Theo wins the Deer Search 2014 Blood Tracking Competition

Last weekend, April 12 and 13, 2014, Deer Search of Finger Lakes hosted the Annual Blood Tracking Competition at Campbell, NY. The judges were Ron Hausfelder, Gary Neal and Kevin Fisher, all members of Deer Search. The DSI competition is open to Deer Search members only, and eight dogs and handlers participated over the course of two days. The dogs competing were Standard Wirehaired Dachshunds (5), a Labrador Retriever, Bavarian Mountain Hound and German Shorthaired Pointer.

All dogs passed, and the table shows results with scores, time and placements. A winner of the competition was a two-year-old dachshund Theo von Moosbach-Zuzelek, owned and handled by Darren Doran from New Jersey. As Theo's breeders we could not be happier, and we are very thankful to Darren for all the training and work he put into Theo.

A big thank you to Andy Bensing and Darren Doran for pictures from the event. 

Deer Search of Finger Lakes modified slightly a traditional scoring system.

Darren Doran with Theo and a beautiful trophy for the 1st place (92 points, Prize I).

Eibe handled by Andy Bensing placed 2nd with 90 points, Prize I.

Our Tommy handled by John Jeanneney placed 3rd with 83 points and Prize II.

Garry Huber with his Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound Beya (73 points, Prize II).

Casandra was handled by Dale Clifford (70 points, Prize II).

Remington handled by Joe Dallas scored 67 points, Prize III.

Braylee handled by Paulene Eggers scored 60 points and Prize III.

Buddy was handled by Kevin Ulrich and received 52 points, Prize III.

Congratulations to all the participants, and especially to the winning team! A big thank you to members of Deer Search of Finger Lakes for organizing such a fine event.

Results of the 2013 Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition

Yesterday, on April 6, 2013, six dogs were entered in the Annual Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition.  As we mentioned in our Friday post the judges were Roger Humeston, Mark Long and Bill Siegrist. The lines were 800 meters long, and there was a time limit of 1.5 hour to complete a line.  According to the rules the dog has to work exclusively on a leash.   The judges have to observe how the dog behaves at the beginning of the blood trail, how he works the trail, and how he occasionally corrects himself. A dog is allowed to lose the track twice. If a dog has lost the track he has to be given sufficient time to correct himself. For this reason the judges should call him back only if the dog goes 75 meters beyond the track. 

 

The evaluation of the dogs is accomplished with an index and score numbers. The categories of performance are: steadiness and concentration, tracking accuracy and willingness to track.

 

Of the six dogs entered, three passed, all wirehaired dachshunds: Eibe, Theo and Tommy. A winner of the competition with a perfect score 100 points, Prize I performance  was Eibe von Merreche, owned and handled by Andy Bensing. Eibe is a six -year-old wirehaired dachshund, and she was bred by Hans Josef Broich, Germany. She is a very experienced blood tracker, and this was her second win. Congratulations to Andy and Eibe!

From left to right: Mark Long (judge), Andy Bensing with Eibe, Bill Siegrist (judge). The third judge Roger Humeston is not in the picture.

Some of the competition participants and judges.

It was a very good day for Darren Doran and Theo von Moosbach-Zuzelek, who yesterday had his 1st birthday. Theo placed 2nd with 92 points and Prize I! It also meant that he was certified by Deer Search.

Darren Doran from New Jersey with Theo at the end of successful track.

One-year-old Theo with his certification diploma.

 

Tommy did not have much luck yesterday. He tracked first, along the ridge that was blasted by a very strong wind. He worked hard, never gave up, and ended up with 57 points and Prize III. John was not disappointed as the dog gave everything he had under very difficult conditions.

One of the eligibility criteria for the competition is that a participating dog has to have passed  a pretest, which is conducted on a 500 meter long 20-24 hour old line. This ensures that only trained dogs are entered in a competition, and judges and track layers do not waste their time on dogs that have not had sufficient training. With such a long winter, very few training opportunities and no chance for pretest, our Sky (Theo's older brother) was not entered in the official competition. But John took him along with the understanding that he could be run on a spare line at the end of competition (there is always an extra line) and would have a chance to get certified. 

So Sky tracked a line #7 at the end of the day, and he passed with 67 points and Prize III. The picture above shows him and John at the end of the line. Sky is now Deer Search certified.

Congratulations to all who participated! Conditions were tough, but tough dogs and tough  handlers prevailed! At the end of the winter it is not easy to prepare dogs and have them sharp for the competition. Handlers whose dogs did not pass should not be discouraged. Milder seasons will off better conditions to succeed.

Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition April 6, 2013

Tomorrow Deer Search is going to hold its Annual Blood Tracking Competition at Casperkill Game Club, 116 Stone House Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. There are six contestants: five dachshunds and one Bavarian Mountain Hound. The judges are three Master Handlers: Roger Humeston, Mark Long and Bill Siegrist. The lines are 800 meters long. There is a time limit of 1.5 hour to complete a line. The competition is open only to Deer Search members.

Good luck to all participants!

Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition

Ellington, NY, April 21-22, 2012

 It was a tough weekend for most of the eight tracking dogs entered in the annual Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition. Only one dog, Buddy, a German Short-haired Point owned by Kevin Ulrich succeeded in completing one of the 1000 yard blood lines that had been laid 20 + hours before. Buddy did an outstanding job on his Sunday track, which was on the second day of the competition. Buddy has an excellent nose and desire; he is by nature and breed a fast-moving dog, and this was an advantage as he completed the 1000 yard line in 40 minutes and traveled much faster than any of the other dogs in the competition.

The problem for four of the five dachshunds entered was that they could not complete their lines within the one hour of time allotted by the rules. Although they were making  progress and staying on the rained-out blood line, the judges  had to “clock them out” and eliminate them from the competition. Under the rather difficult scenting conditions the slower, closer-working dachshunds did not move fast enough.

The three judges were Craig Frank, Ron Hausfelder and John Jeanneney.  They awarded Buddy  a Prize I, 92 points, which made him the competition winner as well as the only qualifying dog.

It should be added that Gary Huber’s Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound  was doing an excellent job until she wind-scented another  deer skin 100 yards upwind of the line. It had been left there accidentally on the previous day. Once Beya had found “her” deer, she lost interest in working to find it all over again.

 

Kevin Ulrich with Buddy, the winner of the competition.

From left: John Jeanneney (Judge) with Buddy, Ron Hausfelder (Judge), Kevin Ulrich, Craig Frank (Judge).

 Submitted by John Jeanneney

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

More pictures from Deer Search blood tracking competition and certification tests

Thanks to Holly Mitchell we received more pictures taken on the weekend of April 16-17 at Deer Search blood tracking competition and certification tests. Thank you Holly!

Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition

by John Jeanneney

The tracking conditions for the 2011 Deer Search Competition were the toughest I’ve ever seen. This year the competition was hosted by the Deer Search Finger Lakes Chapter Inc down in Steuben County at Campbell, NY. This area offers the best deer hunting in New York State, which meant that there were hot lines everywhere and lots of turkeys too. On top of this the tracking was done in a cold, driving rain, although the competition blood lines, laid the day before, had at least been able to dry before Saturday’s downpour began. As part of the judging team, along with Gary Neal and Kevin Fisher, I was in a good position to see the dog work, provided that I wiped my glasses regularly.

Results:

• Winner: Moby. miniature longhaired dachshund, (4 3 4)  92 points, Prize I, Chester Swierk
• 2nd: Tabitha, wirehaired dachshund, (3 3 4) 82 points, Prize II, Dale Clifford
• 3rd: Eibe: wirehaired dachshund, (2 2 4) 64 points, Prize III, Andy Bensing
• 4th: Cassandra: wirehaired dachshund, (2 2 2) 50 points, Prize III, Dale Clifford

Chester Swierk’s miniature longhair dachshund won decisively with the only Prize I rating of the day. This little dog was calm, steady and showed excellent line sense. Chester, the owner/handler, was in his first competition, but he appeared to be one of those gifted individuals born knowing what to do. Chester claimed that he read a good book about handling, but I don’t think that you learn things from a book on this level! 

Chester Swierk and Moby, winner of the Blood Tracking Competition

Chester and Moby plus 3 judges: Kevin Fisher, Gary Neal and John Jeanneney

Dale Clifford took a well-earned second with his wirehaired dachshund Tabitha, who tracked down steep, logged-over slopes clogged with downed tree tops. These obstacles were a tough challenge because once Tabitha was a few yards off the line, on the wrong side of a windrow of tree tops, there was no easy way to swing back onto the line again.

Dale Clifford and Tabitha, second place

For Andy Bensing’s wirehaired dachshund Eibe hot lines and a working speed too fast for the conditions were her undoing. She took third with a Prize III score of 64. A year earlier, at the Deer Search Competition in Dutchess County, Eibe had won decisively with Prize I score of 100.

Andy Bensing and Eibe, third place

Dale Clifford’s Cassandra, a sister to Tabitha, rounded out the quartette of placing dogs in the Competition. She scraped though with a Prize III, score of 50, which was still an accomplishment considering the conditions.

On Sunday, dogs not in the Competition were judged for Deer Search certification. Although there was little actual rain while the dogs were working, it was very windy. The blood lines has been laid down in the rain of the previous day. Probably there was even less scent line remaining than there had been for the competition dogs the day before. Still five out of eight dogs passed for Deer Search Certification. The newly certified dogs were:

• Gary Huber’s Beya (Bavarian mountain bloodhound) 74 points
• Darren Doran’s Karl (wirehaired dachshund) 57 points

Darren Doran and Karl

•  Dayrl Kempston's Penny (miniature longhaired dachshund) 50 points

Matt Griffin and Gunner

• Matt Griffin’s Gunner (golden retriever) 57 points
• Laura Harrington’s Braylee (wirehaired dachshund) 67 points 

Laura Harrington and Pauline with Braylee

Journey to the Win - Part 3: Pre-test and Competition

by Andy Bensing

continued from http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/2010/05/journey-to-win-part-2-training.html

Four weeks and 5 training lines into my spring training it was time to take the pre-test for the DSI Competition. Deer Search requires dogs to prove a certain degree of ability before they are allowed to enter the yearly competition so as to weed out dogs that have no business being there. That's what the pre-test is for. I felt well prepared for the pre-test but a few hours before the test I had what could have been a small disaster with Eibe on the drive to NY for the test. I pulled off to what looked like a safe spot to exercise her and when I let her out of the truck, she jumped out of the truck almost directly onto a rabbit I didn't see sitting there. She went tearing off into the distance after this rabbit completely ignoring my recall command at first and disappearing into a suburban neighborhood. I am lucky I didn't get arrested running though peoples yards that Sunday morning yelling for my dog. Actually she did try to come back but unbeknownst to me at the time she was stuck behind a fence. Once I finally found her stuck behind the fence and got her out and back into the truck, she was all torqued up and as gamey as you can imagine.

I was really concerned that in a couple of hours when I got to the pre-test and put her down to track, all she would do is go look for another rabbit. To settle her down after this incident I decided to stop before the pre-test and do a little mild obedience to remind her we do what I want not always what she wants. It seemed like a good plan to salvage the situation and it was a good plan, until the next disaster. I accidentally over corrected her with the e-collar and she got sucked into me like glue. Not a big deal any other time, the next day she would have surely been over it with no problem but I was going to be taking the pre-test in about an hour.

When I got to the pre-test I tried to mentally loosen her up but it wasn't looking good. She didn't want to leave my side by more than a few yards. With no time left to loosen her up, I took her to the start of the test line and started her in our usual routine. It took me about 3 minutes of coaxing her with encouragement and one re-start but she finally kicked in and did an excellent job on the pre-test line. Basically perfect. She ran the 450 meter line in 7 minutes flat once she finally kicked in. I certainly do not advocate high obedience pressure on a dog so close to a hunting test like accidentally happened to her but there was no doubt in my mind that the accidental over-correction made Eibe really focus on the blood trail and not fool around one little bit. I'm just glad that same overcorrection didn't go one step further and just completely shut her down for the rest day!

During the three weeks after the pre-test and before the Competition we did 3 more training lines continuing to focus on the same techniques but having less and less opportunity to do so because her line control had vastly improved and she rarely overshot a turn anymore. If she did overshoot a turn, she worked the check close and by herself with the pattern I had been teaching her. We were definitely ready for the Competition.

The weather forecast the week leading up to the DSI competition was not very promising for good tracking conditions. Cool and damp, which sounds good but too damp the day the blood is laid is never good. It was forecast to rain the day the blood was to be put down. I've seen trials and competitions in the past where the blood was laid in the rain or it rained shortly after the blood was put down and very good dogs the next day could barely smell it. The weather seemed to cooperate at the last minute on Friday when the tracks were laid. It was a little misty at times but it didn't actually rain until about 5pm when the last track was put down. I and everyone else expected the tracks should be fine. Saturday morning, the day of the Competition, started out damp and drizzling with there having been some light rain during the night. I thought tracking conditions should be pretty good

At the draw for running order Saturday morning the best draw I could get would be #4 and lucky for me that it what I drew. Competition rules state that certified dogs run first and then uncertified dogs run after that. There were 3 certified dogs competing, so they would get lines 1, 2, and 3. My thoughts were that the early lines would be the best since they had the most time for the blood to dry before it rained late on Friday. As it turned out scenting conditions were quite tough for all the lines and the draw position did not really matter. The 3 experienced dogs before me, 2 of which had won the Competition for a combined 4 of the last 5 years, had a tough time of it. As they tracked along, parts of the line seemed easy but they would hit big areas where they really had to work hard to find scent.

After a short lunch break, it was finally our turn. With the difficult conditions I thought Eibe might have a little trouble getting started. Sometimes I have to re-start her at the beginning a time or two to get her going when the scenting is tough. In DSI competitions, the gallery often follows pretty close. As a handler you can't control how close the judges follow but there is nothing wrong with telling the gallery what to do and that is what I did. I asked them to stay at the start until I was out 50 yards before following just in case I needed to re-start. I didn't want the gallery standing all over the line if I needed to go back to the hit site and start over. As it turned out, none of that was necessary. I went through my normal starting routine and Eibe zipped right down the line perfectly for the first 100 yards like there was nothing to it. It was looking real good.

Then just as the line got to an intersection of some rock walls, Eibe hit a dead spot like I was seeing all the dogs earlier in the day encounter. She worked that check for several minutes very intensely never going more than 10 meters from the line until she found the line again and off she went down the line only 60 meters and we hit another dead spot. This check lasted about the same amount of time as the first one but she worked this check even closer. After that 2nd check things smoothed out and for the next 500 meters Eibe pretty much just cruised along, except for a cross trail that she briefly got sucked down for about 20 meters but came right back. Eibe walked right through the first wound bed and indicated it to me with a brief stop and sniff. We missed the 2nd wound bed. The judges latter told me we were a few feet to the left of it but I just didn't see it and Eibe did not indicate it to me. A small mistake I made in our prep work was to put both hair and blood on my wound beds and the Deer Search Competition wound beds only had blood on them, so they were not as interesting to Eibe as the ones in training were. That's probably why she missed the 2nd bed. There were 3 turns in that 500 meter stretch and Eibe drilled them all with only a small circle at the 2nd turn.

We were cruising along nicely with what I figured was maybe 150 meters to go and I was thinking that we really had this one almost in the bag. Since I didn't know exactly where the line was I couldn't be positive how accurate Eibe had been but it sure felt good. I couldn't help but see some of the line markers along the way as we walked right past them. I figured we had a score of at least 92 in the making, maybe even more. Then as we were coming up a small hill and just as we came up on a flat under some pines we hit a big dead spot again. I can't say for sure how long it took to work that 50 meter section of the line out but it seemed like an eternity but was probably about 10 minutes. Our training preparations really paid off at this 3rd check. Eibe's checking pattern was wonderfully efficient. I chuckled a little to myself when I overheard one of the judges comment to another judge that " you can't teach that" referring to Eibe's beautifully efficient check work knowing that I certainly contributed to it with our training. At one point at this 3rd check I decided to pick Eibe up and use the directed search command I taught her to bring her into the known part of the line in hopes of blasting through the dead spot with some momentum. Finally Eibe found her way out of that mess and buzzed down the last 100 meter of the line to the skin. Actually, she winded the skin with about 60 meters to go and just ran to it. It was a nice fresh skin with quite a bit of meat on it so I got out my knife and cut her off a well deserved reward. After the congratulations and pictures I heard the judges announce that our score was a perfect 100 and I knew our mission was a total success. It was a long road the last 2 ½ years since I first brought Eibe home as a pup. An even longer road since 9 yrs ago when I bought my 1st blood tracking dog. I finally had the dog I had been seeking for so many years.

Gary Neal (Judge), me holding Eibe, and John Jeanneney (Judge) holding our trophy after winning the Deer Search Competition.

Results of the 2010 Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition

Yesterday the Deer Search Blood Tracking Competition took place at Casperkill Game Club at Rhinebeck, NY. The competition was chaired by Bill Siegrist, and the judges were John Jeanneney, Roger Humeston Jr. and Gary Neal. This is Deer Search's annual event and its location rotates from year to year. Only members of Deer Search are eligible to participate, and dogs have a limit of one hour to finish the 800-1000 meter long track, which has to include three 90-degree turns. The track has to be 20-24 hours old. Last year the competition was hosted by the Western New York Chapter, and it was won by Tabitha von Munterkeit handled, owned and bred by Dale Clifford.

This year the competition was organized by the Founding Chapter. I could not be there because of my knee injury so this report is based on the feedback and pictures I got from the people present there (thank you!). Judging by the dogs' work and how hard they had to work, the conditions were tough, even though they "should be" good - some overnight rain, cool, grey and intermittent drizzle on the day of competition.

There were six entries; five of them were wirehaired dachshunds and one was German Shorthair Pointer. The dogs who passed were:

1. Eibe von Merreche handled and owned by Andy Bensing, Reading, PA, who won the competition with a perfect score of 100 points and Prize I.

The above is Eibe's GPS track, which I got from Andy. Great job Andy - congratulations to you and Eibe!

2. Mae Von Munterkeit, a two-year-old WHD owned and handled by Beth Shero, Paoughkeepsie, NY, who got the score of 92 points and PrizeI. Mae reached the end of track in 27 minutes, and Beth proved to be a very skilled and talented handler. You don't know how happy I am to see a young woman doing so well.

3. Thrird place went to Rio, a German Shorthair Pointer, owned and handled by Ron Hausfelder, East Bethany, NY, who got a score of 57 points and Prize III.

4. Tabitha Von Munterkeit handled, owned and bred by Dale Clifford, Hamburg, NY got 50 points and Prize III. This time Tabitha's dam, Sabrina, a winner of three previous competitions was clocked out.

The atmosphere and camraderie were great, and a number of people from the Founding Chapter of DSI came to watch and help. Here there are more pictures taken yesterday.

 

Upper row from the left: Ron Hausfelder, Tim Ryder, Pete Martin, John Jeanneney, Mike Garrity, Marc Niad, Dale Clifford. Below: Gary Neal, Roger Humeston, Beth Shero, John Robinson and Andy Bensing.

The successful dogs and handlers were: Rio and Ron Hausfelder, Mae and Beth Shero, Eibe and Andy Bensing, and Tabitha and Dale Clifford.

Gary Neal (Judge), Andy Bensing with Eibe, and John Jeanneney (Judge) who holds Assy Vom Bauwald Plaque Challenge Trophy to be held for one year by Andy (the owner of the highest scoring dog).

Andy with Assy Vom Bauwald Plaque Challenge Trophy

Beth Shero is receiving a DSI pewter pin awarded to all competition dogs with passing scores.

Ron Hausfeleder and Bill Siegrist, chairman of the competition

John Jeanneney, Beth Shero with Mae, and Beth's father John Robinson with Mariel, Mae's sister. Mariel was not entered in the competition as her handler Gentian Shero had to work on this day.