DK:
Denne seneste weekend afholdt Danmarks Jægerforbund en “Jagt- og Outdoor Messe” i Odense. For lang tid siden så jeg en annonce, hvor der stod, at man kunne tilmelde sig et “Uofficielt DM i indendørs apportering”. Det skulle foregå på vildt. Jeg tænkte, at det da lige var noget for Vixen og jeg. Hun er total spontan overfor alt vildt (på nær ræv), så det turde jeg godt binde af med. Så jeg fik meldt hende til. Der var plads til 10 deltagere om lørdagen og 10 om søndagen. Så det var slet ikke sikkert, at jeg fik en plads.
Efter nogle uger fik jeg besked om, at vi var udtrukket til at deltage. Man havde dog ændret set-up’et, så det i stedet var på dummyer. OK med mig.
Søndag den 25. marts kørte vi så til Odense sammen med Helle og Kim. Jeg havde på Facebook set lidt om, hvad det egentlig gik ud på, så jeg var ikke så nervøs. Der skulle apporteres fire forskellige dummyer i fire forskellige typer “terræn”: Vand, gran, skrub og over spring. Jeg vidste, at Vixen i teorien sagtens kunne klare udfordringen. Det usikre moment var, om omgivelserne ville slå hende ud af kurs. Det skulle jo foregå i en hal med masser af larm og andre hunde, så alt kunne i princippet gå galt. Imidlertid oplever jeg Vixen som utrolig fokuseret, når hun skal arbejde, så jeg tænkte, at det nok skulle gå.
Man ville få tildelt op til 5 point for hver apportering. Derudover ville der blive givet 5 point til hurtigste hund, 4 point til næst hurtigste etc.
Der var afsat 10 min. til hver hund, men det tog slet ikke så lang tid. Så da det blev min tur, kom det lidt bag på mig. Nå, men jeg stillede mig i midten af arenaen, og Vixen fik lov til at markere de fire dummyer i hvert hjørne.
Vi skulle starte med “vandmarkeringen”, dernæst springet, så granerne og til sidst skrubbet.
Man må starte, når den sidste dummy er kastet. Jeg gør klar til at sende Vixen, da jeg opdager, at jeg ikke har fået min fløjte på. Så den skal jeg lige finde frem. Det gik der nogle sekunder med. Vixen tøver ganske lidt, da hun kommer hen til det lavvandede bassin men går ud i det uden opmuntring fra mig. Hun tøver også lidt, da hun skal samle dummyen op (en gummitinges med dutter på). Men hun tager den og kommer fint retur og afleverer til hånd.
Så sender jeg hende på springet. Først prøver hun at komme under, men hun hopper hurtigt over, samler spontant op og kommer fint hjem.
Så sender jeg hende over i granerne. Hun går først forkert. Måske er det fordi jeg ikke brugte min sædvanlige “Holger-plade” – jeg ved det ikke. Jeg får kaldt hende tilbage, får pladen i hånden og sender hende igen. Nu går hun direkte ud til granerne. Efter lidt søgen finder hun dummyen og kommer fint retur.
Sidste apportering er skrubbet. Her samler hun op med det samme og kommer flot hjem.
Og så var det slut.
Jeg var rigtig godt tilfreds med hendes indsats. Jeg burde have tænkt mere over tidsfaktoren, for vi brugte en del tid, som ikke var nødvendig. Vi vandt da heller ikke. Jeg ved ikke, hvad placering vi fik, men jeg vil gætte på, at vi var blandt top 3.
Begrundelsen for at melde hende til var, at jeg gerne vil vise “jagtverdenen”, at en toller også er en jagthund, der rent faktisk kan bruges. Tollerklubben havde en godt besøgt stand på messen, men ingen af de hunde, der deltog på standen, var meldt til apporteringskonkurrencen – på trods af at de fleste var prøvehunde og fint kunne have gjort en god figur. Så jeg er glad for, at jeg dukkede op med Vixen – og at vi gjorde det OK.
Leif optog vores præstation, og den kan ses her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3TLBA7hNqg
Helle optog det fra en anden vinkel. Det kan ses her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgR_kAe4NhU&feature=youtu.be
Vixen mødte en løve på messen / Vixen met a lion on the trade fair
UK:
This weekend the Danish Association of Hunters held a trade fair (Hunting and Outdoor fair) in Odense. Long time ago, I saw that it would be possible to enter a competition called “Unofficial Danish Championship in Indoor Retrieving”. It was supposed to be on cold game. As Vixen picks up every kind of game (except from fox), I felt comfortable participating. So I entered her. There was a limit of 10 participants on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. So I wasn’t guaranteed a spot.
After a few weeks, I was told that we were going to participate. However, the set-up had been changed so now the dogs had to retrieve dummies. OK with me.
On Sunday 25 March, Leif, Helle, Kim and I drove to Odense. I had seen some video of the completion on Saturday on Facebook, so I knew what I was about and I was not nervous. The dogs had to retrieve four different dummies from four different “terrains”: Water, spruce, rough and a jump over a log. I knew that Vixen – in theory – could do the job. The uncertainty was if the surroundings affected her. We were in a trade fair hall with lots of people and lots of dogs, so everything could go wrong. On the other hand, Vixen is extremely focused when she works so I guessed that she would do fine.
You could get from 1-5 point for every retrieve. Furthermore, the fastest dog would get 5 points, the second fastest 4 points etc.
The time limit for each dog was 10 minutes. However, it didn’t take that long for any of the dogs. So when it was my turn, I was a bit surprised. Well, I entered the “stage” and had Vixen mark the four dummies in each corner as they were thrown.
We had to start with the “water mark”, then the jump, then the spruce and lastly the rough.
We were allowed to start when the last dummy had been thrown. I prepare to cast Vixen and discover that my whistle is still in my pocket. So I took a few seconds to find it. Vixen then hesitates very little when she reaches the “pool” with water but she enters willingly. The she hesitates when she has to pick up the dummy (a rubbery one with studs on it). However, she picks up, returns to me and delivers to hand.
Then I send her for the jump. First she tries to get under. However, she quickly jumps over, picks up and returns.
The next one is the one in the spruces. First she takes a wrong direction. I call her back and send her again. I normally use a white piece of plastic when I do direction work and I didn’t when I cast her the first time. The second time, I have the white plate in my hand and she goes directly to the spruces. After having searched a little, she finds the dummy and brings it back.
The last one is the one in the rough. She goes straight out, picks up and returns to me.
And then it was over.
I was very happy with our efforts. However, I should have thought more about the time factor; we used some time which wasn’t necessary to use. And we didn’t win. I don’t know how we were placed but I guess that we were among Top 3.
My reason for entering her into this competition is, that I would like to show the “hunting world” that a Toller is also a hunting dog which actually is able to work. The Danish Toller Club had a well-attended exhibition stand on the trade fair. However, none of the Tollers that were part of this exhibition stand had been entered into the completion – despite that most of them are hunting test dogs and would have done a great job. So I am happy that I showed up with Vixen – and that we did OK.
Leif took some video of our performance. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3TLBA7hNqg
Helle also videotape dus – from another angel. You can see that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgR_kAe4NhU&feature=youtu.be
