To buyers of European dachshunds: Dual register your dogs with the AKC

By Jolanta Jeanneney

If you bought a dachshund from Europe, it was probably registered with one of the FCI kennel clubs such as the Deutscher Teckelklub. You bought your European puppy because you admired the hunting desire and the conformation standard that was developed to ensure stamina and agility. Now you wonder whether you should register your puppy with the American Kennel Club. You probably heard how breeders associated with this club breed mainly for the show ring and exaggerated conformation, with disregard for performance and health. And why would you want to register your teckel puppy with the AKC that has a different breed standard and provides no quality control when it comes to selection of breeding stock?  The reasons are practical rather than ideological.

If you live in the United States, you need to register your foreign-born dachshund puppy with an American-based registry. The American Kennel is your best option.

By the way, it should be mentioned that the terms like dachshund, teckel and dackel refer to the same breed. The word “dachshund” is actually of German origin, and it means “badger dog”, as in German “dachs” means badger and “hund” means dog. These days the Americans who work with dachshunds bred out of European lines often refer to them as “teckels”. But make no mistake about it – teckels are dachshunds!

The North American Teckel Club (NATC), which John and I co-founded, is affiliated with the FCI and DTK. It is a small club, which handles 9 teckel breeds that are differentiated according to the size and coat type (standard, mini and kaninchen x wirehaired, longhaired and smooth). In the AKC system dachshunds are registered just as “dachshunds” (one breed). It is obvious that the United States is very different from the European countries. The distances in our homeland are vast by European standards. Field and show events for FCI registered dogs are very infrequent and widely scattered. The NATC holds events once or twice a year.

This post is not intended to criticize NATC, DTK or FCI, but to show what a breeder loses by not registering an imported dachshund with the AKC.

If there is a possibility that you want to breed your foreign-born "Teckel" in the USA according to the FCI regulations, your dog must be approved as suitable for breeding by an FCI judge at a "Zuchtschau" and this may involve driving a thousand miles or more. After the breeding takes place the subsequent litter must be evaluated by a North American Teckel Club breed warden, and there are few of these in the USA. A procedure that makes a lot of sense in densely populated Europe is not very suitable for the USA. Quality control and genetic awareness in breeding are very important, but we must encourage them here through education, not through  the application of rigid regulations that may require traveling long distances.

Teckel breeders in the USA must think ahead. At present, it is possible, if not convenient, to operate within the FCI system, thanks to the presence of the North American Teckel Club. However, it is not certain that the NATC will survive over the long term. The NATC membership of less than 150 has remained static for a decade, and it has not been very successful in recruiting those who use dachshunds for finding wounded big game and hunting. If NATC fails, those who have not registered their FCI dogs with the AKC will have nowhere to go in the United States unless they want to turn to such organizations as the privately owned United Kennel Club, which is  run more for profit than for quality. Most breeders will have to leave the country to qualify their dogs for registration.

We are very fortunate that the DTK/FCI allows their registered dachshunds to be dual registered with the AKC. In this respect it differs from the Verein Deutsch Drahthaar, which  does not allow their registered dogs in North America to have anything to do with the AKC.

The AKC offers a registration system, which provides pedigrees and DNA testing for parentage verification. But it offers more than that. For people who are interested in versatile dachshunds, the AKC offers performance events such as field trials, earth dog tests, human tracking, agility etc.

Last year, seven dogs in the top ten AKC field trial dachshunds in this country were either direct imports from Europe or American-bred descendants from European lines. The all-time best field trial dachshund FC Danika vom Nordlicht was bred in the United States, but her pedigree goes back to dachshunds imported from Europe. Her conformation was judged by an FCI judge as Excellent (Vorzuglich).  Besides her AKC Field Championship Danika has other AKC titles: TD, ME and EE2, which are earned in tracking and earth dog tests. She is a tracker of wounded game as well. This year, so far the number one spot in field trials has gone to Sherry Ruggieri’s Tüsöksori-Ugrasztó Husniya, who was imported from Hungary.

FC Danika vom Nordlicht,V, TD, ME, EE2 was bred in the United States by Larry Gohlke and she is co-owned by Cheri Faust and Larry Gohlke. Danika's ancestors are of European breeding. She is the most successful field trial dachshunds in the history of AKC dachshund field trials. She also tracks wounded deer, and is all-around very versatile dachshund.

Sherry Ruggieri's Niya (FC Tüsöksori-Ugrasztó Husniya, V) was directly imported from Hungary. Even though she is only 2.5 years old she has done extremely well at AKC field trials. The picture shows Niya at a 2013 NATC Zuchtschau, where Niya was Best of Wires and got Excellent rating.

Over the years we have imported more than 10 dachshunds from Germany, France and the Czech Republic, all FCI countries, where dachshunds are bred according to the FCI standard #148. All these dogs were subsequently registered with the AKC and they participated in all kinds of events and tests in the States and Canada: United Blood Trackers and Deer Search blood tracking tests (not associated with any registry), NATC shows and tests, and AKC field trials. The offspring of these dogs are also registered with the AKC so puppy owners can participate in the AKC events and breed their dogs within the American-based registry.

FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst, V, SchwhK, Deer Search certif. was bred in Germany by Dieter Engel. His conformation was rated at an NATC show as Excellent. So far Tommy has sired five litters registered with the AKC and CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). His son FC Vimy Ridge von Lowenherz was #11 at AKC field trials last year. 

If you choose not to register your foreign-born dachshund with the AKC, the puppies you are going to breed will not be eligible for registration with the AKC and offspring of your dog will not be able to participate in AKC events.

So for practical reasons it makes good sense to dual register your imported dachshunds with the AKC. This does not require you to give up the advantages offered by such FCI organizations as DTK, but it does give you maximum flexibility.  You will always have  the possibility of participating in AKC events like field trials, breeding to either FCI or AKC dogs, and finally the assurance that your puppies will have the status of being registered.

Ask yourself a question – what am I going to lose by registering my European dachshund with the AKC (nothing) and what am I going to gain (a lot)?

To register your foreign-born dachshund, you need to send a copy of an FCI export pedigree, two pictures of the dog and fill out the AKC application form http://images.akc.org/pdf/ADIMPT_1112_edit.pdf. The fee is $100. More detailed instructions are listed on page 3 of the form.

John Jeanneney (left) is holding FC Gerte vom Dornenfeld, SwI/1a, who was imported from Germany. Gerte tracked wounded deer and hunted rabbits, and she is one of the foundation bitches of our breeding program. Late Jim Pitcher is holding FC Zuzelek's Gold-digging Gita, who excelled on rabbits.

Larry Gohlke's Nix vom Nordlicht wins the 11th Annual Buckeye Invitational Field Trial

Huge congratulations are in order to Larry Gohlke, a breeder, co-owner and handler of "Nix" (FC Nix vom Nordlicht JE) on winning yesterday the 11th Annual Buckeye Invitational Field Trial! This is a great accomplishment. I don't have a current picture of Nix so I am posting my favorite picture of Larry and his dog taken in 2007. Nix is out of "Buster" (FC Clown vom Talsdeich) and "Rika" (FC Fredrika von Moosbach-Zuzelek). 

Larry Gohlke with Nix

Reserve winner was Sherry Ruggieri's "Niya" (FC Tusoksori-Ugraszto Husniya), and Oscar's Award went to Scot Davidson's "Vimy" FC Vimy Ridge von Lowenherz (sired by our Tommy). Congratulations!!!

The format of this trial is different from a "regular" AKC trial. Twenty best field trial dachshunds from a previous year are invited to compete in this annual event. They are braced for the 1st and 2nd series. Each brace is judged by two judges who determine which dog loses and which one wins a given brace. After the 2nd series, dogs with two losses are eliminated from the further competition, and remaining dogs get braced again. This process goes on until in the end there is only one brace and the dog winning that brace gets the title of Winner of the Buckeye Dachshund Club Invitational Trial.

These are the top 20 field dogs from 2013. The numbers following their registered names indicate points and placements accumulated in 2013. Not all of them competed yesterday. Michael Pitisci's super-talented and accomplished "Brooke" passed just a week ago and Shawn Nies' Pixie was too advanced in her pregnancy.

1 HOPI   DC Rellih's Hopi Kachina Spirit-MW TD CGC 470 26
2 NIYA   FC Tusoksori-Ugraszto Husniya 411 21
3 LILY   FC Diamant Lily von Lowenherz 319 15
4 AUGGIE   FC Augden von Moosbach-Zuzelek RE ME 251 14
5 BROOKE   DC Town Farm Water Wings 242 8
6 ZUNI   GCH DC Rellih's Little Indian MW TD SE CGC 240 13
7 DANIKA   FC Danika vom Nordlicht TD ME 221 13
8 OSLO   FC Audi Oslo Von Dorndorf CA 206 13
9 GYPSY    DC Short Shadows Runaround Sue CD RE TD AX OAJ NAP OJP JE 205 13
10 DIXIE   FC Anja von Moosbach-Zuzelek RN SE 186 11
11VIMY   FC Vimy Ridge von Lowenherz 186 11
12 CARMEN   GCH DC Siddachs Carmen MW CGC 178 8
13 LANCE   DC Wingover's Lancelot Du Lac ML RN TD OA OAJ NF JE CA CGC 170 8
14 HUNTER   FC Windspirit's Hunter Von Wingover 168 12
15 EMMETT   DC Town Farm Emmett Sweeps the Spotlight JE CGC 160 11
16 NIX   FC Nix vom Nordlicht JE 146 10
17 STROLCH   FC Strolch von Lowenherz 141 7
18 STANZE   FC Stanze von Lowenherz JE 132 7
19 MIEKA   FC Annamieka vom Jagdfeld 128 8
20 PIXIE   FC von Schatten Knight of Mischief 106 7

Terrific tracking season for Susanne Hamilton and her German dachshund Buster

We have written about Susanne Hamilton and her German dachshund Buster many times before. It is hard to believe but in June Buster turned 11 years old.  His age does not seem to be slowing him down, quite the opposite. So far he has had an outstanding tracking season. Susanne is a dedicated and driven tracker who travels long distances, often at night as after all she carries a full working schedule during the day. We wish this amazing tracking team from Maine many successful recoveries in the future.

Not too many handlers are willing to track a wounded bear at night. Susanne seems to be an exception.

 

Susanne wrote: We tracked it a quarter mile till point of loss, then we tracked it another quarter mile with only two spots of blood. It was still alive when we found it.... and put it out of its suffering quickly. The moose was 828 lbs with a 42 inch spread.

A 16-hour paunch shot. Smart hunter left it alone and Susanne and Buster found it in 200 yards!

A 17-pointer!

Hunters wrote about this track: Josh Callahan shot a doe last night which headed through brush that was murder to track in. We struggled to follow the blood trail for 4 hours. At 11 PM, Buster and handler Susanne Hamilton joined the search. Buster is an amazing blood trailing Dachshund...yes that's right, Dachshunds are great tracking dogs! Buster jumped on the blood trail and found the deer within 10 minutes.
 

Buster does not mind sharing his find with kids.

Keeping your tracking dog in shape!

by John Jeanneney

Now that tracking season is over, there’s a real risk that your dog will get soft and fat. You can’t keep him in shape by working  training line a week, and his excess energy may make him a difficult companion in the house. Exercise is needed for both dogs and people, and this is especially important as we get into middle age.  At 78 I like to think that older dogs and handlers are the most experienced and skillful, but we do have to pay attention to muscle tone and tummy tuck-up.

We all have worked hard to teach our tracking dogs that hot deer lines are a No! No! We are not ready to turn are dogs loose in the off season and run the risk that they will bump deer and forget what they have been taught. Depending on your own age and condition you can jog a few miles with them or “road” them from your ATV. Better yet train your dog to roam about off lead as you search together for sheds or trim out your deer stands for the upcoming season.

Taking a walk in the woods with your tracking dogs is not as simple as it should be. Labs and curdogs will usually stay fairly close. Hounds, including dachshunds, have a greater tendency to range out too far. Your dog must handle, stay in contact and explore the area within a 100 yards or so. If there is a problem with recall, the best solution is a remote (electronic) collar used gently and intelligently. If the dog drifts out and doesn’t respond to your voice, give him a buzz with the vibrator on the collar and follow up with a low level electric “nick”. The dog must have a clear idea of what “Come!” means before you begin this collar training. You have to work upward from the lowest electric nick levels until you find what is just powerful enough to get the attention of your dog. The sensitivity of individual dogs to electrical “stimulation” varies. Once your dog learns to associate the buzz of the vibrator and the mild electric shock, you will be able to communicate by vibrator alone. This means that you can let the dog work out around you without calling him and spooking any wildlife you might be interested in.

Long walks with your tracking dog in interesting terrain are something that will keep you both in shape for fall. Think how steep those hills are going to be if you let that belly fat build up. A word of caution for small dog folks:  Avoid dusk, after dark and early dawn outings. These are the hours when coyotes are on the move. I know of three cases where coyotes killed small dogs at night. One was my own Jack Russell, who was a great underground dog if not much of a tracker.

Some handlers are reluctant to let their dogs do anything but track wounded big game. What if the dog bumps a deer and forgets everything he has been taught? Actually mature dogs are more discriminating than we sometimes realize. For a smart, versatile pointing dog like a Drahthaar there is no contradiction between hunting birds  and tracking wounded deer. Dogs are very aware of cues. When the tracking collar and leash go on at the hit site, this is their signal to focus on the scent line of wounded big game.

Dachshunds and beagles can be used for both tracking and rabbit hunting. We consistently do this with our dachshunds. In both activities they use their running muscles and their noses. On rabbits they learn to work checks and backtracks; this enhances their blood tracking skills. For dachshunds competitive AKC field trials on cottontails are another activity to keep a tracking dog sharp and in shape.

Susanne Hamilton's Buster (FC Clown vom Talsdeich) 

is an outstanding blood tracker and winner of two 

Dachshund Club of America National field trials.

When you are dealing with versatile dogs, from dachshunds to Drahthaars, you do have to determine your priorities. If tracking wounded big game is going to be the most important activity, it is best to introduce the puppy to this sort of scent work first. As the young dog understands that tracking wounded big game is the most important thing in the world, he will learn to ignore rabbits or birds when tracking on the long leash. A Drahthaar may end up not being as high headed and wide ranging as a pheasant specialist, but he will perform both jobs well.

The more you work with your dog in different  hunting activities, the more the dog/handler cooperation will carry over from one activity to another. This brings to mind the career of Clary, my second wirehaired dachshund, and my most versatile dog of all time.

With Clary, I could not begin with training for tracking wounded deer. In 1971  this has not been legalized yet in any of the northern states. We started by hunting rabbits, squirrels and raccoons.  Clary was a puppy sensation until her first birthday. Then she crashed into six months of adolescence incompetence until her brain began to function well once more. At 18 months she rediscovered her old self confirming all my early hopes. Clary would run rabbits in daylight and ignore them at night when coons were our game. During the day she quickly sensed whether I was hunting pheasants or rabbits, and she would quarter closely or range farther out as the situation required. This early introduction to small game work is not what I would recommend today for every dog, but in Clary’s particular case it was not a problem.

When a DNR official with law enforcement credentials legally requested that I track a wounded deer, Clary took a bloodless  four hour line a quarter of a mile to the deer. Clary was then four years old and had never chased a healthy deer or tracked a wounded one. Yet Clary immediately sensed what I wanted her to do and acted as if she had been “blood tracking” all her life. Her earlier experiences of cooperation in hunting with me carried over to this new task.

In the case of most breeds a tracking dog does not have to be a specialist for just one thing. If you work with your dog year round, he will understand you and cooperate better during the tracking season. And he will stay in shape.

Clary von Moosbach with her dam Carla vom Rode. By the way, Carla was the first dachshund imported by John from Germany; she was born in February 1965.

Top 20 Field Trial Dachshunds for 2012

Congratulations to the Top 20 Field Trial Dachshunds, their owners and handlers (and breeders)! A recipe for success includes a talented dog plus great dedication on a handler's part to train the dog and attend many, many field trials.

1. FC Danika vom Nordlicht TD ME owned by Cheri Faust and Larry Gohlke Danika 343 points/17 placements. Danika was the top field champion for the third year in a row, and she also won the Buckeye Dachshund Club Invitational Field Trial. Danika's parents are FC Clown vom Talsdeich (Buster Keaton) and FC Fredrika von Moosbach-Zuzelek. She was bred by Larry Gohlke.

2. DC Rellih’s Little Indian MW TD SE owned by Linda Snyder and Sherry Ruggieri Zuni 340/22

3. FC Anja von Moosbach-Zuzelek RN SE owned by Sherry Ruggieri Dixie 270/17. "Dixie" and her brother "Auggie" (#4) are littermates and they are out of our breeding.

4. FC Augden von Moosbach-Zuzelek RE MEowned by Sherry Ruggieri "Auggie" 239/14

5. FC Audi Oslo von Dorndorf CA owned by Stan Knoll 237/11

6. FC Diamant Lily von Lowenherz owned/bred by Laurel Whistance-Smith 224/10. Lily is out of our FC Asko von der Drachenburg.

7. FC Viola von der Hardt-Hohe JE owned by Baerbel Wills 186/8

8. GCH DC Siddachs Carmen MW owned by John Merriman 168/8

9. FC Stanze von Lowenherz JE owned/bred by Laurel Whistance-Smith 165/8. Stanze is Lily's half-sister and she is out of our Alfi von der Hardt-Hoehe.

10. FC Rosie’s Little Trooper, Bonnie Mercier  163/10
11. FC Sagerun’s Keturah MW, Patsy Leonberger 158/ 11
12. FC Rosie’s Odie on the Run, Bonnie Mercier  144/ 9
13. FC Town Farm Emmett Sweeps the Spotlight JE, Cynthia Yeager 133/ 6
14. FC Vimy Ridge von Lowenherz, Scot Davidson  128/ 8
15. FC Melwyn Under Wing Darter ML ME, Lorraine & David Simmons  127/ 5
16. FC Apple Hill Digging Down Under MS, Heidi Meyers  126/ 8
17. DC Wingover’s Lancelot Du Lac ML RN TD OA OAJ NF JE, Alice Moyer  126/ 7
18. FC Barnabas of Kotate Hills SW NAJ OF SE, Patricia & Gerald Price  115/ 9
19. DC Town Farm Water Wings, Michael Pitisci  110/ 4
20. FC Clown vom Talsdeich, Susanne Hamilton  107/ 4

Points are earned for placements in the Field Champion stakes at AKC licensed or member trials. They are tabulated using the Delaney System +1 for first through fourth place, based on the number of starters. In the case of ties, dogs receive the same place award, with the next place(s) being skipped. A minimum of two placements in Field Champion stakes during the award year are required to earn an award, and / or be included in preliminary listings.

A big thank you to Tracy Freeling for keeping all the field trial stats. Not an easy job, that's for sure.

Coyotes and dachshunds' encounters do not always end well

Anybody who tracks wounded deer with dogs in the Northeast sooner or later will face the situation when the blood trail leads to a dead deer that had already been eaten by coyotes. We have written about coyotes quite a few times on this blog. Recently I came across our trailcam video of a coyote, which was taken just outside our enclosure where we run our dachshunds on rabbits. The video was taken on October 2010, and it shows a well-fed coyote, which seems to be in excellent shape.

The eastern coyote is considerably larger than its southwestern relative. The latest issue of NYSCC Grass Roots News has a short report on the Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs of Sullivan County 6th annual coyote hunt, which was held February 8-10, 2013. During the three day event hunters took 48 coyotes. The largest animal weighted 55.5 lbs, and that male coyote came from Schoharie County (we live near the the border of Albany and Schoharie Counties). The 48 coyotes taken included 28 males and 20 females. Average weight was 37.3 lbs, 45 coyotes were taken during daylight hours and 3 at night. 

Obviously a dachshund is not a match for a coyote, and there have been cases reported of dachshunds killed by coyotes, even when dogs were "safe" in fenced backyards, like in this case reported in Colorado. So when I started to read a story sent to me by Brian Hibbs from Iowa, I was not sure of its ending. This fine piece of writing was authored by Edd Woslum, who resides in Idaho and owns Chui, a dachshund out of Brian's breeding:

BLOOD TRACKERS

by Edd Woslum

After about a mile of casual fox trotting down the dirt road, Tillie, without any warning shot by me with a bark, a squeal and a mad rush down the mountain.  Kahlua saw her rapid departure and decided there must be some really cool stuff down there.  She then without delay was in full flight right behind her house mate.  Chui ‘s legs are only 7 inches long, even if stretched to full length, and I didn’t even see the feisty little fur ball until she came blasting by me doing warp nine on the star trek scale.  In less than two micro flashes, with miniature legs churning at full speed, she was 100 yards down the steep cliff and accelerating with every yip.

By this time I was jolted out of my quite reverie and was whistling as loud as I could and screaming to the point of damaging my respiratory system.  At about 200 yards off the road Tillie and Jesse, being of more reasonable disposition, decided this was a totally stupid endeavor and came trotting back to the road to see what the screaming was all about.

Immediately thereafter I nearly managed to kill my fool self while chasing my run amok puppy down the steep slope. After this I slowed down a bit but continued to stumble on for another half mile or so before I heard the  yip-yips from Chui getting louder and simultaneously heard the snarling of the coyotes. Several more yips from the little dog were rapidly followed by much more serious snarls from the coyotes.   Good lord, this idiot dog actually thinks she can take on that whole pack of four legged piranhas unassisted.  By this time I was wringing wet and was nearly spent but the adrenalin flow from full blown panic kept me going.  I could not see hide nor hair of either specie of k9 but could plainly hear Chui and the marauders verbalizing their displeasure at each other.  Of course I was still screaming with all the air I had left, but this was to no avail. 

Ten more steps and I heard it.  Over the top of Chui’s mini bark, and completely smothering the snarls of the coyotes, came a rumbling growl like I have only heard a few times before.  Kahlua is usually quite mild mannered but is very protective of home and family.  When she is serious about it, this gal could inject mortal fear into King Kong.

To read the rest of the story go to Brian's post by clicking here. 

The pictures shows Chui with the buck she recovered for the two hunters.

A tracking dachshund Gerti finds her buddy Oscar when he gets into trouble

Last weekend brought this interesting e-mail from Chris Barr from Indiana, and the story will put a smile on your face. Chris owns Gerti , who is going to be four years old in April (Gwen von Moosbach-Zuzelek, a daughter of Billy and Gilda)). He also has a younger adopted black and tan shorthaired dachshund Oscar.

 

Chris writes:

 

I hope your new year is off to a great start!

 

Gerti and I made the February edition of The Gadabout. Page 6. In the January issue they reported on the large buck taken by Todd Wallace. It was a liver shot and Gerti and I tracked it 10 hours after the hit. .52 Miles. The author of the article wanted to do a quick article about Gerti for the next edition. Follow the link: http://www.thegadabout.com/

I have to tell you a quick story. Yesterday Gerti, Oscar and I were on a run. As you know, when off leash Gerti wears a GPS collar as she’s always on “the hunt”. Oscar is really good about staying within eyesight and he checks in frequently, so I’ve never equipped him with one. Well Gerti had just run a rabbit under an old barn and lost it. We started out across an open field and I started to call for Oscar. I realized that it had been about 5 minutes since I’d seen him. I continued to call thinking I’d see him any second. I was starting to get pretty concerned at this point. I was calling Oscar pretty feverishly when Gerti came around. I looked at her and said, “where’s Oscar?”. She looked at me like she knew exactly what I’d said. Very firmly I said, “Gerti find Oscar”. The command “find it” is what I always use when putting her on a deer or rabbit. Well she spun on a dime and ran on a sprint across the open field about 150 yards to the barn where she’d lost the rabbit. I followed her across the field and into the barn. There was Oscar in an old corn crib. Somehow he’d gotten into the crib, but it was about a 3 foot jump to the ground and he didn’t want to make it so he just stayed there. Gerti knew he was there the whole time. I had not seen Oscar when Gerti was running the rabbit. The last I’d seen him he was not near the barn so I did not expect him to be there.

So I’ll add that to her resume…”tracks black and tan adopted dachshunds”

Take care,

Chris and Gerti…….and Oscar.

Joe Walters and Chris Barr with Gerti

 

United Blood Trackers and their dogs are busy in the woods helping hunters

The hunter hit this buck at 9AM on the 15th. He trailed it half a mile through a huge corn field. Meantime his wife saw the wounded buck cross the next road, enter a bunch of blowdowns, and bed down. At 2PM the hunter went into the blowdowns and jumped the buck. He called me at that point and I advised he park the deer in that woods overnight and that we would attempt to recover it at 8AM the next morning. The deer did not leave any blood after the first bed but once I got Karma on the right line she raced down the trail and we recovered the deer at 10AM.

After a couple of bad trails this week it felt mighty nice to make another recovery. Karma retains her 50/50 recovery rate for the season collecting #6 for 12 trails. MUCH BETTER than last season! We're smiling

*****

 

Walt Dixon rfrom Tully, NY reports: Here's a photo of gun hunter Tod Avery with a nice buck he shot that Ari recovered after a tough 400 yard trail with no blood sign for the last 300 yards. She recovered this deer 19 hours after it was hit. Ari took the trail out of the woods into a winter wheat field hen cut across a corner and worked the edge checking every deer trail that entered the field until the 5th one where the buck must have reentered the woods. I noticed her change from ground scenting to air scenting within 75 yards of the dead buck found in a swamp near a pond in thick cover. This was Ari's seventh recovery.

 

*****

Hi Jolanta: This is a picture of Razen's 15th recovery out of 27 tracks. This track was on camera and will be shown on the TV show Southern Woods and Water, not sure when yet. At least portions of it.  The deer was shot in the neck at 52 yrds, they had a good blood trail for about a 1/2 mile. Then it started to dwindle, so they backed out and gave me a call. The guy who shot it is Mike Wise a prostaffer for the show, he had been on another track that we did and I explained to them if the shot is iffy or the blood starts to dwindle, back out and give me a call. This way they wouldn't track it all up with the blood that would be on their shoes, it made this track a lot easier to track. We are having a great season, so far we have done 38 tracks with 18 recoveries.

Ray, Rosco, Claudia, and Razen Kane (Ashkum, IL)

****

 

Gary Huber from Hamburg, NY reports: I went tracking today with new WNY DSI member David Powis. I am his master handler. Took him out last Saturday on a rear leg with Kita and he had the lead and got his first find, a "shooter". Wow did he get pumped, but today he really got pumped because I gave him the lead again in thick red brush on what turned out a "butt" shot. Dave jumped the buck 250 yards later and quickly dispatched him. We were tracking for a son and father. The father is a good friend of mine and a NYS trooper and his son is home on vacation from USA, Arizona, border patrol. His father,trooper Ron Wolf, has not seen his son for a year and a half until yesterday when they hunted together. The deer was wounded yesterday afternoon, tracked by eye and "jumped". We met them at 10:30 am this morning. Dave did a excellent job handling Kita. Especially in thick red brush. It was great to see a father and son embrace and everyone got "high fived" and it was the first for me to get "kissed" (on the cheek) by a NYS trooper.

 

*****

 

Andy Bensing wrote on November 27:

Eibe and I went 2 for 2 today in New Jersey, in the snow. Both deer were gut shot with a 50 caliber Muzzleloader and the trails were snowed on first thing in the morning. Both hunters were worried about the snow causing a problem for the dog but as all blood trackers know, snow doesn't cause a problem for the dog. Actually, I think a reasonable amount of snow may actually make it easier. The first track was from the previous morning and the deer had traveled ½ mile and was dead. The second line was from the previous evening and we found it still alive but the short chase and dispatch was very easy. The second hunter was happy to get his deer but the look on his face tells the whole story. He was upset with himself with the poor shot he made the day before from only 30 yards on a calm deer and the buck was well below his hunting club's standards. Did I mention the hunter was a state police swat team sniper and firearms instructor? Oops!

 

 

 

More pictures of deer recovered by tracking dachshunds

 

Chester Swierk, a member of Deer Search of the Finger Lakes, has found some spectacular deer with his mini longhaired dachshund Moby. He write s about has recovery from 6 days ago: This deer was gut shot and went about 400 yds., the hunter had tracked it about 200 yds. Moby spotted a small 4-point standing in a field as we were walking into the field. He barked at it a couple of times and I let him know that wasn't the one we wanted. So we continued across the field with Moby looking back at it a few times. About halfway across Moby started to circle back toward the 4-pointer. I let him go about 40 yards before correcting him and let him know again that it wasn't the one we wanted. He then went back to the track of the 9-pointer and continued tracking to where the woods started. He turned and gave the 4-pointer one last look before continuing into the woods from the edge of the field (as far as the hunter had tracked it) then continued about 200 more yards into the woods where he found the deer. The track was in Lindley, NY and was 20 hours old.

Susanne Hamilton from Maine with Meggie 2012-11-15: Sometimes against all common sense you go out anyway and get lucky.

Paulene Eggers writes about her 11/13/2012 recovery in Onondaga County. Dave Burgess another co-worker and Sargeant on the dept. got this ten pointer early morning and had the arrow go in about 3/4 way then it fell out about 15-20 yards from the hit site. There was minimal blood at the hit site and nothing further so Dave wisely backed off waited a few hours while calling me also.

Braylee is making many loyal fans!                                                           

Susanne Hamilton: This 11/10/2012 find was almost two hours away. Tracked it for a lovely family, who had looked all day, did everything right, and finally called when it got too dark for them to track it anymore. Buster made fast work of it and found it well hidden 150 yards from last spot of blood.

 

Hello, my name is Kurt Kiley. 

I’ve been an avid hunter for many years in the Southern New Hampshire.  On November 6, 2012 I shot a nice buck, the first in many years.   After 10 long hours searching acre over acre, following blood trails and only having seen him once again in that time and not choosing to shoot toward him again because he went to close to the houses nearby (well under the 300 foot legal shooting distance), I finally lost  his trail.  The sun set, light for the day was gone and the hope of finding the buck was looking glim, so the evening was called. 

That night I called  Ray and Pam Maurier.  We talked about what happened in great depth.  Ray said he would meet me at my house at 7am the following morning to help in my quest.  In the morning, 25 hrs after the initial shot; Ray ,”Tucker” and I headed out to the last spot I had last saw the buck. With NO blood to track Tucker quickly went to work.  The first  1/2 mile it seemed like he was tracking his every move, like he was with me the day before!  It took him only 1-1/2 hrs for Tucker to bring us right to the buck spot; with the buck still being alive!  

Tucker was very eager to get his reward!  A very well earned reward indeed. Without Tucker that deer would  NOT have been recovered! It would have just been an early thanksgiving dinner for the coyotes.   The whole event was a very good learning experience, shot placement  for one, then the whole step by step tracking sequence and all the hard work that went in to training Tucker.  Rays dedication to working with Tucker  helping to drag to the truck truly shows his love of the sport.           

Many thanks and kudos to Tucker  (a  16 month old, wired haired dachshund tracking dog),  Ray and Pam Maurier, of Lightning Mountain Outfitters, without them and their skills this deer would never have been recovered.
Kurt Kiley
Londonderry NH

Pictures of deer recovered by blood tracking dachshunds

This is just first part of  pictures showing deer recovered by blood tracking dachshunds in the last few weeks. More pics will be posted tomorrow. It is difficult to keep up with all the recoveries, when there are so many of them :D Congratulations to all the handlers!



This Ohio monster was recovered by a UBT member Rex Marshall and his dachshund Radar (Oak von Moosbach-Zuzelek). Rex wrote: Radar tracked a buck Friday night for over half a mile around the perimeter of a corn field. The hunter kept saying "he didn't think the buck went this way." At the half mile point, Radar took a 90 degree turn into a wood lot, at which the hunter told me "I don't know who owns this property". I called it off because we didn't have permission to go on this property. All night I tossed and turned, t hinking about how strong Radar was pulling the leash, silent & confident all the way. Next morning, I called the hunter and told him this & said he might want to go back to that last spot and have another look. 24 hours later, the hunter called me & said he found the buck...just 10 yards into the woods from where we stopped!! All I could think of was: "yeh but, he didn't go this way". Way to go Radar!!!!

Another buck recovered by Radar handled by Rex Marshall from Ohio. "Radar found this buck today during rain showers...went over half mile. Found him in a good sized stream." Radar is a son of Joeri and Emma.

 

What a great tracking season it has been for a 15-month-old Tucker (Storm von Moosbach-Zuzelek) owned by Ray Maurier and Pam Maurier from New Hampshire. Huge congrats!

 

Scott Meyer from Michigan: This track was very tough one we tracked through a 4 ft tall grass field and finally found him in a brush pile next to a small pound.

A UBT member Scott Meyer from Michigan with his tracking teckel Bear. Bear was sired by Chuck Collier's Moose (Nurmi von Moosbach-Zuzelek).

Kevin Armstrong and his wirehaired dachshund Karma von Moosbach-Zuzelek: This deer must have been pushed too early. The hunter called last evening when he run out of blood. Karma and I took up the track at daylight. The trail was about 500 yards long, it crossed a creek, and made several beds. It was a downright joy to track for and help educate the fine young hunter. He and his hunting partner were both 17 year old high school seniors. This was his first deer. I had a tear of joy when the hunting partner took out his cell phone and said "grandpa, we found it!"

Kevin with Karma's recovery #5. "Tracking is so much easier when the hunter listens to the tracker and does as I suggest. I got a call for this gut shot deer yesterday shortly after dark. The hunter knew he had hit too far back and had the wrong angle. That was all confirmed it by the evidence on the arrow. I advised him to back out quietly and do not disturb the deer over night. He followed my advice. We had a quick and easy recovery at daylight in the morning."

Ohio tracker David Bell recovered this buck with his Quella von Moosbach-Zuzelek. It was a gut-shot deer, the line was 27 hour old and it went for over .5 mile. Quella is a daughter of Joeri and Keena.