A Dog FOR ALL SEASONS

by Anne Rosenberg

When I picked up Weezy, a chocolate miniature wire dachshund, five years ago, never would I have imagined she would be the start of a legacy. Never would I have imagined that I would have a Baker’s dozen wire dachshunds in my bedroom. Never would I have imagined that my horse farm would be transformed into a dachshund playground called Ev-Ry Earthdog, complete with earthdog, fast cat, agility and a venue for nose work trials.

GCH Willow Springs Island Breeze MW BN RN FDC BCAT SWN THDX, CGCA CGCU TKI (Weezy) came from Cyndi and Alex Branch who own Willow Springs Dachshunds in Georgia. After earning her grand championship, under the loving handling of Cassandra Vargas and Angela Lloyd, Cassie, Angie and Alan Bower arranged a breeding for Weezy to CH Alegna’s Ever So Clever MW (Owen). Based on Owen’s pedigree, Alan selected him for gorgeous conformation and the working gene carried by the Rose Farm’s dogs and the Saytar line. The puppies from this union changed my life. Sly and his sister, Sassy, (CH Willow Springs Ev-ry Sassy Girl BN RA TD FDC NASP NJP CA DCAT SBN THD CGCU TKN ATT) were whelped via c-section on October 29, 2019. This was my first litter and, of course I had to keep both puppies after they passed their 8-week evaluations by Cassandra Vargas and Angela Lloyd. (Littermate Sassy is following in her brother’s footsteps but took time out for a litter of her own.)

From birth we knew that that Sly had the “right tools to do the job”. He has a bit more leg under him and nice short hocks that enable him to work well underground. He was a gangly teenager, but you could see his potential. A good protective coat and a set of choppers with a scissors bite and well-placed canines to be reckoned with round out the package. He adored Cassandra Vargas when she handled him in the breed ring and proudly moved around the ring earning a grand championship when he was 13 months.

The very essence of the dachshund is its role as a Badger Hound, working below ground against a formidable quarry. Success as a “hole dog” requires the right conformation and the right temperament. Since most dogs are not proven in the field, we’ve used the varied performance tests to confirm that our dogs adhere both to the conformation standard, the temperament and work ethic required to get the job done.

In New Jersey, where we live, dachshunds are often used to hunt woodchuck, raccoon, and red fox (although bunnies, squirrels and other rodents are fair game when hanging out at the farm). The size of the dens demands a Miniature (Zwerg or Kaninchen) and weather conditions make a wirehair coat desirable. Additionally, since my dogs live inside as family, they need to be highly biddable and responsive. Pack manners are vital. A steady stream of visitors to the farm and earthdog site provide an excellent opportunity for early socialization of puppies.

Everyone wants to produce a purposefully bred dog – balancing and preserving form and function. Most breeds were bred for a singular, well-defined purpose that largely dictated its conformation. As a breeder, in addition to being an excellent “badger hound”, my dream was to produce “the whole package” – form, function, focus and funversatility and temperament, but I never dreamt it would start with my first litter!

These requirements, although basic, are the foundation of the developing breeding program here at Ev-Ry Dachshund.

In 2015, I was completely new to AKC and the companion and performance events. In fact, when I went into the obedience ring for the first time (without any preparatory lessons or training) with my dachshund, Seriously, and the judge asked me if she had nail polish on, I proudly replied “yes! She does therapy work and the patients love it!” (It was sparkle purple.) We were disqualified and I vowed to figure out this obedience thing!

We didn’t approach this whole journey seeking “versatility”, but rather as making each activity or sport a step in the direction of creating a dachshund well suited in conformation and temperament for its intended purpose. We cross trained and went from scent work to tracking and obedience to agility. We were privileged to have skilled mentors and trainers available at each step of the way and we are beyond grateful for their assistance and contributions, and patience as they molded me so I could encourage Sly as he developed physical and mental versatility.

Obedience with a dachshund is no easy feat –they prefer games, and obedience is serious, no games, but we make it about focus and fun.

Scent work, of course, is a necessary discipline for the working Dachshund. The need to identify various quarry based on scent alone (there’s not much light in those deep dark holes) is basic. When we started class with Sarah Cowell, she was delighted with how he learned to recognize odor and reliably alert. We went to class with at least 4 dachshunds (Weezy, Sly, Sassy and Fiona) and it was a highlight in their week. Sly transferred these fundamental scent work skills and applied them to real world scenarios for earthdog, tracking and barn hunt.

He is working on his RATO and has earned the ORT in Nose work.

Sly’s agility career began under the expert coaching of Kathy Parkin and Diane Goodspeed. Agility is a close second to hunting on Sly’s list of favorites so he’s continuing with Master Jumpers and Excellent Standard. In the past year has advanced through novice, open and excellent classes and who knows! Maybe there will be a PACH in his future. (… if my body holds up and I can learn as fast as he does).

Sly started with CGC and TKN at 7 months old. At one year old, he became a therapy dog with Alliance of Therapy Dogs and has already served more than 200 hours. He is so patient and sensitive on these visits. He also earned a CGCU, passed the ATT and received a FDC before he was 2 years old.

Like many dachshunds, Sly’s actual prey drive took a while to develop and manifest and we used that time for Rally, Tracking and Obedience. Sly earned his TD at 11 months of age, his RE and then CD at 18 months. Many thanks to Teryl Lebkuecher for tracking coaching. Admittedly, she did not think I was serious when I showed up for our first lesson with 4 dachshunds in my blue 911 Porsche but Sly proved her wrong. Teryl has supported my crew so 5 others of my dogs have also earned their TD.

He earned his RE before there was Masters in rally and so now is working on a RM, RAE and maybe, one day, a RACH. Terri Kerr worked patiently with Sly (and Sassy) to teach obedience foundation and more importantly taught me the footwork so we could earn the CD.

Dachshunds, to say the least, are not a coursing breed but we have easy access to lots of Fast CAT events here at Ev-Ry Farm. Sly couldn’t stay on the sidelines and earned his FCAT without leaving home. While pursuing plastic bags may not be within the job description, it nonetheless fosters and develops the instinct to pursue quarry and sure does result in some nice hard muscle tone for the conformation ring. He has also earned a CAA and is working on a CAX. (According to AKC, there are only 41 dachshunds who have ever earned a CAX and one is his gangmate, Nugget, who has also been the fastest FAST CAT dachshund or 4 of the past 5 years.)

Because Earthwork involves the awakening and application of an instinct in which the actual behavior is its own reward, the process of earth work is more difficult for some dogs. In many lines (including the

Rose Farm’s dogs which figure in Sly’s pedigree) entering to quarry may tak a year or two. The channeling of even the best prey drive into safe and efficient hunting behavior takes time…and it takes more time with Dachshunds than with some other breeds. Sly’s inherent gameness was evident early on, but to learn to follow the rules was a bit of a challenge. Although he has a Junior Earthdog title and a leg in Senior (and an AWTA Certificate of Gameness) it may be a while before we can convince him to jump through the hoops required for the more advanced levels. We hope 2023 brings an opportunity to attain an AWTA Working Certificate or completion of the NATC/DTK Natural Den Test.

The summer of 2023 will bring some serious training in live hunting skills. Many thanks to Richard Reynolds for his patience and encouragement until this instinct awoke. He is ready for field trips!!

In 2018, armed with two pet dachshunds and lots of enthusiasm, I headed to “Nationals” in Ohio. Festivities began with field trials. Thank heavens for Jessica Campbell who was parked in front of us and took us under her wing. I was a deer in headlights but loved the freedom of the field work and the energy the dogs had as they hunted. Field trials for dachshunds are about as close to the real thing as it gets for both dog and handler. The ability to follow a scent line and to mark the presence of quarry is the very essence of a continued on next page...