Tracking news from Canada - Nouvelles Canadiennes de la Recherche

by John Jeanneney

The first Canadian Province to legalize leashed tracking dogs was British Columbia on their west coast. This occurred more than a quarter of a century ago. “B.C.” is an important province for big game hunting, but strangely the idea of tracking wounded deer,  elk, moose and bear never caught on there. Michael Schneider, a German who emigrated to B.C. and became a licensed guide, uses an Eastern European tracking dog Slovensky Kopov for tracking moose, but his successes have not inspired many to follow his course.

The French speaking Province of Quebec, on the eastern side of Canada, was the second province  to legalize, and here chiens de sang  (blood tracking dogs) caught on quickly in a big way. The reasons for the success of blood tracking in Quebec and the contrasting lack of interest in British Columbia are not easy to explain. The French speaking trackers in Quebec drew their tradition and inspiration from Europe, mainly France and Belgium, while in B.C. most guides saw blood tracking as a radical, foreign and unnecessary idea.

Chantal Bellemare with her wirehaired dachshund and their find. Chantal lives in Victoriaville, Quebec

In Quebec Simon Lemay, one of the major outfitters, maintains that you have to find a dead moose within six hours after its death if you are going to salvage the meat. The heavy coat, body mass, and internal body heart cause rapid spoilage. In British Columbia, which generally has warmer temperatures, there is little concern about this. Go figure! On certain things we hunters tend to think with our guts instead of our brains.

This moose was recovered by Denis Fortier with his teckel. Denis resides in Victoriaville, Quebec

A small group of hunters in Ontario, just west of Quebec, are pushing for legalization and it appears that they will succeed, No one knows what form the legalization will take since the Ministry of Natural Resources plays their cards close to the vest. I have worked with the trackers and provided them with background information, but they are now encountering doubts among hunters and wildlife officials, These are as negative as anything I encountered in New York State in 1975. If hunting practices are not tied into existing traditions, as was the case in Quebec, it takes a long time for things to change.

Nova Scotia, a small province on the Atlantic Coast, is the third province to legalize, and I will look forward to digging out the story of how this happened. In a former life I was a history professor; sometimes when I’m poorly focused on dogs and deer blood, the old urges come creeping back.

Returning to Quebec, the success that the trackers have had is really remarkable. Currently there are about 48 active trackers and many of them use European wirehaired dachshunds (Teckels). The small dogs have an advantage when tracking through thick back spruce, cutovers clogged with dead branches and in those awful alder swamps where all the alder shoots grow out at a 45 degree angle. They go under the trouble. Tracking on a long leash is mandated by law; in that wilderness country the trackers use about 18 meters of 4 mm polyethylene marine cordage. It works beautifully and doesn’t hang up in their type of thick stuff. I have tried it in our goldenrod fields, and here it is a nightmare.

Steve Durocher from Warwick, Quebec

This year the Quebec trackers found 103 whitetail deer, 86 moose and 6 bears. Their recovery rates ran about 40% which is a little better than what we do down here in the leashed tracking dogs states.  The trackers in Quebec are pretty consistent in maintaining this recovery rate from 2008  to 2011. These guys are good and tough to compete with. I haven’t come up yet with an excuse for why they do a bit better than we do, but I’m working on it.

Bows and crossbows are big in Quebec. About 73% of their calls are to track big game wounded by these two weapons.

Record keeping for tracking in Quebec is more tightly organized than in any of the American states. Alain Ridel does this on a voluntary basis for his tracking organization ACCSQ and for the Province of Quebec; it is a lot of work!

Gilles Deziel and his dachshund Whiskey

This moose was found by Bernard Demers and his dachshund

Stéphanie Marcoux from Warwick, Quebec

More pictures of big game recovered by trackers from Quebec can be viewed at http://www.accsq.com/photos.html

Randy Vick's successful 2011/2012 tracking season

We wrote about Randy Vick and his blood tracking dogs quite a few times before.  Randy is a member of the United Blood Trackers. His primary tracking dog this year was Annie, a seven-year-old Kemmer Stock Mountain Cur (Osteen's Yellow Anne). He was also working with his young Drahthaar puppy. Randy ran into some problems with his Bavarian Lil' Brown, and we hope this is just a temporary situation. In his e-mail Randy also refers to JJ Scarborough's Lab Rosie. I had a chance to meet JJ and Rosie last year at Trackfest in Pocahontas. This last tracking season JJ went on 132 calls and he found 74 deer.

But let's go back to Randy's fantastic season:

"Our tracking season was busy and went well. No major injuries or health issues. Annie got hit while on the lead by a flailing doe, but she shook it off and recovered quickly. As this season ends here for Georgia, Florida and Alabama, I have logged 38 recoveries out of 95 legitimate tracks taken. That's about 40% success. We conformed another 9 misses and had 36 calls that we referred to others or were unable to attend.

I was able to handle J.J. Scarborough's Rosie on 9 tracks of which 3 were recoveries. I love that dog! My Drahthaar, Pepper, was able to find 1 deer in a heavy rain, when Annie was on strike because of the storm. In a storm Annie will bed down and refuse to work.

I posted here only a sample of pictures that Randy sent me. First 9 pictures show Annie and her handler Randy.

Randy Vick with JJ Scarborough's Rosie

Randy with his Drahthaar puppy Pepper

Congratulations Randy! What a great season!

Information on the upcoming wirehaired dachshund puppies

We are expecting two litters to be whelped soon. For this reason we revived our puppy journal, where we will be posting updates on our own puppies. The puppy journal is at http://borntotrackpuppies.blogspot.com/. We heard from quite a few people who enjoy the journal even though they might not be interested in buying a puppy, but they like to watch puppies' development and follow their progress. Welcome back!

Tootsie is expected to whelp in a week. She was bred to our Billy.

Also we updated a page with the information on "other" puppies. In the past we used to list all the litters bred by others out of European bloodlines. With the spread of blood tracking dachshunds and their rising popularity the time has come for us to give here a higher priority to dachshunds sired by our males or related to our lines. We still will be referring buyers to other breeders, but we have to give more help to the breeders who use our males and bloodlines in their own breeding. To see the current listing click here.

Gypsy was bred to Billy ten days ago.

Two buddies from New Hampshire with their tracking dachshunds. On the left Michael Lafleur holds Ted, who was bred by Gail Berger and was sired by our Billy - see http://www.trailsendguideservice.com/
On the right Ray Maurier with Tucker out of the S litter from 2011. More info on Ray's guiding business http://www.lightningmountainoutfitters.com/

Meet blood tracking dogs at the Deer and Turkey Expo in Illinois

This weekend starting tomorrow March 23 you will be able to meet blood tracking dogs at the Illinois Deer and Turkey Expo. Larry Gohlke, a member of the UBT Board of Directors,  will be presenting a seminar "Using Tracking Dogs to Recover Wounded Deer".  The UBT will have a booth there - come and see us and meet handlers and their tracking dogs.

For more info and a schedule click here. 

Larry Gohlke with his tracking dachshund Nix

Ken Parker's Mirko passes a VSwP 20-hour blood tracking test

This past weekend Ken Parker (member of the UBT Board of Directors)  ran his Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound Mirko vom Jagersgrund  in a VSwP 20-hour blood tracking test, which took place in Aberdeen, North Carolina.  The line was a little over 22 hrs old and 1100 meters (.68 miles). According to regulations no more than 1 cup of blood was used. Ken could not see any blood anyway as it rained hard when the line was prepared and then again the night before the test.

Mirko completed the track in a little over 20 minutes with no call backs and received Prize I. The judges were: Forrest Moore from Ga, Lynn Whitely from Utah and Fred Turjan from Pa. 

For more information about Ken Parker and Bavarian Mountain Bloodhounds go to www.hillockkennels.com/

Congratulations to Ken and Mirko!

First day of spring!

Pictures from the UBT Trackfest 2012, Richton, MS

It was another successful Trackfest. Unfortunately I could not attend this year, but John was there. Hopefully soon we will be able to post a report.

John took the pictures posted below. You can see many more pictures taken by Marlo Riley, which can be viewed as a slide show by clicking here. Thank you Marlo!

Roger Barnhill from Alabama with Copper, a SBM Cur

Oak, a Blue Lacy, is owned by Chris Morris from Michigan

From left: Chuck Collier (MI), Larry Gohlke (WI), Cheri Faust (WI), Marlo Riley (TX), Alan Wade (AL) and John Jeanneney (NY)

Susan Edwards from Pennsylvania with her beagle Roczie

 

Pat Patterson from Louisiana with Lucie, a Corgi/German Shepherd mix

Brian Reisner from Michigan with his wirehaired dachshund Gus

Happy 90th Birthday Martina!

I don't remember when exctly Martina Quellmann contacted me for the first time. As far as I can recall she read one of my articles in the Dachshund Club of America newsletter, and it must have been around 16 years ago or so. Over the years we have kept in touch mainly through snail mail, e-mail, by phone. She was a strong supporter of John and me when we co-founded the North American Teckel Club in 2000.

Martina is German, and she knows teckels. I love her quick and sharp mind, no nonsense attitude, no drama. I feel in her a kindred spirit. Today Martina is turning 90 years old, and it is a good occasion to reminisce a little.

In 2003 I wrote a short article for the NATC Teckel Talk about my first dachshund, and Martina replied: 

"Hello, Jolanta, the last Teckel Talk has been sitting on my desk since its arrival. It is unreal how many similarities I saw in your "Down The Memory Lane" and part of my life. I simply felt I had to share it with you.I got my first own dog, a mix, from my friends toy poodle's love affair. She jumped out of a first floor window to meet her beau, an all country mix. My friend had gone to one of the islands to not be bothered with male dogs. Little did she know. Somehow at that time one did not think or believe in spaying and neutering. That was 1946. When we ever have a chance to meet I will tell you my adventures trip to pick Pitti up. My friend and I had Pitti, much beloved, till we immigrated to the USA. As I learned that dogs had to be in quarantine for 6 month I made the painful decision to have him put to sleep. He never was separated from us except a few days here and there to stay with my parents. He was 13 at that time. The strange food, kennel live, strange voices....all would he been too much for him.

In New York German people living in our apartment building ask us to keep their dachsie for the time they went to Germany. Knuckles, short haired, badly overweight, skeptical of everything, it took him 14 days to trust me. He got an infected tooth and I had to bring him to a vet. That in the Bronx, to find a cab to take a dog, then pay him to wait so we could get home. All that with my meager money. In spite of or maybe because of I fell in love with dachshunds. I often took Knuckles for walks after his owners came back. I was very unhappy in New York and planed to go back home. Well, obviously, I did not. We moved to Vermont, an old farm house with 100 acres of land. We rented with the option to buy. My friend knew how much I wanted a dog and now we had room. The first Christmas there was a little dachshund, Hummel. He was an offspring of a dog a soldier brought back from Germany. Papers.....what did I know, even cared about it.

Once I joined our all bred dog club my interest for the technicality rose. I imported my wirehaired minis from Germany, but I never had the time to do to much with them. Hunting is not my line anyhow. But I showed in breed and bred some nice litters, always looking for loving pet homes. I never bred until I had at least 6 clients waiting, knowing I would barely have 6 pups, that allowed me to choose the new owners. And I always visited after 3 or so month. My contract stated I was entitled to take the dogs back if their care did not meet my standards. Neither did I cash the checks till then. It gave me the reputation of one of those German. But my pups were  my responsibility. With working full time as a nurse, running a riding stable, there was not much time to be away from the farm for shows. And the judges did not appreciate the smaller size I bred. I also am not at the least competitive. I was happy having all my dogs around, 5 dachsies, 1 great Dane, and time to take them all for a walk. And yes, they hunted on their own. How many woodchucks did they bring home and I had to bury them. Their instincts were there, but I did not work with it."

 In 2003 Martina wrote an article about her mini wire Kirby:

"Kirby’s registered name is Ch. Rose Farm Box Office Hit. He was born November 11th  1995.

As I had the last dog from my own kennel put to sleep, I thought I could do without a dog. Talking to squirrels, birds, petting other people’s dog showed me I could not. I called Dee Hutchinson whether she would help me to find a mini, preferably a male and wild boar, between 5 and 7 years, color and sex negotiable. And, I still can't get over it - Dee had Kirby for me. From the minute I had him in my car we were the best of friends. Kirby was used much as a stud and I anticipated some difficulties.  

An active stud and mostly a kennel dog, How would he adjust to being a house dog ? No problems. The one and only time he tried to mark his new territory I shouted, without even thinking; Oh No. He stopped immediately, run to the door and that was it. After several weeks working with him on come and sit [that still does not work, mostly I cannot see whether he sits or only pretends] we started our walks without leash. A happy hound running through the woods or across pastures. His delight to go in and out of culverts, mostly dry. He makes friends with each dogs after giving a warning growl when they are too bouncy. People are his great friends. In all the dogs I raised from my own kennel I never had such an outgoing little fellow. He greets everyone with a wag of his tail. Also, he is the most affectionate dog I ever had. He adjusted to being the only dog, bed dog, lap dog without any difficulties.  I make sure he has, at least once a day his freedom walk, meaning off leash. And yes, I bribe him to come when I call. Once we met a fox, while I looked for a stick to chase it away, Kirby hightailed back to me. He knew he was no match. Rodents, when he gets them, are taken care of, proudly presented to me.

Kirby

You may have received my snail mail already about our attack by a rabid skunk. It was frightening.  Four minutes behind our house, a walkway used by dog owners, jokers, bikers. 11am, sunshine. I was bending down to unleash Kirby as I saw it, a giant skunk, beautiful, shiny. A grandfather of a skunk. I picked up the dog and went into the bushes, hoping it would pass me with out spraying. It passed by, as I got ready to move it returned, passed by me again,  me ready to move again and back it came It waddled right in my hiding space, first bit in my pant leg, then without any provocation in my leg, first one, then the other, over and over again. The whole situation made clear that it was rabid. After about 15 minutes, I managed to step on it, then, as it came back again to kick it like a football. Thereafter it took off. In all that, fight Kirby slipped out of my arm and the critter got his left hindquarter. He screamed, he was still partly on my arm, I pulled him and the skunk up, it did not let go. I hit it with my fist; it dropped but bit me in my hand.

I was so shaky, I was unable to use my cell phone to call the police and walked home. From there I called, they kept me on the line until an ambulance was at my door. Kirby had hit in one of his corners, I had no time to check him. Called the Vet from the emergency room, was told I have a 6 hour leave way for him to be seen. The process in the emergency room made clear I would never make it out in time. Plus my Vet is an hour away. I called a friend who brought Kirby to the Vet. They came home 45 minutes after me. Kirby had no injuries, all the vet found was mushy fur on his left rear, not even a puncture wound. But he deskunked him for me. Also send home some of the solution to help with the odor in my home. And Kirby got a booster for his rabies vaccine. That's almost 2 weeks ago now. I am still receiving my shots, the last 12/22. All is well that ends well. But it may be of interest to all of your hunting friends. No, the skunk was not found in spite of 3 police officers who scanned the area. I assume he is dead by now. I still get a bit shaky when I think about it."

When Kirby passed in 2006 I could not stand a thought that Martina would be without a dachshund so we offered to give her our Gela. We imported Gela von Rauhenstein from Germany in 2000 when she was around a year old. A very good looking teckel, talented in the field, she found her niche in field trials. We bred her twice, but both times she had to have a C-section. After her second litter we decided to spay her. Gela was craving an individual attention and her dream must have been to have a human lap just to herself. It sounded like Martina and Gela would be a good match. So in August 2006 John and I drove to Hanover, NH, to bring Gela to her new home. It was a right decision, and Gela does not leave Martina's lap too often. Now she is almost 13.

Gela in 2008

Martina and Gela in 2011

Martina and Gela visited us in September 2007, and it was so good to see both of them. Gela was thriving.

September 2007: Gela and her old buddy Asko.

John and Martina at our place



I wish we lived closer to Martina so could see her more often. She always has interesting stories and insights to share. I cherish our friendship and think of her often; I feel that she knows me even without exchanging too many words.

Martina, Happy 90th Birthday! I am so glad that our life paths have crossed!

Garmin's first chucks



A big thank you to Teddy Moritz for sharing the story

Garmin was a young dog during her first hawking season. She did well on rabbits and learned to find them in thick brush and to run them. She was bred by Bob and Connie LaRosa of Long Island, NY, out of my stud dog Navarre by their Sandy, who is a sister to Pete and Bonnie Mercier's Trooper and Odie. I didn't get Garmin into hard quarry that first summer because she was so young. She showed a lot of interest in holes but I kept her on rabbits. She finished her AKC Field Champion title in four trials last fall. She came into heat in November so I bred her and she whelped four nice pups in January. Now that the pups are weaned I have started taking Garmin out for harder quarry, mainly groundhogs. She is a small, stocky dog, built for hole work with a nice small chest.

On her first day out I took the lurcher and just Garmin as a hole dog. I wanted her to learn by herself and to depend only on her own ideas about hard quarry. The lurcher marked a hole at the edge of a farm field. Garmin checked the hole and showed interest. She had to dig her way in because the hole was full of leaves and twigs. After she disappeared it took a few moments for her to find the groundhog, then she began baying. She came out once to see if I was still topside. Then she went to work in earnest it seemed. I could hear her baying but she sounded deep. I located her via her transmitter collar at six to eight feet. She had to have her quarry in a hibernating den. I let her work for several minutes and listened to her steady barking. Meanwhile, the lurcher heard something down the slope, in the briars, by the base of a big tree. I thought a squirrel might have moved. Garmin had gone quiet so I walked to the base of the tree. I saw a groundhog looking out of a hole at the base of the tree. I backed off and the lurcher found his way through the briars and nabbed the groundhog as it ran into the woods. I waited and then called Garmin. She eventually came out the original hole, covered with sand. I think the groundhog had gone very deep, then come up a tunnel to his escape hole in the tree. Nice work by Garmin.

 

Next hole was in a big mound of dirt and looked like it could be a fox den. Garmin took a long time deciding to go into the hole. I waited for her to make up her own mind, not encouraging her. She has to learn to think for herself. She finally went in. After a few moments she gave a sharp bark, then a yip and she came shooting out a far hole. That made me pretty sure it was a vixen in the den, probably with cubs. Garmin circled the den. Again I didn't say anything to her. I wanted her to decide about hard quarry on her own. She hadn't taken a bite but I believe the fox took her by surprise. Garmin walked around a little, then went back into the hole she'd first gone in. This time she began baying very strongly and moved deeper into the den. Suddenly the fox shot out a hole in the far side of the mound, running through the thick greenbriar. The lurcher gave chase but he couldn't maneuver through the heavy thorns and the fox disappeared. Garmin came out all in a huff and tracked the fox. I called her back after awhile and we left the fox. This gave Garmin the confidence to face harder quarry, given the choice.

 

On the way out of the farm I saw a big groundhog run into the woods. The lurcher, who had been trotting ahead of the car, marked the den, a two-holer under a fallen tree. I had dug this den with Bane last year. The shallow holes I had dug for him were still in evidence, though filled with leaves. Garmin again had to dig to get into the den. I thought she'd head toward the far hole, which was freshly dug. This groundhog chose to go to the old den. I cleaned out two holes with he post hole diggers and could hear Garmin moving through the tunnel, barking. The lurcher showed interest in the furthest hole so I used the digging bar and dropped it between Garmin and the chuck. When I pulled the bar out the chuck tried to go toward Garmin but her barking became louder and faster and she kept him in the tunnel. Eventually he backed up to the far hole and the big dog pulled him out.

 

Thus Garmin met three adversaries in one morning's hunt and faced them all without taking a bite. So far so good for a young dog, although once she gets bitten then I'll know what she's made of.

Congratulations to Larry Gohlke, a recipient of the Wisconsin Wildlife Management Bureau Special Service Award 2012

Larry Gohlke, a very good friend of ours, is too modest to write about himself, but his friend Cheri Faust sent us this write-up by William (Bill) J. Vander Zouwen Jr., Chief, of Wildlife Ecology Section, Bureau of Wildlife Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The award was presented to Larry on February 28, 2012 at the award ceremony at the Stoney Creek Inn in Rothschild.

This year’s Wildlife Bureau special service award is going to a citizen with passionate interest in deer who is at the same time a fine, gracious gentleman and a great supporter of Wisconsin’s deer management policies.  That really narrows down the list of possibilities, doesn’t it? 

He is a member of the Conservation Congress and of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation wildlife committee.  He has often been seen at DNR deer committee meetings, bringing spread sheets full of numbers and interesting observations. 

He was a very influential member of the Deer 2000 Herd Size Group, attending 40 group meetings, which resulted in herd control unit criteria, the reinstatement of earn-a-buck, an expansion of deer hunting seasons, and responsible deer population goals.  As if that wasn’t enough, he also served on the Deer 2000 Agricultural Damage Committee. 

He helps farmers in the crop damage program to meet their deer harvest quotas.  He’s arranged for donation of significant amounts of venison to food pantries. 

He’s spent countless hours using his dachshunds to help hunters find wounded deer.  He is one of the founders of United Blood Trackers and is giving seminars around the country on this subject. 

He has given up deer hunting on opening weekend to age deer for DNR.  He and his staff have entered the deer aging data from across the state for DNR’s use, freeing up wildlife manager time for other responsibilities.  He also summarized and analyzed the data for our reports. 

He has courageously supported the DNR and responsible deer management when it has not been popular to do so.  He has regularly encouraged DNR biologists to make responsible decisions in spite of the heat we get.

There is only one person in Wisconsin who could possibly fit this description, and many of you have known him for a long time.  This year’s special service award recipient is truly a friend of the wildlife program.  We are so pleased to know him, to benefit from his service, and to present him with this prestigious award.

Please offer your applause to help me thank Larry Gohlke as he comes forward to accept his Special Service Award.

________

The pictures below were taken in May 2011 at the United Blood Trackers Trackfest 2011 at Pocahontas, Arkansas, and show Larry Gohlke, a member of the UBT Board, in action.

Congratulations Larry on a well deserved award!

Upcoming blood tracking events

3rd Annual Eastern Lacy Fun Day (ELF day)
March 16-17, 2012, 9:00 AM till we get tired!!

 1900 Youngs Mill Road, LaGrange, GA

Come share the fun with a great group of Lacy enthusiasts and our dogs. Activities will include introductory, intermediate, and advanced blood tracking and training, evaluation for United Blood Tracker certifications, working cattle and more. Silent auction on Saturday with proceeds to benefit the TLGDA.

Entry to grounds - $5 per person, or $10 per carload. $5 per activity entered per dog. Super Special!! $20 for admittance and access to all training events for one handler and a group of dogs. UBT evaluations will begin on Friday, March 16. UBT evaluation fees are: UBT 1 - $50; UBT 2 - $75 Pre-registration and payment required for evaluations so that we can prepare the lines in advance. Please contact Rebecca for registration forms and info.

Thursday afternoon, March 15 is the set up day; Friday will be UBT testing; Saturday will be cattle herding; introductory, intermediate and advanced blood track training. Sunday is clean up and head home. If you can come early to help, or socialize, we will be glad to have you. Breakfast will be provided on Friday and Saturday, if you’re up and around early. Potluck dinner on Friday night for early arrivals. Please bring something to share. Cookout on Saturday night. Bring something to throw on the grill!!!

Limited overnight accommodations are available for $10/night per person in the cabin (kids are free). Please register early if you plan to stay overnight. Please bring your cooler full of some favorite non-alcoholic beverages and lawn chairs.

All dogs must be under direct control of their owners at all times. Please bring a leash and crate along. A tie out might also be handy. No dogs in heat, and no alcohol allowed on premises!!
For more information please call Rebecca Ferrell at 850-508-6981, email at rebeccaferrell@comcast.net or go to www.lacydog.com and look for the ELF day thread.

Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition
April 21 and 22, 2012
Location: 1202 West Hill Rd., Town of Ellington, NY.

Application Fee:  $25 per entry
Applications will be first come, first serve. There will be a limit of 5 lines per day. All applicants and dogs must be pretested. Certified dogs will run first. All applications must be received by April 3, 2012.
Free lodging available onsite. Free camping available onsite. Other lodging options available upon request.

For more information contact  Gary Katta   (716) 785-5580,  9231 Spoden Rd., Fredonia, NY 14063

North American Teckel Club (NATC) events

Dates: June 7-10 2012
Place: Maricourt, Quebec, Canada

Judge: Stefan Stefik from Slovakia

Training and testing will be offered for blood tracking, obedience, gun steadiness and water retrieval.

A Zuchtschau (conformation show), where dachshunds can receive written critiques from an FCI judge, will be held on Sunday.

Registration fee all four days* -
$75.00 non-NATC members ($50.00 for NATC members)
Registration fee per day* (no registration fee for Sunday) -
$40.00 non-NATC members ($30.00 for NATC members)
* Submission of an NATC membership application, will qualify the participant for the club rate.
Test and Show fees (Fees are preliminary and may be subject to change):

DTK/NATC 20-hour blood tracking test fee is $100.00. Dogs/handlers must meet certain preconditions**.

Advance entry is $5.00 for Gun steadiness, $10.00 for Water test and $10.00 for each companion dog test. Gate Entries are $10.00, $20.00, and $20.00, respectively.
Zuchtschau advance entries: first adult dog $25.00
Gate entries (day of event): first adult dog $30.00
Each additional dog/same owner: $20.00
For Exhibition Only (FEO) and Puppies (<9 months): $15.00
Advance Entry / Closing Date for Zuchtschau and Tests is June 1, 2012 – Register early as space for certain activities may be limited.
Due to the required set-up, No Gate Entry is Allowed for the Blood Tracking Test.

 

** Handlers who have already obtained a JGHV/DTK/NATC blood tracking title on one of their dogs may enter other dogs in the blood tracking test. For novice handlers who have not put a title on a dog, the following are ways to demonstrate that you and your dog have reached a basic level of proficiency: 1) passing an NATC 500 meter test, 2) having a certification for your dog from another acceptable organization such as the United Blood Trackers (UBT) or Deer Search Inc (DSI), and 3) arranging individually for an NATC judge to observe and attest to your dog’s preparedness.

More information available from Carrie Hamilton Hamiltce@juno.com

Last days of winter in the Helderbergs?

Today we had a gorgeous day, very warm (59F) and sunny. Probably all this snow will be gone soon as tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. I went out multiple times with dogs and snapped some pictures. With so many young dogs and puppies, it is a challenge to give them all exercise and socialization opportunities.

I discovered that our 13-year-old Asko is a good company for Mielikki. So in the morning they are with us while we are having breakfast, and then I take them out for a walk. The first four pictures were taken during our morning walk today.

Sky can play with Mielikki only under supervision because he can be too rough on her, just like Bella is too rough on him. So Mielikki enjoys the company of middle aged and older dogs, who are patient with her. 

Anyway, it was a good days as most dogs got to run and spend some time in the sun. John is back from Trackfest, and we will write about it soon. I received a lot of nice pictures from Randy Vick from his last tracking season and will try to scan them tomorrow.

Asko and Mielikki on their morning walk

Mielikki following the ground scent

Mielikki on the top of the world

This is a portrait of Sky, who just turned seven months old.

Future hunters and blood trackers

Sorry for not posting much, but with John gone to Trackfest in Mississippi and two young Czech puppies here, I have my hands full. Today we are going to try to catch up with the incoming information on young dachshunds.

This is Willette Brown with her four-week-old puppies out of her FC Quilla von Velbert. From the left: CeeCee, Chip, Carly, Cheeka. One female is still available to working home. Contact Willette at hunterhillwb@roadrunner.com. Willette lives in Maine, but she is spending this winter in Florida, and this is where the pups are right now.

Joe Walters sent this picture of his friend Ray Holohan with his new puppy. The pup's name is Razen Kane and she is going to be a tracking dog for Ray's wife Claudia. Razen Kane was sired by Rosco owned by Ray, and she was bred by Brian Hibbs from Iowa. Brian is expecting another litter this spring. For more information go to Brian's website at www.trackingteckels.com

Amazing how quickly these puppies are growing. The ten pups are being raised by Rick McCollum from Greenbrier, Arkansas. The picture was taken few days ago, when pups were just over three weeks old.

The dam of this huge litter is "Anna" (Diestel von Moosbach-Zuzelek), who proved to be an excellent mother.  The pups are sired by Fred (Fidget von der Bismarck-Eiche) who was imported from Germany and lives in Neosho, MO. Two male puppies are still available to working homes, and for more info contact Rick at rickmccollum55@yahoo.com.

Puppies have been introduced to solid food.

We had no snow this winter for three months, and then on Feb 29-March 1 we got 9 inches of the heavy wet stuff. The pups imported from the Czech Republic, Mielikki and Macaria, played on the grass one day, and then next day they had to use our SUV's tire tracks to move around in the snow.

Tomorrow Macaria (right) is flying to her new home in Utah, and Mielikki is going to stay here. At 12 weeks Mielikki is 8.5 lbs and Macaria is 9.5 lbs.