My journey Part two
Well here goes after just 9 months since picking up Watzmann my Bayrische Gebirgsschweibhunde (BGS) we set off for the little town called Owen about 15miles east of Stuttgart in the Baden-Wurttemberg area.
We were on route to our Vorprüfung weekend in Rothenbuch Spessart, Feeling very nervous I was going to see if my 9 months of training with Watzmann was going to pay off.
We spent the first couple of days in the little village called Owen with German and his lovely Family we drank beer and chatted about hunting stories with the whole family who also have a passion for hunting and dogs.
We visited the forests in the day to get Watzmann used to the different smells and different scents, The woodlands are full of beech trees and a lot of leave litter on the floor. Being nearly 30 degrees in the day time we decided the forest was the best place to be, !
Friday morning we said our goodbyes to Germans family We then drove two hours to the north to the town called Rothenbuch in the spessart area this place was stunning and surrounded by woodland mostly beech trees again with some pine, we also saw a red hind and calf on the side of the road on the way in always nice to see.
After a good meal in the local Hotel 4 oclock was near and we headed up to the hundplatz the meeting place for the first test the gun shyness nature test. On arrival at the Hundplatz we was greeted by a lot of KBGS members and Judges all very nice people and it gave me that family feeling witch helped settle my nerves a little!
The time had come and guess what I was called up first my self and Watzmann headed up the field in front of fifty or so people a guy with a un moderated rifle was waiting for me to unleash Watzmann and he needs to be 30 meter s away before the shot is fired ……… BANG and Watzmann stayed calm probably calmer than me at this point,
I leashed him back up and that was the first part ok a massive sigh of relieve we trained this a lot but you never know what can happen on the day.
After watching the handlers and hounds we headed back to the hotel spesshardt for some beers and a good nights sleep ready for the second day of the vorprüfung.
Morning had come and now I was feeling very nervous and couldn’t eat much breakfast my stomach was in knots, We headed back to the Hundplatz meeting place on driving up the road there were cars everywhere and properly 80 or more people at the venue it wasn’t helping my nerves much ,
We were split in to groups and we picked a bag which gave us our track number I had drawn number two and was glad of not going last!
After the greetings the traditional horns were blown and gives you a great feeling! I spent an hour walking Watzmann around just to keep himself and me calm before my track,
The time had come for my test we headed off the forrest I was met by three judges and a trainee judge who would all be following me on the track I leashed Watzmann up on the tracking leash and he knew what he had to do and for me it was time to trust the dog , We entered the shot sight area and we found the shot sight in a few minutes and steadily started tracking following at a nice pace, Watzmann was on track and looking good,
With watzmann looking good on and off track a few times working it out for himself I was happy with his progress we had done a sharp 90 degree turn to the right and was heading for some boar disturbance where they had been in the night,
The track I was on was around 24hrs old we tracked on and this area really slowed him up with so much boar activity, Watching and trusting him we went through a scrub patch and he was more focused taking another sharp 90 degree turn steadily he tracked on leaving markers every 30 meters or so I Could always go back if needed,
After about 15 or 20 minutes the hound stopped very intrested, after taking in the leash to see what Watzmann had found, the Verweisen point,we had reached the wound bed.
Watzmann was now head down working the track, around 100 meters later we have reached the wild boar a massive sigh of relief I could not of been any happier with watzmann after a good fuss and feed I lay him down next to the beast where he can’t attempt to eat it , With no attempt after some time
the judges then have to approach him to check for protection of the beast ,
With Watzmann not giving too much sign of aggression that was that part done. We then headed off down the forest for the last few parts of the test the next couple of parts consisted of obedience and line work we completed this with no problems at all.
Time for the last part now I have to say this was the longest part of my life I put watzmann in to ablegen (lay down ) and walked away at a minimum of 100m out of view and a shot is fired and the hound can not move with the shot going off I waited thinking please don’t move this felt like waiting an iternity ! Time was up and the judge said go collect you dog ! That was it all the training had payed off and he never moved from where I lay him.
I could not have been any happier with Watzmann he has done me proud ! I was handed the two pine leaves one for me and one for watzmann that was the greatest feeling ever, knowing I have achieved vorprüfung with Watzmann.
We went back to the hundplatz where we was congratulated by others and the judges of the KBGS awarded us I had a cracking engraved glass and a cracking leather jager lead.
This has been an amazing experience for me and all achieved in 9 months I would like to thank everyone in the UKSHA for there support and advice, A big thank you to the KBGS for a very well organised event! , A big thank you to German and his family for there support, And thank you to my mate Paul who accompanied me on this trip and has supported me all the way,
Last of all my Girlfriend kay and two sons for allowing me to once again follow my passion . looking forward to the next step of this incredible journey TIME TO GET TRACKING !!
Kind Regards
Jim Simpson
