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2008 News
Diary of a VJP
The VJP is the spring “Youngster” or puppy test in the German hunt test system of the JGHV. This is the third Breton that we have tested in this system in as many years. Back in 2005 we first discovered that our imported dogs (who have FCI papers) were eligible for testing in this system. So when we acquired Capucine du Hameau de Sorny from Pierre Willems in December of 2007 it was a foregone conclusion that she would be tested.
We don’t have ANY rabbits in western Montana so once again I farmed her out with our good friend and trainer, Jeff Funke in Boise, Idaho for “Wabbit 101” training. A large part of the test is focused on the dog’s ability to track wild rabbits. Game conservation is the big focus in Germany and the dog’s ability to track is critical in the recovery of all types of game.
I dropped Capucine off in Boise on my way back from the National Specialty in Kansas. She had just four weeks to “put it together.” Bad news! Right off the bat Jeff called and said he thought she was not feeling well because she wouldn’t even leave his side. That was SO not like her. A couple days later he called back to say she had “hurked up” a brass rivet and part of a leather collar. Oh right, the one she chewed off of her buddy Hera’s neck in boredom in Kansas. That seemed to be the ticket and she was back to her normal self.
It took a few tries before she finally started to put two and two together. Jeff said she was tracking, but had no idea for what. Then finally contact was made and she got the picture – in a big way. She caught and retrieved a HUGE buck jackrabbit that Jeff said was as big as she was. He said “I think we’ve unleashed a monster though” as then she got ALL excited and just wanted to catch them.
I continued to get mixed reports for the next couple weeks. One day she was “on” the next day she was “GONE.” Yikes!
She was scheduled to run on Friday, April 4, so I drove down on Thursday. Jeff called to tell me I could come pick her up. Bad news. He was just going to let her have one more chukar at the end of the day and when he let her out of the box she bolted like a rocket and disappeared over the horizon. 30 minutes later she finally came back, tongue hanging out. Oh, this is not good. What if she does that in the test TOMORROW!
TEST DAY!
The day typically starts off at 6:00 AM when everyone congregates at the Kopper Kitchen restaurant for a hearty breakfast before we head for the field. All the paperwork is turned in to the test coordinator (you must submit your pedigree and rabies certification before the dog is allowed to run). You would think I would remember NOT to drink “one more cup of coffee” as there are no “facilities” out there and the sagebrush (although tall) is not THAT tall. Dumb!
There were five dogs running that day, 3 Deutsch Drahthaar, 1 Pudelpointer, and 1 Breton. The first order of business is the Gun Sensitivity test. Each dog is taken for a short jaunt in the field and two shots are fired to evaluate the dog’s reaction to gunfire. If a dog is rated “gunshy” it may not continue any further. This was the first chance I’d had to run Capucine so in the back of my mind I wondered if she would take off like she did the day before.
Bang – bang – “Okay, you can pick her up.” TWEEEET – as she flew by me at mock 40 I reached out and “snagged” her collar. Whew! That’s over.
Now the fun begins. All the dogs (except for one Drahthaar who was in heat), handlers, judges, apprentice judges, and “beaters” gather up and head for the hills. (The dog in heat ran after all the other dogs were done so she didn’t distract anyone’s performance.) The idea is to locate and track the wild rabbits. As each rabbit is produced each dog takes a turn for an opportunity to track it. The judge marks the spot where the rabbit was first sighted, a dog is brought up and once it acknowledges the trail, it is released to see if it can produce the bunny. If it actually finds the rabbit and barks on the trail it is marked “sight loud.” If it barks on the fresh scent it is marked “scent loud.” Being either sight or scent loud is a basic requirement if the dog is going to be later tested in the VGP or utility test.
And so it goes – first one dog, then the next hopefully gets a good opportunity to show its ability to track. The bad news was – even though the condition of the grounds was better than I’d ever seen it – that didn’t mean much to the rabbits. They were just “not to be found.” Each dog can have up to five opportunities to track, but that day it just wasn’t going to happen. It was frustrating for everyone as we marched first this way and then that way in futile search. Capucine had two shots at it; the second being her “best” but not what I thought she was capable of doing, not based on what Jeff said he had seen her do in the past week. Finally a third rabbit was spotted and we hurried to the spot. Unfortunately she was distracted by someone walking away from the area and as I tried to get her attention back on what she was supposed to do – my slip lead got caught on her collar and jerked her almost off her feet. There went THAT track. She completely lost focus and didn’t get back on the trail. Dang it! (I think I uttered something along that line, although from the shocked look on the judge’s face – it might have been slightly different.)
That was IT! No more rabbits. I was sick that I had cost her the last opportunity to get a good score. Stupid lead!
By this time we were back at the trucks and the rabbit business was done. Everyone felt the frustration, especially the judges as they really wanted to see more of the dogs. Four hours and who knows how many miles of walking for a dismal 10 rabbits (or thereabouts). All they could do was use what information they had.
Following a short break for lunch they started the field search. Each dog is run for approximately 20 minutes in all directions to evaluate how the dog adjusts it search to compensate for the changing wind direction. First you go WITH the wind, ACROSS the wind and finally INTO the wind to a bird field where at least two chukar have been planted. The dog is judged on the thoroughness of its search, its use of nose, cooperation with the handler and finally the point.
Capucine was dog number 4. I was still a little nervous because a bit of that earlier independence had surfaced during the rabbit tracking as she became more and more reluctant to come when I called her. But this was it. We walked a short distance and the Senior Judge said “You can let her go whenever you are ready.” Big gulp – here goes. I calmed her briefly and then unhooked the leash and gave her a hearty “HIE ON!” And that was the last I saw of her for probably two minutes. The judge said “She’s been waiting for THIS all day.” I tried not to show my trepidation as I gamely marched on and joked with the judge “Gee this sagebrush is so tall I can’t see her.” Fortunately he was considerably taller than I am and he replied, “Oh – she’s just over to your left!” Well lo and behold – there she was, tongue hanging out again, but finally ready to hunt. I got a big grin on my face as we headed out as she began to do her “Breton thing,” zipping in and out of the sagebrush, checking back and then moving out perfectly. We started to make a turn and the judge realized we’d covered the ground much faster than some of the other dogs [surprise] so he started to suggest that we head out a little further when WHOOPS she caught scent of the bird field from who knows how far and made a bee-line in that direction. We waited for a few seconds – I blew my whistle once – to no avail and he said “We’ll not get her back now; we might as well follow her.” The words were no sooner out of his mouth than WHAM she slammed on point a good 150 yards away from me. One of the other judges (who had planted the birds) was waiting nearby so he raised his arm to indicate that she was on point. I started to hurry across the field (as fast as I could go after four hours of hiking over hill and dale). The judge lowered his arm and raised his other arm. Then jokingly he switched back and forth from one arm to the other – like he was getting tired of holding his arm up. I finally got there and Capucine looked at me out of the corner of her eye as if to say “Well, it’s ABOUT TIME you got here!” I turned to the judge to get his approval to proceed, he gave me the nod, and I walked up to her and picked her up - literally. (Easy to do with a Breton.)
The judge asked me to leash her, lead her away and re-release her. They would like to see her point one more time. As we were walking he asked if I had trained her to be that steady. I grinned and said “Absolutely not. She’s been like that from the day I got her.” He shook his head in amazement.
I re-released her; she resumed her hunt; and completed the field portion with a second very solid point. (Yee HAW!)
After all the dogs had completed their run and the conformation judgment was done; [verification of their tattoo, teeth, eyes, coat, etc]; the scores were read. I was pleased that she got a 6 in tracking, (in spite of my goof up), which is in the “good” category of the scores. But the clincher was her field scores: 10 in Nose, 10 in Search, 11 in Pointing (Whoo Hoo!) and 10 in Cooperation for a total score of 63. Not bad I’d say since 11 is the best you can get in a 12 point system, outside of truly extenuating circumstances! We’ll TAKE IT!!!
So now the work begins. We have roughly 5 months to get ready for the next test – the HZP!
Past Accomplishments/
Archives
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National Epagneul Breton Specialty Show - Weatherford, OK
May 25, 2002 |
National Epagneul Breton Specialty Show and T.A.N - Plainfield, IN May 3,4 2003 |
North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association Natural Ability Test May 26, 2003 |
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National Epagneul Breton Specialty Show - Armour, SD April 2, 2004 |
Archive of News from 2004 | Archive of News from 2005 |
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Archive of News from 2006 |
Archive of News from 2007 | |
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