Taya saw her first snow at 4:30 this morning. Not surprisingly, she liked it as probably most longhairs do! I cannot say that I shared her enthusiasm, or gave the dogs many minutes in it at that time of day. Snow gave way to sleet, then to rain, and it looks like it is all trying to make up for the hot, dry summer. I was up and down all night, heavy winds rattling the house, beating the flag pole, flapping the metal roof on the tractor shed. I am up on a higher elevation so thankfully do not have to worry about flooding. The wind, however, can be something else. Nonetheless, the strong gusts here were NOTHING compared to what millions of Americans  went through during the night and are enduring right now. I keep thinking about the evacuation of 200 patients in a NYC hospital. My God, what a job, but especially in the midst of such a storm! Many unsung heroes are born at times like this. KUDOS and BLESSINGS to ALL of them.

[Tasha is littermate of Taya; they are five months old. It is always good to hear from Cliff.]

This weekend was youth weekend in Louisiana. Donnie, a good friend of mine who also has a younger tracking dog called me last night and said his son had shot a doe pretty close to dark. When he went to mark the spot he heard the deer get up and run. He marked the spot and backed out. There was also a shot made on another doe but it was not known if it was a hit. The hunter tried a head shot and said that their deer ran around in a circle right after he shot and then ran down the road into the woods. It was cold last night in South Louisiana so we decided that we would track together in the morning.

We had talked about tracking together but we were not sure how the dogs would tolerate each other. Donnie's dog is a Blue Lacy. Ruby is three years old and was started when Donnie got her last year. He never really had a chance to track with her so he was wondering how she would do. Ruby runs practice lines with ease. We were also concerned if Ruby would think that Tasha was something to eat....there is a difference in size. We met up at The Spillway Sportsman at 6:30AM and headed over to the hunting lease. We were able to drive the truck almost to the shot site. After we unloaded we let the dogs meet each. Ruby didn't even think about eating Tasha...what a relief. Both the dogs had their tracking collars on and knew it was time for business. We decided to start Ruby on the track while I let Tasha check out the road where the other deer was shot. As soon as I got there with Tasha,  I looked over to see Donnie and Ruby on the road. I headed over. Ruby had found the deer on the way in. I took Tasha to the start of the short 30 yard track and without incident she tracked to the deer. The deer was 8 feet into a briar thicket. It was so thick that  I couldn't even see Tasha at the end of her 12 foot leash. Ruby and Donnie came back where we could get the deer out. I heard a threatening deep guttural growl and I knew Ruby was growling at Tasha. Ruby was between me and Tasha and if I pulled on Tasha's lead it would force her to pass right next to Ruby. I told Donnie that Ruby was growling hoping he could help me protect Tasha. Donnie got down on his hands and knees where he could see up in the thicket. He said, Pal, that is Tasha growling....not Ruby!  I have never heard her growl like that before. I am glad that Ruby didn't take it seriously because Tasha would have only been a bite or two for Ruby. We got the doe out without incident.

We took the dogs over to the road where the other deer had been shot at. We worked the entire area where the hit would have been and the open section of woods where the deer had run. I looked at my GPS and it had a fine looking grid where we had searched. I am impressed with how good the dogs worked together combing this area. The scenting conditions were great, a cool 47 degree morning with dew all over the grass. With two dogs and two handlers working the area, I am convinced that the shot was a clean miss. We had a great morning, spent some time in the woods with the dogs and even recovered a deer. This is one that would have been easy to find without a dog but I'm glad that we got a shot to work it.

Tasha and I have been working on her obedience training. A day in the woods tracking just kills leash training. In the woods, Tasha's job is to lead me around. At home, I am supposed to get to be the boss. It is a challenge to get her to walk with a loose leash. She tries to keep her nose on the ground and take me for a 4 block long track! She can be stubborn but so far I have hung in there with her. Everything else is coming along just fine with her obedience training and I'm overjoyed with her tracking.

Cliff and Tasha
Sent somewhere from woods or water in South Louisiana

[Mars is father of littermates Taya , Tasha (see 10-29 post above), and Thor ("Seymour"), born in Denmark and all living in the US.]

WUTJCH, KBHV2011, DECH VDH, DECH-KLB Maxi-Tax Maroon Marstax at the International show in Leuven, Belgium today was Excellent 1, CAC, CACIB, and BOS to a kennelmate; both the BOB and BOS longhairs were owned and shown by Lise-Lotte Schulz of Denmark! Mars finished requirements for CIE and CIB at this show!

CIE = Champion International d'Exterieur: The dog has been CACIB 4 times in 3 different countries under 3 different judges.

CIB = Champion International de Beauté: The dog has been CACIB 2 times in 2 different countries under 2 different judges and also 1 Prize in a Working trial.

Lise-Lotte writes, too, that the Danish Kennel has confirmed Mars' DKCHS = Danish Champion: Mars has been CAC 3 times under 3 different judges and 1 Prize in a Working trial in Denmark.

Born Dec 7, 2008, his breeder is Ilse Kokkonen of Kennel Maxi-Tax in Finland. Mars' father Simo and mother Siiri are both hunting dogs, Show Champions, and Hunting Champions in Finland!

Mars lives with Lise-Lotte Schulz of Kennel Tranevang in Denmark. He is an excellent size of 8 kgs or 17.6 lbs.

Congratulations to Lise-Lotte, Ilse and Mars!

Jolanta Jeanneney sent a photo today from field trials being held at the Central Jersey Beagle Club in New Jersey. Indulging in a bit of rainy Sunday morning nostalgia, I am still thinking of Central Jersey. It is where I saw - and heard - the dog Axel von der Grenadier Halde run a rabbit. WOW! Well yes, our Standard STATES "hunting spirit, good nose, and loud tongue" BUT I did not know a dachshund could/would trail and voice like that! In 1976, Axel's run was something far beyond what I had seen in my three or four trial experience. I can still see it today. It is a fact that Axel's performance changed my vision for my breeding program. Only he was a wire and we were breeding longhairs. 'Too bad, so sad, sorry about yer luck and get to steppin' if you are going to breed longhaired Axels!' Meeting the challenge has sure not been easy. But overall it has been a lot of fun!

[Brita is daughter of SUvCH NUvCH SvCH FC Hound's Kashmir.]

10 year old Brita, CIB S Ch N Ch Hound's Rule Britannia, still enjoys shows and was Best in Show Veteran at the dachshund specialty in Drammen, Norway today. The judge was Leif Ragnar Hjorth. Brita is owned, loved and handled by Randi Pettersen.

The past few days I have been working, working, and - working - on my website. Mostly design stuff because I didn't really like it before and had to force myself to get on here and update it. Now I do like it and am excited about - working - on it again! Still have oodles to do in the way of content but have now published the site to the web and am taking a break. It is just way too nice outside and I am pretty sure that I hear Yard - Work - calling me. "Two hours, Patt. Can you give me two hours while the sun shines?" Yes. I think I can.  : )

[Tasha is Tranevang's MA Tashatax, sister of Taya, owned by Cliff Shrader, Louisiana.]

Cliff wrote, "This actually happened to me today. My little angels were busy while I was taking a power nap. At this time they are both still living and healthy!"

I learned in April that I am not really a three dog a trial agility handler. How some people handle five or six dogs in a trial is beyond me! I also learned that when you have two dogs in the same 8" class, they are both likely to get shafted. The first dog you run gets quickly shoved back into his crate so you can run the other one AND the second dog you run gets virtually nothing in the way of physical or mental warm up before going onto the course.

This weekend I wanted to concentrate on Nexus, so did not enter Viljo. My intention was to take Viljo and Taya with us, especially for all the noisy atmosphere and to see all the other breeds. Taya, however, began having liquid diarrhea on Thursday. It was a first for her even after all the traveling she has done in her young life. I believe it may have been caused by a little bully stick that I gave her but I'm not sure. I decided to leave her home in her pen and leave Viljo home too, so Taya would not be alone.

The diarrhea persisted. I was picking up the newspaper in her pen so often that I nearly ran out of paper. She seemed fine, playful and bright otherwise but three days of the runs is too long and I became concerned. She was drinking plenty of water but obviously losing weight. I hit on the remedy of small amounts of cooked oatmeal and chicken a few times on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday and last night there was nothing on the paper, and this morning, her bm outside was perfectly normal. The oatmeal really seems to have helped absorb the excess liquid and regulate her gut. I am writing this in case others may find it useful in a similar situation.

Nexus went green (qualified) and blue (1st place) again in Novice Standard today so he had a great weekend. Nexus really enjoys all the obstacles and being "on stage!" But I believe that will be it for him for agility. I feel very fortunate that he is as sound as he is and I am not going to push the envelope. What I think we'll do next is Open obedience and go for the CDX. It has been something like 25 years since I trained DC Grissel CDX TD in advanced obedience and I want to revisit that activity with Nexus. As much as he likes field trials, he also enjoys training and told me this weekend that he is NOT ready to "retire!"

Owl, on the other hand, did not qualify on any of our three Open Standard courses this weekend. Very good effort and speed for the most part but a couple if bobbles here and there killed our opportunities to qualify. Of course, Open is a different kettle of fish from Novice and the fact we haven't been to a trial since April or a class since May didn't help us. Our record in Open Jumpers of three trials and titled is certainly not holding for Standard but we'll get there! I was proud of his performances nevertheless, especially in the first two trials. And Owl, the toy-obsessed, got a toy out of the weekend anyway. Nexus won three, one for himself, one for Owl, and one for Marta. Viljo and Taya stayed home but that's another post.

Nexus, 10.5 years young, ran a joyful 19 and 20 seconds under course time and qualified with scores of 100 and 1st places in Novice Standard at the agility trials in Zanesville, Ohio yesterday and today! That gives him the Novice Agility (NA) title.

It ALSO gives him the honor of being the first male longhair, second longhair of either sex, and the 14th dachshund ever to become a "7-way" dachshund. It means that Nexus has titled in AKC Conformation, Field, Tracking, Earthdog, Obedience, Rally, and Agility. He is now ABS6 DC Nexus v Dorndorf L CD TD JE RN NA VC Wa-T BHP-G LH.

C@NGRATULATI@NS Nexer!! Love you, big guy. Now you will get a great dinner and then I will go to bed and sleep for a week. Oh, what's that, there's another agility trial tomorrow?!   : )

New FC Seiko v Dorndorf L TD started and finished in the Open classes at the Harvest Moon Classic field trials in Roscoe, Illinois, winning two classes along the way! Seiko is owned by Tina Knoll and was handled by Laura Knoll. They are pictured with judges Ashley Dumas of Texas and Bill Dyer of Ohio. Seiko is by ABS7 FC Audi Oslo von Dorndorf CA CGC x DC Nadja v Dorndorf L SE.

Tranevang's MA Tayatax at the wonderful Northern Illinois Beagle Club grounds in Roscoe, Illinois.
Like Viljo was as a puppy, Taya is thoughtful. She likes to sit and think. I like to stand and watch her.

[Svante is father of Viljo.]

Multiple Champion Red Top's Klatjofs, owned by Tia Eskelinen, located this moose for hunters after an hour-long trek in Finland. Good going, Svante and Tia!

New Field Champion Cadium Aurinkosoturi with judges Lois Ballard (left) and Pam Bethke. Viljo is pictured winning the first Field Champion Dog class he was entered in. There were 14 in the class. I was so happy when he opened (voiced) at this trial that I was hitting Phil Ruggieri on the back after he started us on the line in first series!

ps The Absolute ribbon in the photo is not ours. But maybe it is a good omen!

We are still bow hunting in Southern Illinois. This morning I got a call from my friend Ricky saying he had shot a doe. Tasha has had great success on her first three tracks ever, recovering all three with one being extremely difficult. This has surprised everyone here including myself. The farmer that owns the land where we hunt had heard Tasha stories for several days so he came along to witness the recovery attempt. When we got to Ricky's stand, he was on the ground and had good blood at the site. His shot was broadside at 20 yards, crossbow and Rage broadhead. Ricky said there were 10 to 12 deer and they ran everywhere when he shot. Several  deer made a loop and ran back by him but he didn't know if that was the deer he shot or not. Tasha started the trail in her usual fashion pulling hard on the leash tracking 100 miles an hour. The track was through a thickly wooded area with brush piles and briar patches. I think she drug me through every one of them. The blood trail was light but steady little spots as you would expect from a lung hit. After about 75 yards we came to a big waist high grass field. The blood trail was drying up at this point.

Tasha turned from the field and came back toward the stand as Ricky indicated several deer did  earlier. We worked the side of the road for a while but she couldn't pick up the track. Because it was so thick and full of briars, I picked Tasha up and carried her over the barbed wire and back through some of the thicker stuff. I put her back on the trail at a blood spot. She picked back up the track and continued back to the field. This time she took me into the field. She worked this track a little slower and checked herself a couple of times. I never saw any blood or sign again. I continued to follow her out further in the field. Tasha brought me straight to the deer laying in a slight depression over a hundred yards in the field with no visible sign. This little hound continues to amaze me. The shot was good but without a tracking dog, this deer would probably have been lost. Someone could have accidentally stumbled across it but more than likely it would have been lost. 

Stan and Laura Knoll just called with more excellent news coming out of Illinois this week. FC Audi Oslo von Dorndorf was back High and Won the combined-sex Field Champion class of 37!

Seiko v Dorndorf L TD, in her very first field trial, was back 8th and finished 4th in the class of 38 Open Bitches!

There were 100 dachshunds entered in this field trial. Congratulations! I will see you at roll call on Sunday. : )

[Tasha, sister to Taya, went with several hunters to Illinois and is doing an Awesome Job on her first experiences tracking deer!]

Today Tasha got the call for her first real track. My friend Ricky shot a doe and wasn't sure of the hit. We got to the stand with a group of four hunters, one tracker and one four and one half month old dachshund. The blood trail was good at the hit site and all the hunters took to the track. Tasha never took control of the track. She was content to follow the trackers and even found time to chase a couple of butterflies. After about 30 yards the blood trail dried up. This is where Tasha took control. Tasha started tracking at a rapid pace which had me concerned because there wasn't any blood. After about 70 yards we found a small drop of blood. Everyone jumped in behind Tasha and marked the blood along the way. This terrain was tough. This was a steep hillside that was thick and rocky. I think everyone lost their footing at least once during this track. There were also lots of sharp sawbriars around. I was bleeding almost as much as the deer. The trail would have some blood and then go dry. Tasha was intent on tracking at a faster pace than I could keep up. I was glad that I had a wide collar on her or she may have choked herself. After about 300 yards we found a pile of intestines. We tracked little blood for another hundred yards and we jumped the deer. With what we knew, we decided to back out and come back after lunch.

After lunch we went back and started tracking. Of course all the hunters saw the deer get up earlier so they took to the blood trail. When the trail went dry, Tasha took control again. She led us up a steep hill that was really too steep to comfortably navigate....but we followed her. We found blood up the hillside. Tasha tried to bring me back down the hill but I stopped her and brought her back to the blood. Twice more she got off the blood trail and tried to bring me down the hill. I brought her back to the blood. On the fourth try she went downhill again so I followed. Tasha went to a brush pile near the bottom of the hill. There in the pile was the deer, dead and concealed. This is one deer that would have gotten away. Total track near 500 rough and tough yards. I can't describe how gratifying this experience has been. Tasha's tracking has exceeded my wildest dreams.

Later this afternoon Tasha tracked and recovered her second deer. Once again she was slow starting with hunters tracking in front of her. After the blood played out, Tasha took over the track. There was very little blood on this track either.  You can see her confidence level has gone up ten fold after two real tracks. She tracks very fast and on these steep hills it is all I can do to keep up. I have learned almost as much as she has on the two tracks. I will keep y'all updated.

Cliff