Tuesday, January 28, 2014
A rare sunset
These two pics were taken yesterday at sunset. John and I stood in front of the house with our jaws open. The colors disappeared within 5 minutes. The whole experience was quite incredible.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Meet UBT members in Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend!
January 24-26 in Grand Rapids, Michigan - come and meet United Blood Trackers members at the Huntin' Time Expo at Delta Plex Arena. Friday, Jan 24th 1-9, Saturday, Jan 25th 9-7, Sunday, Jan 26th 9-3.
For more info go to:
http://www.huntingshows.net/
For more info go to:
http://www.huntingshows.net/
Seminar on Blood Trailing Dogs in Texas
Texas Blood Trackers is hosting their annual event again this year in Hamilton, Texas.
2014 Blood Trail Seminar
2014 Blood Trail Seminar
March 1st, 2014 in Hamilton, Texas
Blood Trail Seminar:
10:00 am: Blood Trail class starts (Please arrive 30 minutes early to sign in.)
12:30 pm: Lunch Break
1:45 pm – Last dog ran: Finish up Blood-trail class
$100 for each handler and dog team running blood-trails for the day.
$50 for each handler without dog. Both include lunch and dinner plate.
TBT & UBT Testing & Evaluations: 28th - 2nd
10:00 am – 12:30 pm & 1:45 pm – 4:30 pm
TBT 1 $50, TBT 2 $75, TBT 3 $100
UBT 1 $75 , UBT 2 $100
Must have deposit in before 2/22/14. NO WALK ONS. We can only take so many dogs, and there is a cut off, so book as soon as possible to better insure availability.
10:00 am: Blood Trail class starts (Please arrive 30 minutes early to sign in.)
12:30 pm: Lunch Break
1:45 pm – Last dog ran: Finish up Blood-trail class
$100 for each handler and dog team running blood-trails for the day.
$50 for each handler without dog. Both include lunch and dinner plate.
TBT & UBT Testing & Evaluations: 28th - 2nd
10:00 am – 12:30 pm & 1:45 pm – 4:30 pm
TBT 1 $50, TBT 2 $75, TBT 3 $100
UBT 1 $75 , UBT 2 $100
Must have deposit in before 2/22/14. NO WALK ONS. We can only take so many dogs, and there is a cut off, so book as soon as possible to better insure availability.
To sign up contact:
- Paul Coffman-paul@texasbloodtrackers.com (214)289-9741.
- Troup Bishop- troupbishop@yahoo.com (325)642-5160
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Alabama blood tracking dachshund puppies
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| This picture of Tom Munoz was taken at the 2011 UBT Trackfest in Arkansas. Tom is holding Jack (Joeri/Greta son) and Meg (mom to the current puppies). |
Dam of the litter, Meg, is a granddaughter of Agata v Moosbach-Zuzelek, and she was sired by Nicki von Velbert, who was imported from Germany. The pups were sired by eight-year-old Fred (Frederick der Trakker Yergz), a full brother to Gail Berger's Pepper. Fred's lines go back to Asko von der Drachenburg, Sabina von Moosbach-Zuzelek, Traelborg's Herbert "Skyder", vom Dornenfeld and Springwood's.
Tom and Jackie Munoz's website is at www.alabamadeertracking.com. They can be contacted at deertrackingdog@gmail.com or 256-426-3199. Pups are in Alabama.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
This is how puppies should be raised: Remi is a super dad to his pups
This short video posted by Justin Richins from Utah shows his wirehaired dachshund puppies at the age of five weeks. They are out of Remi (Remy von Moosbach-Zuzelek) and Macaria Raptor. The video shows how good Remi is with his puppies. Not all males are like that! The pups are being raised in a right way, by both parents. And they are fully socialized with Justin's six kids. For more information about these puppies bred for blood tracking contact Justin at 435-655-5484 or justinrichins@gmail.com.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Gwendoline von der Dohlmühle, the best working dachshund in 2013 in the DTK Wiesbaden-Mainz Gruppe
Great news from Germany: Gwendoline von der Dohlmühle, Kunox's dam, got a diploma as the best working dachshund of the DTK Wiesbaden-Mainz Gruppe in 2013. She also received a challenge trophy, a bronze wild boar. Congratulations go to Annelie Grauer on Gwendoline's accomplishment! Gwendoline's dam, owned by the Grauers, Elsbeere von der Bismarck-Eiche out of Stefan Fuß's breeding was 3rd (she was 1st five years ago). We feel so fortunate to have Kunox!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Walt Dixon's Dachs is a very promising young tracker
Today our friend Walt Dixon and Chris Daley visited
us at our hilly snowy home in Berne. We helped Walt prepare a PowerPoint
presentation which he will be offering at the Professional Bowhunters Society Convention in March.
Walt brought along his young male
dachshund, Dachs von Tierspur (born August 1, 2012), which he purchased from Genti and Beth Shero. Dachs was sired by our FC Billy von Moosbach-Zuzelek and is out of the Shero's Mae (FC Mae von Munterkeit).
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| Walt Dixon is holding Dachs, and Chris Daley |
Dachs looks a lot like Billy and has
excellent leg-length and body proportions for a tracking dog. In our 11-acre running enclosure we
liked his hunting drive and working style. Dachs has already found several deer, and we think that
he is a dog to watch for the future.
 |
| Mielikki and Dachs had a lot of fun together. |
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| We like Dachs' conformation - correct size, excellent coat, beautiful head, long neck, very nice topline, great proportions and ground clearance... and Billy's eyes. |
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| Mielikki and Dachs hunted hard! |
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| No offense to Mae, Dachs' dam, but we do not see much of her in Dachs. |
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We never posted this picture and message from Walt from October 15, 2013: Today I got a call on my cell for a bowhunter I
tracked for last year. Ari and I recovered his buck in 2012 and when he got to
it he got on his knees and began to cry. Finally, embarrassed, he looked up and
apologized. He explained he had been diagnosed with cancer and had gone through
all the treatments and thought he would die and never be able to hunt again.
That buck last year represented something special to him as a cancer
survivor.
Today when he called I took both dogs, unsure of
which I'd use. The trail was 9.5 hours old when we met the bowhunter so I
decided to run Dachs solo and give him a chance on his own. As a teenager (he's
one year and two months old) he's been exhibiting a bit of a reckless teenage
spirit and I didn't know if he'd have the discipline to buckle down and work
this line.
I'm pleased to report that when given this chance
he rose to the occasion! Dachs ran this trail well and you could tell he was
proud to take over the as primary tracker today. The deer was hit in front of
the rear leg, exiting the bottom, leaving 8 inches of entrails hanging out.
Dachs tracked about 400 yards from the hunters last blood and did a good job of
working the countless circles and beds this deer made in a thick, thick swale
field with Buckthorn everywhere. At the deer he showed good possessiveness and
aggression and adopted the "this is my deer" attitude. He warned the bowhunter
away when he got to close. Dachs was visibly proud of his accomplishment! With
gaining Deer Search Certification at just over 8 months old, subsequently
working with Ari, and now beginning on his own I think he's going to be a good
one! Ari is tracking as well or better than any dog I've ever had! Now, we've
been on 5 calls and have been blessed with 4 recoveries! This run of good luck
is great fun!
|
As it turned out in the end, Walt took 19 calls in 2013 and had 11 recoveries with his tracking dogs, Ari and Dachs. Ari is Dachs' aunt as she is Billy's sister.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Longhaired dachshund Tasha succeeds on a difficult and confusing track
A big thank you to Cliff Shrader from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for sharing his tracking experience with us. Cliff's tracking partner is Tasha, a longhaired dachshund he imported from Denmark.
It's Saturday morning and the phone hasn't rang yet....we'll just one time and that was from my son who forgot this was Saturday and I do not get up at 4 am on Saturday. I got up and made a wonderful cup of coffee (from by buddy Norman in Nicaragua), started some deer sausage frying (a gift from a hunter after tracking his dad's deer) and put some biscuits in the oven. As I sit here I have time to think about a few of the tracks that Tasha and I have made this year. I have been fortunate enough to get to track with three different trackers this year and I learn things all the time from them, their dogs and their stories.
Donnie called me the other morning and asked if I wanted to make a track with him. This track was for a friend of his son, Peyton. Although Peyton had killed deer before, he never harvested a buck. He shot a buck this morning, made what looked to be a good hit but the deer couldn't be recovered. Now in all fairness, if his dad Scott could not have gotten a tracker....or two in there, I am sure that he would have trampled the woods down looking for the deer. An interview about the shot and the deer's reaction was not formal because some tracks...like a child's first deer or first buck....you are going to make this track regardless of how good the potential for a recovery sounds.
Tasha and I met Donnie and his Blue Lacy Ruby. We took the short drive over to the hunting club. We talked to Scott and Peyton and headed out on the track by four wheelers. The place where we would be tracking is a large field over a hundred acres that is about 200 yards wide and very long. One side have thick grown up cutover and woods, and the other side is a tree lined dirt road with open woods and palmettos interlaced on the other side. The ground was pretty wet. The ditches and low spots held some shallow standing water. The shot was taken from a stand on the tree lined road side of the field on a buck that had crossed over from the cutover chasing a doe. This was the last buck leaving this field. The gun was a scoped single shot rifle shooting a 7mm 08 caliber 165 grain Barnes X bullet. The buck jumped and kicked when he was hit. Scott was watching through the binoculars as his son Peyton shot said he thought the deer was hit hard.
We were brought to the hit site. There was blood in the field as well as on the briars. There was blood crossing the road and into the woods behind us. This blood was a dark shaded red but had red blood mixed in it too. I found some white hair at the hit site and on briars. Scott said he definitely saw lung blood on the other side of the road and I said that this hair could possibly be from the exit but it is definitely white belly hair. Donnie started out with Ruby and she had no problem hooking up on the trail with ample blood on the ground although she didn't seem as intense as she usually gets on a track.
After a few minutes, I started Tasha into the track. We found a small piece of what appeared to be gut crossing a log. Tasha never really hooked up on the track like she should have. We would run about 100 yards until we ran out of blood and then she would backtrack. She kept trying to bring me back into the field. We asked Scott if the deer could have possibly crossed back into the field after he had shot. Scott said it was possible but they didn't see anything like that. They were busy high fiving and talking about the shot. After repeated attempts to get the girls to hook up and track, we started branching out a little at a time. There are so dang many deer in these woods and trails worn deep from heavy usage were everywhere. Ruby jumped one doe that was bedded up and also found a dead fawn in another area. We don't know what killed the fawn.
As we branched out, Donnie found a blood line that went back into the field about 75 yards closer to the stand. This was really confusing as it appeared that the deer had run into the woods, went closer to the stand and crossed back into the field. The blood stopped, started, stopped and started. I took Tasha to the other side of the field where she had been trying to bring me. There were two deer feeding the entire time we were in this field. I was very glad that Tasha never gave them a second look. She hunted hard but did not hook up. As I approached Donnie at the place where the deer had crossed back into the field he said....this is where the deer was shot at. We found blood and some good brown rib area hair at this site. I told Donnie to go on, we would hold back a minute or two because the girls compete if we run them together. He said - no, take Tasha on ahead because so far on this track he has pulled Ruby off of live deer, dead deer, live rabbits, guts, blood and lungs. Right now she doesn't know what I want her to do!
I put Tasha on the trail. She hooked up immediately. There was some lung as the deer crossed a ditch. The blood trail grew space and ended but Tasha never checked up. About 60 yards into the track a rabbit jumped and ran past Tasha about 20 yards away. I didn't think that she saw it and I was now afraid that she was trailing the bunny. She stopped where he jumped at, sniffed the ground and then went on with her track. I was relieved. I never had a rabbit problem before but that was huge temptation. She headed into some thick palmettos and about 50 yards later delivered me to a nice buck dead on the ground. He was shot just forward of center mass probably taking out one lung and busting up a bunch of other things inside. I called over to Peyton and said we had his deer. He ran all the way over there and asked where. He is over there a little ways. Peyton looked around until he saw him. With wonder and amazement he quietly said to himself.....Wowww! I love being able to see this. After the initial finding of what was going to be the one that got away, Peyton now had his buck. The swagger now sets in and we had a nice photo shoot.
When we got back to the camp, we had another photo shoot and talked to the other hunters. When we told them about our confusion with the track they smiled. There was a doe shot the evening before from that stand. She was shot at least twice and hit in the guts. She crossed the road and went into the woods where she was recovered and dragged back down the trail to the road. No wonder the dogs and trackers couldn't put the pieces together. This was a great track to be a part of. I thank Donnie Morales, Ruby, Scott, Peyton and Tasha for allowing me to be part of it.
It's Saturday morning and the phone hasn't rang yet....we'll just one time and that was from my son who forgot this was Saturday and I do not get up at 4 am on Saturday. I got up and made a wonderful cup of coffee (from by buddy Norman in Nicaragua), started some deer sausage frying (a gift from a hunter after tracking his dad's deer) and put some biscuits in the oven. As I sit here I have time to think about a few of the tracks that Tasha and I have made this year. I have been fortunate enough to get to track with three different trackers this year and I learn things all the time from them, their dogs and their stories.
Donnie called me the other morning and asked if I wanted to make a track with him. This track was for a friend of his son, Peyton. Although Peyton had killed deer before, he never harvested a buck. He shot a buck this morning, made what looked to be a good hit but the deer couldn't be recovered. Now in all fairness, if his dad Scott could not have gotten a tracker....or two in there, I am sure that he would have trampled the woods down looking for the deer. An interview about the shot and the deer's reaction was not formal because some tracks...like a child's first deer or first buck....you are going to make this track regardless of how good the potential for a recovery sounds.
Tasha and I met Donnie and his Blue Lacy Ruby. We took the short drive over to the hunting club. We talked to Scott and Peyton and headed out on the track by four wheelers. The place where we would be tracking is a large field over a hundred acres that is about 200 yards wide and very long. One side have thick grown up cutover and woods, and the other side is a tree lined dirt road with open woods and palmettos interlaced on the other side. The ground was pretty wet. The ditches and low spots held some shallow standing water. The shot was taken from a stand on the tree lined road side of the field on a buck that had crossed over from the cutover chasing a doe. This was the last buck leaving this field. The gun was a scoped single shot rifle shooting a 7mm 08 caliber 165 grain Barnes X bullet. The buck jumped and kicked when he was hit. Scott was watching through the binoculars as his son Peyton shot said he thought the deer was hit hard.
We were brought to the hit site. There was blood in the field as well as on the briars. There was blood crossing the road and into the woods behind us. This blood was a dark shaded red but had red blood mixed in it too. I found some white hair at the hit site and on briars. Scott said he definitely saw lung blood on the other side of the road and I said that this hair could possibly be from the exit but it is definitely white belly hair. Donnie started out with Ruby and she had no problem hooking up on the trail with ample blood on the ground although she didn't seem as intense as she usually gets on a track.
After a few minutes, I started Tasha into the track. We found a small piece of what appeared to be gut crossing a log. Tasha never really hooked up on the track like she should have. We would run about 100 yards until we ran out of blood and then she would backtrack. She kept trying to bring me back into the field. We asked Scott if the deer could have possibly crossed back into the field after he had shot. Scott said it was possible but they didn't see anything like that. They were busy high fiving and talking about the shot. After repeated attempts to get the girls to hook up and track, we started branching out a little at a time. There are so dang many deer in these woods and trails worn deep from heavy usage were everywhere. Ruby jumped one doe that was bedded up and also found a dead fawn in another area. We don't know what killed the fawn.
As we branched out, Donnie found a blood line that went back into the field about 75 yards closer to the stand. This was really confusing as it appeared that the deer had run into the woods, went closer to the stand and crossed back into the field. The blood stopped, started, stopped and started. I took Tasha to the other side of the field where she had been trying to bring me. There were two deer feeding the entire time we were in this field. I was very glad that Tasha never gave them a second look. She hunted hard but did not hook up. As I approached Donnie at the place where the deer had crossed back into the field he said....this is where the deer was shot at. We found blood and some good brown rib area hair at this site. I told Donnie to go on, we would hold back a minute or two because the girls compete if we run them together. He said - no, take Tasha on ahead because so far on this track he has pulled Ruby off of live deer, dead deer, live rabbits, guts, blood and lungs. Right now she doesn't know what I want her to do!
I put Tasha on the trail. She hooked up immediately. There was some lung as the deer crossed a ditch. The blood trail grew space and ended but Tasha never checked up. About 60 yards into the track a rabbit jumped and ran past Tasha about 20 yards away. I didn't think that she saw it and I was now afraid that she was trailing the bunny. She stopped where he jumped at, sniffed the ground and then went on with her track. I was relieved. I never had a rabbit problem before but that was huge temptation. She headed into some thick palmettos and about 50 yards later delivered me to a nice buck dead on the ground. He was shot just forward of center mass probably taking out one lung and busting up a bunch of other things inside. I called over to Peyton and said we had his deer. He ran all the way over there and asked where. He is over there a little ways. Peyton looked around until he saw him. With wonder and amazement he quietly said to himself.....Wowww! I love being able to see this. After the initial finding of what was going to be the one that got away, Peyton now had his buck. The swagger now sets in and we had a nice photo shoot.
When we got back to the camp, we had another photo shoot and talked to the other hunters. When we told them about our confusion with the track they smiled. There was a doe shot the evening before from that stand. She was shot at least twice and hit in the guts. She crossed the road and went into the woods where she was recovered and dragged back down the trail to the road. No wonder the dogs and trackers couldn't put the pieces together. This was a great track to be a part of. I thank Donnie Morales, Ruby, Scott, Peyton and Tasha for allowing me to be part of it.
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| Happy Hounds and Happy Hunter |
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Trackfest 2014 to be held in North Carolina on May 17-19, 2014
Trackfest 2014
May 17 – 19, 2014
J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field Trial Grounds
Hoffman, North Carolina
The United Blood Trackers is holding a three day Blood
Tracking Workshop on May 17 – 19, 2014 at the J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field
Trial Grounds in Hoffman NC, 1 hour west of Fayetteville NC.
This workshop is for both beginner and advanced dogs and
handlers as well as anyone else interested in learning more about the use of
blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded big game. There will be plenty
of hands-on training in the field for dogs and handlers as well as
presentations on topics such as Training Techniques, Working with Puppies,
Equipment Choices, GPS Use, and Working with Hunters. Again this year we will
also be holding the popular Hit Site Evaluation Seminar. This new seminar will
focus on reading sign at the hit site as well as reading sign found along the
trail in order to develop the proper strategy for tracking that particular
animal. 
The United Blood Trackers will offer evaluations for UBT-I
and UBT-II on Monday, 5/18/2014. All evaluations will be done on leash. Please
check www.unitedbloodtrackers.org
for more information about evaluation requirements as
well as more details about the event as they become available.
The pictures and video show the grounds.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
January 2014 dachshund puppies: a new generation of blood trackers
We are only 9 days into January but the New Year has already brought two litters of wirehaired dachshund puppies out of working lines.
1. We were happy to learn that on January 5 Gail Berger's "Bee" (a daughter of our Billy and Gail Berger's Pepper) whelped 6 puppies, 3 girls and 3 boys. Everything went smoothly (this is Bee's first litter), and Bee is a good mother. A sire of this litter is our Tommy (FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst). All the puppies are spoken for.
2. Congratulations to Tom and Jackie Munoz from Alabama on their 5 puppies that were born yesterday (3 boys and 2 girls). Dam of the litter, Meg, is a granddaughter of Agata v Moosbach-Zuzelek. She was sired by Nicki von Velbert (imported from Germany). The pups' sire is eight-year-old Fred (Frederick der Trakker Yergz) bred by Mike Yerger. Fred's background includes our Asko von der Drachenburg, Sabina von Moosbach-Zuzelek, Traelborg's Herbert "Skyder" and vom Dornenfeld line. Tom and Jackie Munoz's website is athttp://www.alabamadeertracking.com/. Good luck with the pups!
1. We were happy to learn that on January 5 Gail Berger's "Bee" (a daughter of our Billy and Gail Berger's Pepper) whelped 6 puppies, 3 girls and 3 boys. Everything went smoothly (this is Bee's first litter), and Bee is a good mother. A sire of this litter is our Tommy (FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst). All the puppies are spoken for.
2. Congratulations to Tom and Jackie Munoz from Alabama on their 5 puppies that were born yesterday (3 boys and 2 girls). Dam of the litter, Meg, is a granddaughter of Agata v Moosbach-Zuzelek. She was sired by Nicki von Velbert (imported from Germany). The pups' sire is eight-year-old Fred (Frederick der Trakker Yergz) bred by Mike Yerger. Fred's background includes our Asko von der Drachenburg, Sabina von Moosbach-Zuzelek, Traelborg's Herbert "Skyder" and vom Dornenfeld line. Tom and Jackie Munoz's website is athttp://www.alabamadeertracking.com/. Good luck with the pups!
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| Meg with her newborns. |
Friday, January 3, 2014
A long holiday break is over! Books, puppies, and our plans for 2014.
It is very hard to get back to frequent blogging after a long break, and this is my first attempt! Let's start with pictures of showing John and me with our German puppy Kunox. The two pictures were taken just few days ago. We like Kunox a lot, and have high hopes for him.
We had a very nice holiday break that filled us with warmth and good feelings as in the last two weeks we went out or met with various friends just about every other day. It was great to catch up, eat good food, drink nice wine and altogether being able to relax. We wish all our readers and friends a Happy New Year - may it be healthy, peaceful and prosperous.
We love living in the country but winters here in the Helderbergs can be tough. It seems that the current winter started a long time ago even though officially it has been just two weeks.
The three pictures above were taken in the first half of December, and all this snow melted when we hit really high temperatures just before Christmas. In the end we ended up with a very green/brown Christmas Day. This, of course, was not going to last, and now a true winter has arrived. Yesterday we have a foot of snow, and temperature plunged to -7 F (around -22 C). Tonight is supposed to be even colder. This picture was taken this morning:
All dogs have been staying inside, and they have not been complaining. Thrill of the first snow has been long gone.
This is going to be a very busy year for us. John has been working for a long time on the 3rd edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer, and he should be done soon. When he completes his part, my work is going to start: editing and preparation of the book for production. Also we are planning to do a new, short book on dachshunds. This is the breed that we are most familiar with, and we'd like to pass our experience to new owners, handlers and breeders. And we also are planning to have two litters of puppies. All in all it looks like my photography is going to take a back seat in 2014, and probably we will not make it to too many dog events.
We have eleven dachshunds now, and our oldest is FC Asko von der Drachenburg, who is doing well at 14.5. Knock on the wood, but at present all dogs are fine, except for some minor ailments that our older dogs have.
Having so many dogs puts a lot of restrictions on our life, and especially our ability to travel, but I don't know how else one can have a multi-generational breeding program. Only through multi-generational evaluation and selection a breeder can have a breeding program with specific purpose and direction. The continuity of our breeding can be illustrated by Asko's descendants:
Asko--> Gilda--> Keena--> Paika--> Sky and Tuesday
and
Asko--> Elli--> Billy--> Keena--> Paika--> Sky and Tuesday
Elli goes back through Agata, Kuba to FC Fausto de la Grande Futaie (imported from France in 1990). Gilda goes back through Sabina to FC Gerte vom Dornenfeld (imported from Germany in 1988).
Speaking about puppies, we are swamped with inquiries about puppies, and at this time we are not taking any more reservations. However, Justin Richins from Utah just had a litter of pups sired by Remi (Remy von Moosbach-Zuzelek), out of our Mielikki's sister - Macaria Raptor. Justin can be reached at jrichins@thehuntingcompany.com. Also Gail Berger from Pennsylvania is expecting any day now puppies out of Bee (a daughter of our Billy), who was bred to our Tommy (FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst). Gail can be contacted at grammyberger@gmail.com.
We had a very nice holiday break that filled us with warmth and good feelings as in the last two weeks we went out or met with various friends just about every other day. It was great to catch up, eat good food, drink nice wine and altogether being able to relax. We wish all our readers and friends a Happy New Year - may it be healthy, peaceful and prosperous.
We love living in the country but winters here in the Helderbergs can be tough. It seems that the current winter started a long time ago even though officially it has been just two weeks.
The three pictures above were taken in the first half of December, and all this snow melted when we hit really high temperatures just before Christmas. In the end we ended up with a very green/brown Christmas Day. This, of course, was not going to last, and now a true winter has arrived. Yesterday we have a foot of snow, and temperature plunged to -7 F (around -22 C). Tonight is supposed to be even colder. This picture was taken this morning:
All dogs have been staying inside, and they have not been complaining. Thrill of the first snow has been long gone.
This is going to be a very busy year for us. John has been working for a long time on the 3rd edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer, and he should be done soon. When he completes his part, my work is going to start: editing and preparation of the book for production. Also we are planning to do a new, short book on dachshunds. This is the breed that we are most familiar with, and we'd like to pass our experience to new owners, handlers and breeders. And we also are planning to have two litters of puppies. All in all it looks like my photography is going to take a back seat in 2014, and probably we will not make it to too many dog events.
We have eleven dachshunds now, and our oldest is FC Asko von der Drachenburg, who is doing well at 14.5. Knock on the wood, but at present all dogs are fine, except for some minor ailments that our older dogs have.
Having so many dogs puts a lot of restrictions on our life, and especially our ability to travel, but I don't know how else one can have a multi-generational breeding program. Only through multi-generational evaluation and selection a breeder can have a breeding program with specific purpose and direction. The continuity of our breeding can be illustrated by Asko's descendants:
Asko--> Gilda--> Keena--> Paika--> Sky and Tuesday
and
Asko--> Elli--> Billy--> Keena--> Paika--> Sky and Tuesday
Elli goes back through Agata, Kuba to FC Fausto de la Grande Futaie (imported from France in 1990). Gilda goes back through Sabina to FC Gerte vom Dornenfeld (imported from Germany in 1988).
Speaking about puppies, we are swamped with inquiries about puppies, and at this time we are not taking any more reservations. However, Justin Richins from Utah just had a litter of pups sired by Remi (Remy von Moosbach-Zuzelek), out of our Mielikki's sister - Macaria Raptor. Justin can be reached at jrichins@thehuntingcompany.com. Also Gail Berger from Pennsylvania is expecting any day now puppies out of Bee (a daughter of our Billy), who was bred to our Tommy (FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst). Gail can be contacted at grammyberger@gmail.com.
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| These two pictures show Bee at the 2013 NATC Zuchtschau, where she received the excellent rating for her conformation. |
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Four days after the shot, in deep snow, Thor finds the deer
By Bob Yax
Deer Search of Finger Lakes
owner of Thor von Moosbach-Zuzelek, born April 6, 2012
With gun season being such a tracking bust due to all the snow, (we only took 3 calls) it was nice to get back on an Archery call this past weekend. At least the hunter knew where he hit the deer!
We ended up with a fun track (body search) and recovery yesterday in the deep snow. Thor did a great job trudging through the snow that was over his head in some places The hunter, Jon, had intestine hit a buck, with a bow, last Wednesday evening. He tracked it 100 yards that night, then backed out. The next day he did a big area search for it, with no luck. It snowed quite a bit since then and it had not been above 20F degrees, so there was hope that the deer might still be good. We couldn’t arrange a good time to track until Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday we just basically did a casual walk through some areas that Jon had already searched and some areas he didn’t. Thor would periodically start following pretty fresh deer tracks in the snow. I’d pull him off after a short while so that he would focus more on the general air scenting that I wanted him to do. About an hour into our search Thor picked up his nose and headed downhill towards a creek in fresh undisturbed snow – I thought “this is good”. After about 40 yards, still air scenting, he crossed the small creek and headed into thick brush. Not long after, he stopped and buried his nose in the snow. At that point I saw a spot of blood next to his head (it was the 1st blood we’d seen). When I looked closer I saw a small tuft of deer hair. At that point, I thought that Thor had just found some old part of a deer, (it was actually the butt end of the deer that a fox had started chewing on) the hunter then yelled “there he is” and pointed to the half rack sticking out of the snow. Holy crap! We found him! He ended up about 400 yards from the hit site – maybe in his 2nd bed?
The hunter proceeded to gut the nice 9pt. It wasn’t frozen solid but was very cold. It had no unusual odor, so there’s a chance the meat may still be good – I’ll find out from the Hunter.
It was a good end to the season; I wish it wasn’t over! Eleven recoveries just like last year.
Deer Search of Finger Lakes
owner of Thor von Moosbach-Zuzelek, born April 6, 2012
With gun season being such a tracking bust due to all the snow, (we only took 3 calls) it was nice to get back on an Archery call this past weekend. At least the hunter knew where he hit the deer!
We ended up with a fun track (body search) and recovery yesterday in the deep snow. Thor did a great job trudging through the snow that was over his head in some places The hunter, Jon, had intestine hit a buck, with a bow, last Wednesday evening. He tracked it 100 yards that night, then backed out. The next day he did a big area search for it, with no luck. It snowed quite a bit since then and it had not been above 20F degrees, so there was hope that the deer might still be good. We couldn’t arrange a good time to track until Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday we just basically did a casual walk through some areas that Jon had already searched and some areas he didn’t. Thor would periodically start following pretty fresh deer tracks in the snow. I’d pull him off after a short while so that he would focus more on the general air scenting that I wanted him to do. About an hour into our search Thor picked up his nose and headed downhill towards a creek in fresh undisturbed snow – I thought “this is good”. After about 40 yards, still air scenting, he crossed the small creek and headed into thick brush. Not long after, he stopped and buried his nose in the snow. At that point I saw a spot of blood next to his head (it was the 1st blood we’d seen). When I looked closer I saw a small tuft of deer hair. At that point, I thought that Thor had just found some old part of a deer, (it was actually the butt end of the deer that a fox had started chewing on) the hunter then yelled “there he is” and pointed to the half rack sticking out of the snow. Holy crap! We found him! He ended up about 400 yards from the hit site – maybe in his 2nd bed?
The hunter proceeded to gut the nice 9pt. It wasn’t frozen solid but was very cold. It had no unusual odor, so there’s a chance the meat may still be good – I’ll find out from the Hunter.
It was a good end to the season; I wish it wasn’t over! Eleven recoveries just like last year.
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| Thor with "his" very cold buck. |
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Kansas and Pennsylvania are big deer hunting states where tracking dogs are still illegal
It is great to see some good articles being published in the states, where the use of blood tracking is still illegal.
- To read "Tracking dogs can sometimes help recover deer", but not in Kansas by Michael Pearce, The Wichita Eagle click here
- And in Pennsylvania the fight for legalization continues - read "Dogs could be useful in deer hunts" by clicking here
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This picture shows Darren Doran's young dachshund Theo who recovered this deer in New Jersey yesterday. In New Jersey tracking is done on a special permit only. This was Theo's 16th recovery this season (out of 36 calls that Darren has taken).
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Two confusing but successful blood tracks for Razen and Claudia
By Ray Holohan
Hi Jolanta,
I am sending you another photo of a hunter holding Razen Kane over a nice buck that Claudia and her just recovered. The picture is a little gory and I apologize for that, but this is the best one we have. This story has a little twist to it and I thought I would see if anyone else has had a similar experience.
Claudia took the call from a hunter who had shot a buck while sitting on the ground behind a Ghost blind; this is a fold out blind that has a mirror exterior. He thought he had made a good shot with his slug gun. After a short time he went to look for blood. He found some after a short distance and proceeded to follow the trail. He finally lost the trail and couldn't come up with anymore blood or the deer. His buddy told him to give us a call and see if we could help him.
Claudia arrived at the place around 1:30 pm and took Razen to the first spot where he had found blood, somewhere close to the hit site. Razen took right off on the trail but in a short distance wanted to break trail and head in another direction. The hunter told Claudia that the blood went the other direction so she made Razen follow the obvious trail, which she did. She ended up taking it further then the hunter had done but soon came to a dead end, so Claudia restarted Razen at first blood again.
Again Razen wanted to change direction but Claudia kept her on the trail the hunter had found, this time she took it farther and ended up finding a couple of wound beds with small amounts of blood. The trail seem to get better and better with more blood and Razen was getting pretty worked up about it. Razen took the trail to a major highway and wanted to cross it on to another property. Claudia told the hunter that he would have to get permission before she would do that. Well the hunter went to a nearby house and got the permission to keep tracking, so she let Razen keep going.
She took them to and through a small thicket then proceeded to enter a chisel plowed field. The blood was still there along with stomach substance; the hunter was really getting excited and amazed at the job she was doing. Razen took the track another half mile across the field to a creek, where they jumped a big doe that had taken a hit in the rear. The hunter said that's not the deer, he had shot, his was a buck. At that moment the hunter's excitement turned to gloom, even though Claudia was feeling good about Razen tracking all that distance and finding a deer.
Claudia trying to ease the hunter's disappointment told him that she would take the dog back and restart her again at the beginning. After a long walk back Claudia let Razen do some snooping. She took a shortcut she came on a blood trail and in a short distance led to the buck he had shot. Claudia said the guy went nuts, hugging her about 5 or 6 times and carrying on like a little kid. Claudia was feeling pretty good too as she knew this ended 9 "no find dry spell" tracks for Razen. Not only did she find the buck but made a successful track on the doe too.
Do you think that the blood they started on was the buck's or the doe's? Will a dog switch blood trails? I'm thinking the blood trail of the doe was the blood she started on, but she wanted to go in that other direction at the start and Claudia took her the way that the hunter wanted to go. I know "believe your dog," Anyway this ended a long dry spell for her, she is a good tracker and never gives up but after a combination of property line issues, bad scenting conditions, and non-lethal shots we were beginning to wonder.
Thanks, Ray and Claudia
Hi Jolanta,
I am sending you another photo of a hunter holding Razen Kane over a nice buck that Claudia and her just recovered. The picture is a little gory and I apologize for that, but this is the best one we have. This story has a little twist to it and I thought I would see if anyone else has had a similar experience.
Claudia took the call from a hunter who had shot a buck while sitting on the ground behind a Ghost blind; this is a fold out blind that has a mirror exterior. He thought he had made a good shot with his slug gun. After a short time he went to look for blood. He found some after a short distance and proceeded to follow the trail. He finally lost the trail and couldn't come up with anymore blood or the deer. His buddy told him to give us a call and see if we could help him.
Claudia arrived at the place around 1:30 pm and took Razen to the first spot where he had found blood, somewhere close to the hit site. Razen took right off on the trail but in a short distance wanted to break trail and head in another direction. The hunter told Claudia that the blood went the other direction so she made Razen follow the obvious trail, which she did. She ended up taking it further then the hunter had done but soon came to a dead end, so Claudia restarted Razen at first blood again.
Again Razen wanted to change direction but Claudia kept her on the trail the hunter had found, this time she took it farther and ended up finding a couple of wound beds with small amounts of blood. The trail seem to get better and better with more blood and Razen was getting pretty worked up about it. Razen took the trail to a major highway and wanted to cross it on to another property. Claudia told the hunter that he would have to get permission before she would do that. Well the hunter went to a nearby house and got the permission to keep tracking, so she let Razen keep going.
She took them to and through a small thicket then proceeded to enter a chisel plowed field. The blood was still there along with stomach substance; the hunter was really getting excited and amazed at the job she was doing. Razen took the track another half mile across the field to a creek, where they jumped a big doe that had taken a hit in the rear. The hunter said that's not the deer, he had shot, his was a buck. At that moment the hunter's excitement turned to gloom, even though Claudia was feeling good about Razen tracking all that distance and finding a deer.
Claudia trying to ease the hunter's disappointment told him that she would take the dog back and restart her again at the beginning. After a long walk back Claudia let Razen do some snooping. She took a shortcut she came on a blood trail and in a short distance led to the buck he had shot. Claudia said the guy went nuts, hugging her about 5 or 6 times and carrying on like a little kid. Claudia was feeling pretty good too as she knew this ended 9 "no find dry spell" tracks for Razen. Not only did she find the buck but made a successful track on the doe too.
Do you think that the blood they started on was the buck's or the doe's? Will a dog switch blood trails? I'm thinking the blood trail of the doe was the blood she started on, but she wanted to go in that other direction at the start and Claudia took her the way that the hunter wanted to go. I know "believe your dog," Anyway this ended a long dry spell for her, she is a good tracker and never gives up but after a combination of property line issues, bad scenting conditions, and non-lethal shots we were beginning to wonder.
Thanks, Ray and Claudia
Monday, December 9, 2013
New perspective on dog breeding part 1: puppies' conditioning in the womb
This article by Larry Mueller was published in Outdoor Life 15 years ago, in 1998. Since then the science of genetics and epigenetics have advanced tremendously but the conclusion has not changed that much. If you want to breed superdogs, you'd better start really, really early in a dog's life. The next installment will present a current perspective on the points raised in Larry's article.
Building
The Superdog
Beginning
Before Birth
The where, when, why and
how of starting a superdog
Larry Mueller
Hunting Dogs Editor, Outdoor Life, 1998
The
new century for dogs is now. Modern science has poised the dog world for a
fastforward of unprecedented proportions. In the past, superdogs were rare
accidents of nature - naturals that made even first timers believe they were
great trainers. And now we know how those accidents happen. We hold the simple
secrets to building our own superdogs from scratch.
How early
can we begin the conditioning which could lead to a superdog? Five months?
Eight weeks? Ninety days? Would you believe… in the womb? It's true. We have
scientific evidence that the fetus is not sealed in isolation. It lives in its
mother's world.
Interestingly, before
Mendel discovered genes, breeders were hunting pregnant bitches to produce
superior pups. After Mendel's theory caught on, that practice was called an old
wives' tale. Genetics allowed us to break breeding down to numbers and predict
a few traits like coat color. So, we assumed that breeding is a crap shoot of
many-sided gene dice. All traits, behavioral and physical alike, were thought
to be locked m place at birth. It was a neatly packaged theory that shrank
nature to fit our head size. To believe it, however, required ignoring all the
loopholes and protecting our ignorance against obvious evidence to the
contrary.
But this
is for the future. For now, we're conditioning fetuses to become great hunting
dogs: Proof that it's possible comes from the University
of California , Berkeley
At
maturity, Marion Diamond sacrificed some of both groups and physically measured
the cortex areas of their brains. The cortexes had actually grown thicker in
the challenged rats. For the first time, it was proven that the anatomy of an
animal brain could be changed by experience. Subsequent maze tests m other
laboratories proved that rats with thicker cortexes were smarter and quicker to
learn.
In a
second study, Professor Diamond placed pregnant rats in both deprived and
challenging environments. Again, the challenged rats had the thicker cortexes.
But get this: So did their offspring! Somehow, the mother's experiences had
improved their babies ability to learn.
Can this
happen in dogs as well as rats? Of course. As Dr. Diamond points out, the
number of neurons in a single column of cortical nerve cells is the same in
rats, dogs and man. The number of dendrites (branchlike extensions) and the resulting
complexity of circuitry is what creates some of the differences between
species.
I asked Professor Diamond whether given the
olfactory propensity of dogs and the fact that scent is tasted as well as
smelled - there might be a biological connection telling the fetuses that their
hunting mother is excited and what odor is responsible. Sound reasonable?
"It does," she said, cautioning, however, that she believes
everything is possible until proven otherwise.
How might
the fetus be conditioned by the mother s experience? My own theory is that
tasted odor, like medicine held under the tongue, quickly enters the
bloodstream. At the same time, excitement releases adrenaline into the
bloodstream. Brain chemicals such as seratonin fire into the gaps between the
dendrites. A percentage of those chemicals are recycled to be used again by the
brain. The remainder enters the bloodstream, which, in a pregnant bitch, also
flows through the unborn's brain where it reproduces sensations much like the
mother's.
Whether
my theory is right or wrong (veterinary neurologist and Auburn University
I believe
that the time to make the greatest impression on the fetus is the last 21 days
of gestation. (Since this was published in Outdoor
Life, NBC reported that Dr. David Min used ultrasound to track heartbeats
and movements of human fetuses. They began responding to parents' voices and
music at 26 weeks, verifying the third trimester as the time of greatest
opportunity for influencing the unborn.)
Additional support for hunting the pregnant
bitch comes from Missouri
But will
breeders hunt their pregnant bitches? Should we risk hunting ours? We've always
pampered them. I can only answer with more questions. Have you ever known a
coyote who took off two months from hunting to have her pups? Have you ever
known a young coyote that wouldn't hunt? Not hunting the pregnant bitch may
well be the first step in producing all those worthless dogs we see.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Leashed Blood Tracking Dogs in Pennsylvania – Update
By Andy Bensing
The Senate Game and Fisheries Committee met on Wednesday 12/4/2013 and HB451, the leashed blood tracking dog Bill, was on the agenda. I was pretty excited when I heard the week before that the Chairman had decided to put the bill on the agenda. I and other Deer Recovery of PA members have been working for over 13 years to gain legalization in PA. We have gotten 3 bills out of the House of Representatives during that time and into the Senate Game and Fisheries committee. Our current bill under consideration in the committee, HB451, was unanimously passed by the House last May. Well my excitement turned into another letdown when once again the bill was tabled for purposes of further discussion/clarification. The committee members’ general consensus was that they needed more clarification as to how the dogs would be used and how the program would operate in the field.
This is quite frustrating to myself and other hard working members of DRP. We have been working for years to educate the legislature. We send them packets of information, offer unfettered access to us to answer questions and meet with them or their assistants to explain what we do and answer questions. Just this past August and September one of our members personally met with 10 of the 11 committee members or their assistants in one on one meetings at the capital to explain what we do, why we do it and how it is done in other states.
With all this effort on our part our tracking dog bill has been brought up in the Senate Game and Fisheries 3 times in the last 18 months and always has ended up with the same result. Tabled because they need more information.
The meeting did have one bright note in that the consensus was that the committee was not completely against the bill, they did table it instead of voting it down, but they wanted more specifics written into it as to how it would actually be run by the Game Commission once enacted. Several members of the committee spoke with us after the meeting and asked us to assist with that. Also, the Chairman did commit to holding an informational public hearing early next year to try and work out some of these issues.
So all in all the meeting did not live up to my early expectations but we did inch forward a little bit. One thing about blood trackers that’s for sure, we don’t give up easily.
The Senate Game and Fisheries Committee met on Wednesday 12/4/2013 and HB451, the leashed blood tracking dog Bill, was on the agenda. I was pretty excited when I heard the week before that the Chairman had decided to put the bill on the agenda. I and other Deer Recovery of PA members have been working for over 13 years to gain legalization in PA. We have gotten 3 bills out of the House of Representatives during that time and into the Senate Game and Fisheries committee. Our current bill under consideration in the committee, HB451, was unanimously passed by the House last May. Well my excitement turned into another letdown when once again the bill was tabled for purposes of further discussion/clarification. The committee members’ general consensus was that they needed more clarification as to how the dogs would be used and how the program would operate in the field.
This is quite frustrating to myself and other hard working members of DRP. We have been working for years to educate the legislature. We send them packets of information, offer unfettered access to us to answer questions and meet with them or their assistants to explain what we do and answer questions. Just this past August and September one of our members personally met with 10 of the 11 committee members or their assistants in one on one meetings at the capital to explain what we do, why we do it and how it is done in other states.
With all this effort on our part our tracking dog bill has been brought up in the Senate Game and Fisheries 3 times in the last 18 months and always has ended up with the same result. Tabled because they need more information.
The meeting did have one bright note in that the consensus was that the committee was not completely against the bill, they did table it instead of voting it down, but they wanted more specifics written into it as to how it would actually be run by the Game Commission once enacted. Several members of the committee spoke with us after the meeting and asked us to assist with that. Also, the Chairman did commit to holding an informational public hearing early next year to try and work out some of these issues.
So all in all the meeting did not live up to my early expectations but we did inch forward a little bit. One thing about blood trackers that’s for sure, we don’t give up easily.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Susanne's graveyard track
A big thank you to Willette Brown who shared her story about a wounded buck track that took place on September 24. Susanne is now on her way to Florida where she spends her winters training horses. It was her best tracking season yet - she went on tracks of 58 deer, four moose and four bear. This kind of dedication to tracking is matched by very few!
By Willette Brown
I got out of the passenger seat and adjusted my coat and hat. We were parked in a graveyard and heading for the field and woods just beyond. Susanne handed me a headlight and a coat because we had hurried from another location to the hit site and I didn't have any tracking gear with me. I was thinking to myself that I hoped there wasn't any swamp because I only had my sneakers on… but I wasn't going to whine about it in front of everyone else.
As we got our equipment together Susanne recapped the information with the hunter… half the arrow still in the buck, no blood at the hit site, blood fifty yards later on. Buster, Susanne's dog, was all business, quiet, thoughtful, and patient as she got him fitted with his harness and light. He has been here and done that. He knew the drill.
We moved towards the field and out into the night. Susanne's headlamp illuminated the path, light banter and Buster's businesslike trot drew us on. It was probably a four pointer the hunter explained, best he could tell in the heat of the moment. As we approached the hit site, Susanne hooked Buster to his tracking lead. "Game on!" as far as Buster was concerned. Nose down he began to work. Suddenly, we were off into the tall weeds, thick and thin, with paths here and there that appeared to be game trails.
Buster moved across the uncut field and spent some time looping. We paused and watched him work. Well, we actually couldn't see much except Susanne's shoulders and headlamp following through the rustling, dried weeds. Down the edge of the woods he went, then back up to last blood where we were standing. Then he locked on and headed or the woods and we followed. After maybe thirty seconds we hear, " I got it!" and about fifty yards into the woods, hidden in thick brush, lay the dead buck. It was a 17 pointer! Wow! The hunter was now REALLY pumped up. He had brought his son and a friend to help get the buck out of the woods. He was completely confident that Buster would find the deer. He had worked with Susanne before and knew that if it was "gettable" they would get it.
In fact, he had quietly remarked as we set off into the night, that he wished he had met her 20 years ago. I laughed, and knew that this was high praise, as well as backhanded marriage proposal. Of course I think he would have to get in line, a very LONG line, as she has admirers all over Maine who have come home with a deer that might otherwise have become coyote food.
We then let my young dog follow the track and "find" the deer. Susanne patiently guided him as he had an excited but muddled start. Once on the line he quickly headed for the woods and "found" the deer, his first. Initially he was surprised and unsure what to do with the dead deer, and he cautiously tugged on the ear, then looked around like, "Is that OK?" We laughed and praised his efforts. He was getting very proud of himself.
It was full dark and the party, with dressed deer, moved back through the woods and fields. Bow season, warm weather, lots of night tracking. I knew that I had watched a truly remarkable team at work and I couldn't help but admire the amazing partnership. So sure of each other and focused on the job. And out of the maze of deep dark woods we were able to find this one deer. Wow.
Pools of light from headlamps guided us back and the relief and accomplishment was palpable. The hunter had done the right thing, and the Buster had made short work of what might otherwise be a long, possibly fruitless search.
Tracking season had officially begun and "that look" was now in Susanne's eyes. It is a hungry, razor focused, adrenalin laced look that might be terrifying if you were a wounded deer, but is unadulterated nourishment for her partner, Buster. The look in Buster's eyes was a bit more ho hum, and as he settled into the car he quickly curled up. Only eight more weeks to go!
By Willette Brown
I got out of the passenger seat and adjusted my coat and hat. We were parked in a graveyard and heading for the field and woods just beyond. Susanne handed me a headlight and a coat because we had hurried from another location to the hit site and I didn't have any tracking gear with me. I was thinking to myself that I hoped there wasn't any swamp because I only had my sneakers on… but I wasn't going to whine about it in front of everyone else.
As we got our equipment together Susanne recapped the information with the hunter… half the arrow still in the buck, no blood at the hit site, blood fifty yards later on. Buster, Susanne's dog, was all business, quiet, thoughtful, and patient as she got him fitted with his harness and light. He has been here and done that. He knew the drill.
We moved towards the field and out into the night. Susanne's headlamp illuminated the path, light banter and Buster's businesslike trot drew us on. It was probably a four pointer the hunter explained, best he could tell in the heat of the moment. As we approached the hit site, Susanne hooked Buster to his tracking lead. "Game on!" as far as Buster was concerned. Nose down he began to work. Suddenly, we were off into the tall weeds, thick and thin, with paths here and there that appeared to be game trails.
Buster moved across the uncut field and spent some time looping. We paused and watched him work. Well, we actually couldn't see much except Susanne's shoulders and headlamp following through the rustling, dried weeds. Down the edge of the woods he went, then back up to last blood where we were standing. Then he locked on and headed or the woods and we followed. After maybe thirty seconds we hear, " I got it!" and about fifty yards into the woods, hidden in thick brush, lay the dead buck. It was a 17 pointer! Wow! The hunter was now REALLY pumped up. He had brought his son and a friend to help get the buck out of the woods. He was completely confident that Buster would find the deer. He had worked with Susanne before and knew that if it was "gettable" they would get it.
In fact, he had quietly remarked as we set off into the night, that he wished he had met her 20 years ago. I laughed, and knew that this was high praise, as well as backhanded marriage proposal. Of course I think he would have to get in line, a very LONG line, as she has admirers all over Maine who have come home with a deer that might otherwise have become coyote food.
We then let my young dog follow the track and "find" the deer. Susanne patiently guided him as he had an excited but muddled start. Once on the line he quickly headed for the woods and "found" the deer, his first. Initially he was surprised and unsure what to do with the dead deer, and he cautiously tugged on the ear, then looked around like, "Is that OK?" We laughed and praised his efforts. He was getting very proud of himself.
It was full dark and the party, with dressed deer, moved back through the woods and fields. Bow season, warm weather, lots of night tracking. I knew that I had watched a truly remarkable team at work and I couldn't help but admire the amazing partnership. So sure of each other and focused on the job. And out of the maze of deep dark woods we were able to find this one deer. Wow.
Pools of light from headlamps guided us back and the relief and accomplishment was palpable. The hunter had done the right thing, and the Buster had made short work of what might otherwise be a long, possibly fruitless search.
Tracking season had officially begun and "that look" was now in Susanne's eyes. It is a hungry, razor focused, adrenalin laced look that might be terrifying if you were a wounded deer, but is unadulterated nourishment for her partner, Buster. The look in Buster's eyes was a bit more ho hum, and as he settled into the car he quickly curled up. Only eight more weeks to go!
 |
| This 17-pointer shot by Paul McFallin was recovered by Susanne Hamilton and her 11.5-year-old dachshund Buster. |
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving!
As we are approaching Thanksgiving celebrations we’d like to let you know how much we appreciate you and your dogs, and we thank you for being a part of our community. John and I are very thankful to be a part of your life, and we wish you and your loved ones Happy Thanksgiving.
Urgent call for help! Support legalization of blood tracking dogs in Pennsylvania now!
These are just few pictures of many that show deer recovered by Andy Bensing and his tracking wirehaired dachshund Eibe this fall. Even though Andy lives in Pennsylvania these deer were tracked in Maryland. Andy loves helping hunters recover deer that they are not able to find by themselves but unfortunately the use of blood tracking dogs is illegal in Pennsylvania. Read more what Andy posted on Facebook today:
I and many of my friends have been working for 13 years to change a hunting law in Harrisburg to legalize the use of leashed tracking dogs to help recover deer that a hunter has shot and has not been able to locate himself just using his eyes. Our current bill is very close to becoming law. If you would like to help please read the rest of this message and send a few emails to Harrisburg ASAP.
Thanks in advance,
Andy Bensing
Recent developments in Harrisburg make it urgent that you email or call to all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Members immediately. Please contact them yet tonight or tomorrow. Send your email on Thanksgiving day if that is all the sooner you can get to it but PLEASE get it done.
Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, our Blood Tracking Bill, on the agenda for passage next Wednesday, December 4th, but it will only happen if the other committee members express their support for HB451 to Chairman Alloway in advance. That's why you need to contact all committee members right now and ask them to support HB451 and request it be put on the agenda.
Get any of your interested friends and relatives to write as well. The more the better. With enough hunter interest and support this may actually happen finally this year.
Here is a list of all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee email addresses. Just address your email, "Dear Senator" and BCC copy it to them all.
Write your own letter or use the Sample below but please just write and do it immediately. There is no time to waste.
alloway@pasen.gov wdando@pasenate.com cmcilhinney@pasen.gov jscarnati@pasen.gov lbaker@pasen.gov mbrubaker@pasen.gov jcorman@pasen.gov rrobbins@pasen.gov boscola@pasenate.com brewster@pasenate.com SenatorSmith@pasenate.com
Sample letter:
Dear Senator,
I am very happy to hear that Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, the Leashed Blood Tracking Dog Bill, on the December 4, 2013 Senate Game and Fisheries Committee meeting agenda for passage out of committee. I support the legalization of leashed blood tracking dogs here in PA and I hope you do as well.
I ask that you let Chairman Alloway know that you are in favor of HB451 and you would like to see it come up for a vote at the upcoming committee meeting.
The legalization of the use of leashed blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded deer and bear has been rapidly spreading across the country for the last 10 years. All the major PA sportsman’s clubs (PFSC, UBP, NWTF, USP, QDMA) support HB451. The PGC has supported HB451 with a resolution and Governor Corbett on the advice of the Governor's Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation supports the bill as well. With all this support I hope now will be the time to finally pass this bill. I hope you can help.
I and many of my friends have been working for 13 years to change a hunting law in Harrisburg to legalize the use of leashed tracking dogs to help recover deer that a hunter has shot and has not been able to locate himself just using his eyes. Our current bill is very close to becoming law. If you would like to help please read the rest of this message and send a few emails to Harrisburg ASAP.
Thanks in advance,
Andy Bensing
Recent developments in Harrisburg make it urgent that you email or call to all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Members immediately. Please contact them yet tonight or tomorrow. Send your email on Thanksgiving day if that is all the sooner you can get to it but PLEASE get it done.
Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, our Blood Tracking Bill, on the agenda for passage next Wednesday, December 4th, but it will only happen if the other committee members express their support for HB451 to Chairman Alloway in advance. That's why you need to contact all committee members right now and ask them to support HB451 and request it be put on the agenda.
Get any of your interested friends and relatives to write as well. The more the better. With enough hunter interest and support this may actually happen finally this year.
Here is a list of all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee email addresses. Just address your email, "Dear Senator" and BCC copy it to them all.
Write your own letter or use the Sample below but please just write and do it immediately. There is no time to waste.
alloway@pasen.gov wdando@pasenate.com cmcilhinney@pasen.gov jscarnati@pasen.gov lbaker@pasen.gov mbrubaker@pasen.gov jcorman@pasen.gov rrobbins@pasen.gov boscola@pasenate.com brewster@pasenate.com SenatorSmith@pasenate.com
Sample letter:
Dear Senator,
I am very happy to hear that Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, the Leashed Blood Tracking Dog Bill, on the December 4, 2013 Senate Game and Fisheries Committee meeting agenda for passage out of committee. I support the legalization of leashed blood tracking dogs here in PA and I hope you do as well.
I ask that you let Chairman Alloway know that you are in favor of HB451 and you would like to see it come up for a vote at the upcoming committee meeting.
The legalization of the use of leashed blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded deer and bear has been rapidly spreading across the country for the last 10 years. All the major PA sportsman’s clubs (PFSC, UBP, NWTF, USP, QDMA) support HB451. The PGC has supported HB451 with a resolution and Governor Corbett on the advice of the Governor's Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation supports the bill as well. With all this support I hope now will be the time to finally pass this bill. I hope you can help.
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