Richard I. Bong State Training Grounds, Kansasville, Wisconsin
Report by Diane Calandra
What a couple days of testing, a HZP, a SOLMS/AZP and all with great weather. The handlers and dogs couldn’t have asked for a better testing weekend.
The grounds at Bong consist of 4515 acres of wildlife reserve and campsites, for hunting, fishing and most importantly, our favorite dog training grounds. There are five different ponds on which to train and test for water work. The grounds consist of diverse cover and woods, perfect for all the versatile testing we do in the German system.
On Friday, five dogs tested the HZP. This was the last HZP date available in the five state area we draw members from. The day started with our fieldwork, then the drags, and finished with our water testing. Judges Dan Myshin, John Calandra and myself witnessed some passionate DD’s in the field, searching for game and the high quality use of nose for pointing and searching.
The drag work showed some different styles of work from the dogs, some with nose to the ground and others who want to play the wind, which always makes the handler nervous. One of the dogs had too much fun, when a bunny seemed to take wings and fly several times. I’ve never seen this happen before, but I know we’ve all been there whether in training or testing.
The pond we used for duck search had wild ducks everywhere and made for some excitement for all to watch.
After all the testing was complete, four dogs passed the test and one fell short of passing. DD Violette II vd Rotterburg 179 points, DD Willow von Wildbundig 174 points, DL Adena vom Herzland 171 points and DD Utta II vd Ritterberg 171 points.
Saturday was the SOLMS/ AZP test with five dogs entered. The day started with fieldwork with one dog receiving a 4H in nose and another receiving a 4H in pointing.
The drags proved to be problematic for one of the dogs with a failure to return with the rabbit. However, the first time handler was encouraged by the judging team to continue the test for his testing experience.
Water work continued without any infractions. The gunfire stability and blind retrieves were all passing scores. The duck search was conducted at another pond with wild ducks in abundance. All dogs survived their water searches until the very last dog.
The last dog had a great water search with the dog finding the duck. The dog then chased and caught it successfully, but stopped in some grasses. The dog released the live duck and it subsequently escaped. It was judged as a failure to retrieve the duck which ended the dogs chance of passing.
Results were as follows
Ash vom Blue Grouse ( Karlos vom Klepenhagener Forst x Nova vom Thuringer Zipfel) Solms 1.
Bell vom Shining waters ( Bazin vom Golden Sun x Cora vom Hugel-Hafen) solms 0.
Apollo vom Smokey Valley (Karlos vom Klepenehagener F x Blitz vom Hochland) AZP 0 with a 4h for excellent pointing.
Anya vom Prairie Winds ( Jupp vom Flintenkamp x Athena rouche Jaune) AZP 1.
Elka vom Golden Sun ( KS Dack vom Silbergrube x Beatrix vom Golden Sun) AZP1.
We would like to thank all of the handlers who put in the time and effort to enter and present their dogs for testing. It is a big undertaking, but invaluable for the future direction of DK breedings
A big thank you to Eric Spodick, Jon Stollenwerk, Alan Stefan and Drew Johnson for their tireless support, help and camaraderie during the weekend. Support is so important to run a well organized test! All are apprenticing VR test judges, so supporting at tests is a great way to learn time management and logistics
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Good hunting and we hope to see everyone next year. Waidmansheil!