every dog has run once.
Lunch was eaten in the field. It was served on the hood of Larry’s truck like a picnic and I really enjoyed this.
As it turned out, eleven dogs made for a just-right entry. We beat the heavy brush for awhile between some of the rabbits and rain threatened all day though it didn’t actually begin pouring until about 20 minutes before we were done. By my unofficial count, six dogs passed this test – standard wires Eibe Bensing, Joeri Jeanneney, Emma Jeanneney, Bernie Jeanneney, Danika Faust, and standard longhair Owl Nance. (I did not run Nexus who passed this test at a previous event.)
I want to especially mention that Joeri is a great-looking seven-month old with a wonderful temperament that John and Jolanta imported from Germany in May. Today this youngster passed the gunsteadiness test with flying colors, then passed the Small Game/Loud Hunter test on his first run. To say that Joeri von Nonnenschlag is a promising puppy is an understatement!
From Leesport, we drove south to Adamstown near where the remainder of the events would be held. Several of us had a great dinner at the locally famous Stoudt’s Black Angus Brew Pub - they make their own beer! - before attending to dogs and turning in for the night.
Saturday, September 27
The day of the zuchtschau! The show was held indoors in a large modern horse arena at the D-Bar-W Equestrian Center owned by NATC members David & Alexandra Weber. I was the first to arrive and I savored all the early morning quiet on a big beautiful horse farm. Memories of my first job working with standardbred horses came back with all the sights and smells as I walked the dogs down the road.
Teddy Moritz came next, bringing three of her miniature longhaired hunting pack. She also brought her new young Harris Hawk, a large female fresh from a Virginia flight cage and as expansively tolerant of all the dogs and people during the weekend as Teddy could have asked for.
NATC members John Willmore and Diane Webb arrived this morning to attend the show and meeting in their last stop on a two-week east-coast business trip before heading back to California. It was really great to see them both and to have their support and maybe next time Asti will travel with them, too!
We were hoping to have more than 19 dogs for Andreas Fichtl to judge but he said 19 was fine as he would have more time to spend with each dog and handler. He gave a very nice welcome and everyone relaxed and looked forward to showing their dogs to him.
Every dog went into the ring one at a time and was evaluated individually. First, the dog was put on a table near the ring entrance to have its teeth, tail and testicles examined and to be tape-measured for chest circumference and weighed on the digital scale. Then the handler was instructed to walk the dog and did so, around and around and around the ring like a dozen times and not slowly! Once or twice the handler was told to stop and the dog was assessed while standing still - without the handler touching the dog - and then the walking resumed. All the while, Herr Fichtl evaluated and verbally critiqued the dog for everyone at ringside, starting with the head and working back and down the points of the dog , ending with overall type and the evaluation rating. A show rating of Very Good or Excellent is required for a dog or bitch to be used for breeding in the DTK system.
It was apparent from the start that Andy Fichtl judged the dogs entirely as he found them and was liberal with both compliments and criticism (diplomatically-stated!) throughout. I respect a judge who knows what he likes and does not like about a dog and why and who is bold yet tactful in announcing his findings. He handled his assignment and announced his assessments in such a way that most handlers did not feel gifted or punished by the results. I, for one, felt that our dogs were fairly evaluated by a man who knows his business.
With one dog that I brought into the ring and put on the table, I offered apology that, because it was raining outside and the arena floor was dirt, the dog was dirty underneath. Andy Fichtl gave a little shrug and said “That’s quite all right. These are hunting dogs.” Yes. Wow. What a refreshing perspective from a show judge!
He was great with children and novice handlers and their dogs and a couple of times even brought the spectators in to his decisions. For example, after critiquing a young dog that he obviously liked, he announced: “We have here a young dog. He is seven months old. He is too young for a breeding rating. We can however say that this dog is Promising or Very Promising. How many people think he is promising? Show your hands. No one? Okay. How many people think he is Very Promising? Everybody! Okay. I say this dog is Very Promising!”
This young dog happened to be the Jeanneney's Joeri and I happened to find Andy Fichtl’s style of judging refreshing. This, despite the fact that Nexus’ sister Nadja and Owl’s daughter Pie were rated Very Good instead of Excellent, Nadja due to her size and Pie due to lack of coat at this age. No argument is possible with either of those findings!
11 dachshunds received ratings of Excellent, four were rated Very Good, one was Disqualified due to three premolars missing, and three puppies were rated Very Promising.
Anke Masters homebred black & tan standard smooth bitch Annika von Ulls Gesellen was named best in zuchtschau.
Thank you, Mr. Fichtl, for a job well done!
Polo’s new owners came from New Jersey during the show proceedings and took him off to his wonderful new life after the show was over. It can be tough to see a puppy leave but knowing David and Barbara as I do made the transfer easier. You be a good boy, Polo.
Also, Andy Bensing decided to take the imported standard wire dog I brought to the zuchtschau for his northern Ohio owner and to evaluate him as a blood tracker. Andy, I greatly appreciate your time, effort, and assistance in finding a new working home for this youngster.
So it was a full day, topped off with a full NATC Dinner and Annual Meeting. A lot of business was discussed and Andy Fichtl made some well-received input and presented two beautiful awards of dachshund art which were passed around the table for all to admire.
Sunday, September 28
We met at D-Bar-W again this morning for the DTK Begleithund Prufung which translated means Companion Dog Tests.
BHP-1 consists of:
BHP-2
BHP-3
A dog can be entered in all three tests, two of the three tests, or one test of the BHP, as the handler wishes. There were, I think, 10 dogs entered in the various parts of the BHP.
I worked Owl and Olive in all three tests and they passed all of them to earn BHP-Gs. I felt they really came through beautifully on some exercises they were not practiced on and I am very proud of them both!
Handling my own two dogs didn’t leave much room for watching other dogs but I did get to see Cheri Faust’s Danika in the BHP-2 exercises of tracking her handler 300 meters and waiting calmly outside a door for five minutes and she did an excellent job with those.
We’d driven to a local rod and gun club to do the BHP-3 at a large pond there. This is also where we next conducted another gun steadiness test for the dogs that had not been tested on Friday. And, last but not least, this was where the Water Test was held.
The Wasser (Water) Test consists of the dog swimming out 20-26 feet and retrieving a duck that has been thrown into the water while two shots are fired from a shotgun nearby. Dogs who passed the Water Test and earned the title Wa-T were standard smooth Agnetha Masters, standard wires Eibe Bensing, Nix Gohlke, and Billy Jeanneney, and standard longs Nexus Nance (who also passed in 2005 and 2006), Owl Nance (who was happy to do it twice when the duck wasn’t thrown far enough the first time), and Olive Nance.
Olive did a funny thing. The duck was thrown as shots were fired and, instead of swimming out after the duck, Olive first swam out to the right until she was closer to the gunner. Olive grabbed at something in the water, came back onto the bank, and spit the something out. Everyone laughed. Teddy called her the CSI dachshund, collecting the evidence! It was the small, clear plastic wad from the shotgun shell that apparently she and no one else had seen go into the water as the gun was fired. So Olive retrieved that, then went back into the water with no further instruction, swam out to the duck, and brought it back holding the beak. Ha, ha! It would have been fun to get Olive on film.
Actually, I would have greatly enjoyed a video of all the dogs retrieving the duck. There is something special and fun about watching dachshunds retrieve game from water!
A couple hours (at least!) were spent completing all the paperwork. My thanks to Alexandra’s daughters Madalyn and Lydia Weber who played with Pax and helped keep him occupied while I assisted at the paperwork table. In late evening, all was finished and everyone packed up and left who was not staying in the area for one more night. Those of us who were staying drove to an Italian Restaurant for an enjoyable meal together and NATC 2008 became history.
The day of the zuchtschau! The show was held indoors in a large modern horse arena at the D-Bar-W Equestrian Center owned by NATC members David & Alexandra Weber. I was the first to arrive and I savored all the early morning quiet on a big beautiful horse farm. Memories of my first job working with standardbred horses came back with all the sights and smells as I walked the dogs down the road.
Teddy Moritz came next, bringing three of her miniature longhaired hunting pack. She also brought her new young Harris Hawk, a large female fresh from a Virginia flight cage and as expansively tolerant of all the dogs and people during the weekend as Teddy could have asked for.
NATC members John Willmore and Diane Webb arrived this morning to attend the show and meeting in their last stop on a two-week east-coast business trip before heading back to California. It was really great to see them both and to have their support and maybe next time Asti will travel with them, too!
We were hoping to have more than 19 dogs for Andreas Fichtl to judge but he said 19 was fine as he would have more time to spend with each dog and handler. He gave a very nice welcome and everyone relaxed and looked forward to showing their dogs to him.
Every dog went into the ring one at a time and was evaluated individually. First, the dog was put on a table near the ring entrance to have its teeth, tail and testicles examined and to be tape-measured for chest circumference and weighed on the digital scale. Then the handler was instructed to walk the dog and did so, around and around and around the ring like a dozen times and not slowly! Once or twice the handler was told to stop and the dog was assessed while standing still - without the handler touching the dog - and then the walking resumed. All the while, Herr Fichtl evaluated and verbally critiqued the dog for everyone at ringside, starting with the head and working back and down the points of the dog , ending with overall type and the evaluation rating. A show rating of Very Good or Excellent is required for a dog or bitch to be used for breeding in the DTK system.
It was apparent from the start that Andy Fichtl judged the dogs entirely as he found them and was liberal with both compliments and criticism (diplomatically-stated!) throughout. I respect a judge who knows what he likes and does not like about a dog and why and who is bold yet tactful in announcing his findings. He handled his assignment and announced his assessments in such a way that most handlers did not feel gifted or punished by the results. I, for one, felt that our dogs were fairly evaluated by a man who knows his business.
With one dog that I brought into the ring and put on the table, I offered apology that, because it was raining outside and the arena floor was dirt, the dog was dirty underneath. Andy Fichtl gave a little shrug and said “That’s quite all right. These are hunting dogs.” Yes. Wow. What a refreshing perspective from a show judge!
He was great with children and novice handlers and their dogs and a couple of times even brought the spectators in to his decisions. For example, after critiquing a young dog that he obviously liked, he announced: “We have here a young dog. He is seven months old. He is too young for a breeding rating. We can however say that this dog is Promising or Very Promising. How many people think he is promising? Show your hands. No one? Okay. How many people think he is Very Promising? Everybody! Okay. I say this dog is Very Promising!”
This young dog happened to be the Jeanneney's Joeri and I happened to find Andy Fichtl’s style of judging refreshing. This, despite the fact that Nexus’ sister Nadja and Owl’s daughter Pie were rated Very Good instead of Excellent, Nadja due to her size and Pie due to lack of coat at this age. No argument is possible with either of those findings!
11 dachshunds received ratings of Excellent, four were rated Very Good, one was Disqualified due to three premolars missing, and three puppies were rated Very Promising.
Anke Masters homebred black & tan standard smooth bitch Annika von Ulls Gesellen was named best in zuchtschau.
Thank you, Mr. Fichtl, for a job well done!
Polo’s new owners came from New Jersey during the show proceedings and took him off to his wonderful new life after the show was over. It can be tough to see a puppy leave but knowing David and Barbara as I do made the transfer easier. You be a good boy, Polo.
Also, Andy Bensing decided to take the imported standard wire dog I brought to the zuchtschau for his northern Ohio owner and to evaluate him as a blood tracker. Andy, I greatly appreciate your time, effort, and assistance in finding a new working home for this youngster.
So it was a full day, topped off with a full NATC Dinner and Annual Meeting. A lot of business was discussed and Andy Fichtl made some well-received input and presented two beautiful awards of dachshund art which were passed around the table for all to admire.
Sunday, September 28
We met at D-Bar-W again this morning for the DTK Begleithund Prufung which translated means Companion Dog Tests.
BHP-1 consists of:
- Heeling on and off lead, over and around obstacles and through a group of people with dogs
- 5 minute stay with handler 50 meters away while another person with dog walks by two times (this was done outside in a horse pasture near a road lined with trees and I was sorely afraid that a squirrel would decide to come down a tree sometime during those five minutes!)
- Off-lead recall from 30 meters
- Off-lead reaction to sudden loud noise of metal banging on metal
- Reaction to group of people walking up close to handler and off-lead dog (first approaching slowly without clapping, then approaching briskly while clapping)
- Heeling along road with reaction to car going by, bicycle with bell going past, approaching someone with open newspaper who asks for directions and approaching someone who opens an umbrella.
BHP-2
- Dog is kept where he cannot see his handler walk 300 meters in a field that include two 90° turns before hiding out of sight of the dog, dog is released on the track to find his handler
- Dog is tethered outside a building to wait for five minutes while handler goes into the building and closes the door, dog is expected to wait quietly and calmly during this time including when a person and dog, a jogger, and a bicycle go by
BHP-3
- Dog retrieves an object thrown by his handler 20-26 feet out into deep water
- Dog passes BHP-1,2, and 3 all in one day
A dog can be entered in all three tests, two of the three tests, or one test of the BHP, as the handler wishes. There were, I think, 10 dogs entered in the various parts of the BHP.
I worked Owl and Olive in all three tests and they passed all of them to earn BHP-Gs. I felt they really came through beautifully on some exercises they were not practiced on and I am very proud of them both!
Handling my own two dogs didn’t leave much room for watching other dogs but I did get to see Cheri Faust’s Danika in the BHP-2 exercises of tracking her handler 300 meters and waiting calmly outside a door for five minutes and she did an excellent job with those.
We’d driven to a local rod and gun club to do the BHP-3 at a large pond there. This is also where we next conducted another gun steadiness test for the dogs that had not been tested on Friday. And, last but not least, this was where the Water Test was held.
The Wasser (Water) Test consists of the dog swimming out 20-26 feet and retrieving a duck that has been thrown into the water while two shots are fired from a shotgun nearby. Dogs who passed the Water Test and earned the title Wa-T were standard smooth Agnetha Masters, standard wires Eibe Bensing, Nix Gohlke, and Billy Jeanneney, and standard longs Nexus Nance (who also passed in 2005 and 2006), Owl Nance (who was happy to do it twice when the duck wasn’t thrown far enough the first time), and Olive Nance.
Olive did a funny thing. The duck was thrown as shots were fired and, instead of swimming out after the duck, Olive first swam out to the right until she was closer to the gunner. Olive grabbed at something in the water, came back onto the bank, and spit the something out. Everyone laughed. Teddy called her the CSI dachshund, collecting the evidence! It was the small, clear plastic wad from the shotgun shell that apparently she and no one else had seen go into the water as the gun was fired. So Olive retrieved that, then went back into the water with no further instruction, swam out to the duck, and brought it back holding the beak. Ha, ha! It would have been fun to get Olive on film.
Actually, I would have greatly enjoyed a video of all the dogs retrieving the duck. There is something special and fun about watching dachshunds retrieve game from water!
A couple hours (at least!) were spent completing all the paperwork. My thanks to Alexandra’s daughters Madalyn and Lydia Weber who played with Pax and helped keep him occupied while I assisted at the paperwork table. In late evening, all was finished and everyone packed up and left who was not staying in the area for one more night. Those of us who were staying drove to an Italian Restaurant for an enjoyable meal together and NATC 2008 became history.
