Greta Training

Water!!!!!

Sit-Stay.............

Greta swimming..

Greta swimming out far...

Got together with the regular fella's for some training. We are trying to prepare Greta and her owner/handler Loren, for the VJP. We have gotten together a few times to try and get them both started off on the right foot. Unfortunately with the VJP only 2 weeks away, we haven't met up near enough.

Greta seems to be doing well regardless. Her search has really developed and she is getting out more. Loren has been working on the basic obedience stuff with her but she is still young and has alot to learn. No problems with gunfire, and the drags and blood we have put out for her really get her attention, she seems to track like a champ. We need to get her on a few more birds to see where she is at on pointing, and rabbits have been hard to come by once again.

A for sure disadvantage to owning a Drahthaar and living in the city is, having to drive over an hour to get into any type of game fields or training areas. Let alone the rabbit population is just not what it used to be. I will be boarding Greta for about a week or so and plan on working with her intensely to have her ready to roll. I am hoping to see the light turn on and really get her tracking down on some real jack rabbits if I have to drive the whole state.

VJP testing has already begun and Malta is coming next, there are test scores and pictures from the finished tests posted on the Wild West Chapter website for those interested.

Don't forget the Armbruster in Boise Idaho this year. Those successful in the VJP with a score of at least 65 are eligible! Happy training and see you in Malta!

Adopt Cabela?

At my work..Camp Bow Wow, we were fostering Cabella until she could be found a home.

Unfortunately anxiety had kicked in and she has been scratching and biting at her tail causing some trouble for her.

I was asked if i would take her for a week or so while she healed and give her an interview at my house with my dog Hessian and our boarding guest Jager. I of course agreed as we are looking for another canine in the home anyhow.

Cabella is a 5 year old Doberman with no crop on the ears or dock of the tail. She is full of life when she wants to be and moody German when she wants too! She didn't know what to think of these two wild boys at first, but she is coming around more each day. Especially when they are all outside, She seems to get a little more frisky then!

We are still not sure what her visit with us will bring for her future, but as with all adoptions we need to let her pick her family. Can't force a dog to be your friend or your dogs friend if they don't want to be.

If you are interested in Cabella, or adopting a dog from a foster home, contact me and i will point you in the right direction.

Vbr Practice

We headed out to Farr West to meet up with Chad and try to see if we could get some practice in on a Vbr.

The Vbr is a test of tracking. In the process of hunting, if a furred animal (rabbit,fox etc) is wounded and able to travel about 300 yards. A dog that has not seen the rabbit is brought to the area of the shot and put on the track. The dog is then supposed to track the animal, find the animal, retrieve it and return it to the handlers hand. All in the sake of an ethical hunt.

This is just one of a many basic tasks for the Drahthaar that we all probably see occur as we are hunting. It is not so easy to get a judge to be with you during this event however. Take your judges hunting! That way if the opportunity arises you would be covered.

In the process, we thought we would try to get a clear answer on if our dogs were Loud on Fur.

The dog needs to be certified Loud on sight or smell before it can be eligible to participate in the 20/40 hour blood track or VsWP test.

Loud on sight or smell is when the dog gets vocal while chasing or tracking a furred game animal. I know Hessian is loud on pretty much anything he sees but it's always good to make sure before getting judges together for a certification. As well as the rest of us that want to VsWP that need to check as well.

In the VsWP test the bloodtrack is 1000 meters and uses 1/4 liter of blood and sets for at least 20 hours. As compared to the VGP bloodtrack that is 400 meters with the same amount of blood and only aged 2-5 hours for a day track and 14 hours for an overnight track. Quite the difference!

We got all the dogs out for a run and little swim and headed home. Thanks for the hospitality Chad and for getting us into some new country for us city boys!

Drahthaars Everywhere

I am boarding Jager for a few weeks and decided to head out to Lee Kay to exercise him and Hessian

It wasn't the most cooperative day as the weather goes but Draht's don't care, so neither shall I. We walked for an hour or so, as they searched up the fields and did some swimming. I tossed some bumpers and worked on some blinds and heeling as well. I just can't get enough of seeing these two dogs tear up the land in thier search for the prize. I have been lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy myself in this dog eat dog world. I hope the fun never stops!

As I was heading out the gate, I ran into a friend with his Lab and Draht, on thier way in for a run around the property. Seems like a few of us had the same idea in mind, because no sooner did I hop out of my truck to greet my friend, that a new pup owner pulled up too!

We hung out for a while and talked about dogs and training, did some work with the new pup Kaiser vom Wasatch (Pete). Did some drags, and searching as well as basic exposure type stuff.

It is always nice to meet new people and give advice and share stories of our experiences. Another chapter member and addict sucked into this Drahthaar Addiction!

Fun Videos

Here are a few fun videos I shot while screwing around on a beautiful pre spring day here in Utah.
The first one is some water blinds, the second some land blinds and the third is a free search with some bumpers laying around. Please enjoy and feel free to comment...

Wild West Training Day

We did our best to throw together a chapter training day in American Fork on February 13th. With the help of a new member and his property, a few of us were able to get somewhat organized and get a few people together with thier dogs for training.
The main focus was explaining the VJP to members that will be running this spring and next. We wanted to make people aware what to expect and how to prepare for it. The property we used wasn't populated with rabbits so instead we opted to do some drags and chases.
We showed the handlers that giving the dog a sight chase or two before beginning the tracking helps make the dog more aware of the track and gives it more desire to track as well.
We did some drags and explained the purpose and how to use the slip lead for tracking. The pups did a good job of catching on and I think something was learned by the new members.
We also worked on some pointing and field searching as well. The dogs all seemed to catch on quickly as well as the handlers too.
Some of the older dogs were brought out to show how a finished dog works. They worked on drags, retrieving , pointing, searching and blood tracking too.
Everyone got to meet new people, the weather cooperated and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch!
Thanks to all that came out to help and to get involved, Thanks to Matt for the facility and Zac for the lunch. Sorry there is no pics, I really dropped the ball on this one and left the camera at home!
Next training day...Malta, ID...March 13th!