|
 Baron |
Deutsch Drahthaar
by Mike Headen
Although
I've only been a Deutsch Drahthaar (DD) owner for a little over a
year and a half, I'd like to take a shot a 1st timer's opinion of
the breed. I'd like to start out by saying that I'm in love with my
dog. This sound extremely mushy for a bird dog web site article, but
I believe that the foundation for any training and performance is
the bond you make with your dog from an early age. I am constantly
amazed by my dog's acumen and performance.
My 1st experience with DD's was in Germany some 20 years ago, where I was lucky enough to be a constant hunting guest with my good friend Karl Schnecker, who managed two hunting areas, with his DD Edel. The primary use of the DD in Germany is to ensure that no game is lost. My experience with DD's in Germany revolved around the blood track of wounded game. The DD excelled in that area. My most impressionable experiences with the DD during those years was the "sit stay" command and "find the shot" command. In the 1st instance, the DD was told to sit and stay in front of a department store in a busy downtown area. The dog waited for his owner for over an hour. In the second instance, the dog was told to "find the shot", where he found the beginning of the blood track of a wounded deer and came to the halt position to wait for his opportunity to find the wounded deer. No birds so far?
Well these are examples of the level of learning and control typical of the breed in Germany. After 13 years with my English Setter, an exceptional bird dog, I decided to try my luck with a DD. Although, I had previous experience with the breed and some experience with training, I did an extreme amount of research before deciding on a dog. The 1st decision was DD vice GWP. I decided on the somewhat less well known (in the US) breed of DD, because of the breeding restrictions placed on the dog, which include 2 hunting test and hip dysphasia examination. The tests include observation of use of nose, pointing, tracking, cooperation, temperament, and drive. The 1st test is done at approximately 1 year of age. The second test, at about 18 months, extends to test reliable tracking and retrieving to hand of a variety of game both on the land and in the water. Gunshyness is evaluate and dogs are eliminated from breeding if they are gun shy or have other extreme faults. These are not field trial type test, but breed test.
Now to discuss some of my observations about training my dog. We obtained Baron at 8 weeks. His breeder, Bob Secoura, had socialized him and kennel trained him to the point where he had 1 accident in the house (he stays in the house) and was kennel trained from day 1! The dog has more drive than I've ever seen; which has been both benefit and a curse. Over the course of the last 18 months, he points fairly well; I'm working on "steady to wing and shot" now. He retrieves reliably, including beers from the cooler and takes the empties to his mother...kind of a parlor trick; but if you can get your dog to retrieve glass bottles reliably, he probably won't drop anything until told to do so.
To the pure bird dog enthusiast, he might not be the stylish pointer you would expect, but for my money he sure seems to be better than I could expect in pointing, tracking, retrieving (upland and water...he retrieved from the water at 12 weeks), and fundamental obedience. The biggest challenge I face on a daily basis is that the dog is too smart. He's taught himself to open the door to come in (unfortunately he doesn't close it after himself...add another task to the list). He kennels himself when we think about leaving or going to bed. I still haven't figured out how he knows, but he does. Now for the tricky parts... Saturday he disappeared in the thicket for a while (5 minutes or so) and came back with a quail and sits to deliver in front of me; I praise him lavishly (did he catch it? another steadiness setback; or find it from an earlier hunting group) oh well...meat on the table. Another brain challenge (Baron vs me), I figured out a little later in his training (probably after his breed test) that he had been using the search for a dragged piece of game as an excuse to go out an romp in the woods. "Hey, as long as I come back with the quarry, dad will be happy". I finally had to place someone at the other end to make sure that he went straight out and came straight back. This is component of the breed test is where a lot of dogs fail. It is 400 meter rabbit drag with 2 bends. Finding the rabbit is easy; its what they do once they find it that counts!
I guess I've rambled for a while, but the bottom line is: "Jack of all trades, master of none" falls extremely short on the DD. I would categorize the breed as: "Jack of all trades, master of all!" especially when teamed with the sport hunter. The DD is the shortest route between two points. The two points are finding the game and getting them on the table.
For those of you interested in more information on the breed, I recommend the following resources:
1) Join Verein Deutsche Drahthaar - Group North America. Their web site is http://vdd-gna.org or contact the GNA Inquiry Coordinators (Neil or Rhonda Feazel) at:
5880 Lowell Park Road Mount Morris, IL 61054
Phone: 815-734-6506 Inquiries: 815-734-7078
2) Visit a Spring or Fall Breed Test (VJP or HZP); Watch the dogs perform.
3) Join the dd-list@drahthaar.com. Joining the list is very simple, just mail a message to dd-list-request@drahthaar.com with the following line in the body of the message: subscribe. This list includes very interesting and candid discussion about the breed.
There are obviously many other resources, but these are good starting points for finding information. If you are interested in owning, training, and hunting with the DD, I urge you to do your research and prepare yourself for a long, pleasurable commitment between you and your hunting partner.
My 1st experience with DD's was in Germany some 20 years ago, where I was lucky enough to be a constant hunting guest with my good friend Karl Schnecker, who managed two hunting areas, with his DD Edel. The primary use of the DD in Germany is to ensure that no game is lost. My experience with DD's in Germany revolved around the blood track of wounded game. The DD excelled in that area. My most impressionable experiences with the DD during those years was the "sit stay" command and "find the shot" command. In the 1st instance, the DD was told to sit and stay in front of a department store in a busy downtown area. The dog waited for his owner for over an hour. In the second instance, the dog was told to "find the shot", where he found the beginning of the blood track of a wounded deer and came to the halt position to wait for his opportunity to find the wounded deer. No birds so far?
Well these are examples of the level of learning and control typical of the breed in Germany. After 13 years with my English Setter, an exceptional bird dog, I decided to try my luck with a DD. Although, I had previous experience with the breed and some experience with training, I did an extreme amount of research before deciding on a dog. The 1st decision was DD vice GWP. I decided on the somewhat less well known (in the US) breed of DD, because of the breeding restrictions placed on the dog, which include 2 hunting test and hip dysphasia examination. The tests include observation of use of nose, pointing, tracking, cooperation, temperament, and drive. The 1st test is done at approximately 1 year of age. The second test, at about 18 months, extends to test reliable tracking and retrieving to hand of a variety of game both on the land and in the water. Gunshyness is evaluate and dogs are eliminated from breeding if they are gun shy or have other extreme faults. These are not field trial type test, but breed test.
Now to discuss some of my observations about training my dog. We obtained Baron at 8 weeks. His breeder, Bob Secoura, had socialized him and kennel trained him to the point where he had 1 accident in the house (he stays in the house) and was kennel trained from day 1! The dog has more drive than I've ever seen; which has been both benefit and a curse. Over the course of the last 18 months, he points fairly well; I'm working on "steady to wing and shot" now. He retrieves reliably, including beers from the cooler and takes the empties to his mother...kind of a parlor trick; but if you can get your dog to retrieve glass bottles reliably, he probably won't drop anything until told to do so.
To the pure bird dog enthusiast, he might not be the stylish pointer you would expect, but for my money he sure seems to be better than I could expect in pointing, tracking, retrieving (upland and water...he retrieved from the water at 12 weeks), and fundamental obedience. The biggest challenge I face on a daily basis is that the dog is too smart. He's taught himself to open the door to come in (unfortunately he doesn't close it after himself...add another task to the list). He kennels himself when we think about leaving or going to bed. I still haven't figured out how he knows, but he does. Now for the tricky parts... Saturday he disappeared in the thicket for a while (5 minutes or so) and came back with a quail and sits to deliver in front of me; I praise him lavishly (did he catch it? another steadiness setback; or find it from an earlier hunting group) oh well...meat on the table. Another brain challenge (Baron vs me), I figured out a little later in his training (probably after his breed test) that he had been using the search for a dragged piece of game as an excuse to go out an romp in the woods. "Hey, as long as I come back with the quarry, dad will be happy". I finally had to place someone at the other end to make sure that he went straight out and came straight back. This is component of the breed test is where a lot of dogs fail. It is 400 meter rabbit drag with 2 bends. Finding the rabbit is easy; its what they do once they find it that counts!
I guess I've rambled for a while, but the bottom line is: "Jack of all trades, master of none" falls extremely short on the DD. I would categorize the breed as: "Jack of all trades, master of all!" especially when teamed with the sport hunter. The DD is the shortest route between two points. The two points are finding the game and getting them on the table.
For those of you interested in more information on the breed, I recommend the following resources:
1) Join Verein Deutsche Drahthaar - Group North America. Their web site is http://vdd-gna.org or contact the GNA Inquiry Coordinators (Neil or Rhonda Feazel) at:
5880 Lowell Park Road Mount Morris, IL 61054
Phone: 815-734-6506 Inquiries: 815-734-7078
2) Visit a Spring or Fall Breed Test (VJP or HZP); Watch the dogs perform.
3) Join the dd-list@drahthaar.com. Joining the list is very simple, just mail a message to dd-list-request@drahthaar.com with the following line in the body of the message: subscribe. This list includes very interesting and candid discussion about the breed.
There are obviously many other resources, but these are good starting points for finding information. If you are interested in owning, training, and hunting with the DD, I urge you to do your research and prepare yourself for a long, pleasurable commitment between you and your hunting partner.
If you wish to contribute an article, please e-mail UplandBirdDog.com.
Copyright © 1999-2001 Mike Headen and UplandBirdDog.com