AtzeIIhasenspur

Two weeks later we were in Germany and it was time to go to work. It was remarkable to watch Atze change as the proverbial light dawned. Though Atze had done some long drags before we brought him home to Canada, it had been 3 months since he had the opportunity to run in fields with rabbit and hare. He was now 5 months old.It was fascinating to see the proverbial light dawn over the successive training sessions.

We started out by doing 2 drags on the first training session. Then we looked for hare. This was the way Atze worked his first track. He knew to put his nose down, but he was trotting along, checking things out. Was he ever excited when the hare started to run. Even when it went into the high wheat, he followed it. The next track we worked was where we had seen three hare sitting. Atze didn't seem to be interested. Yet, he worked the field. Suddenly, we saw him lift his head, and then back down went the nose, and he started moving, very quickly. Occasionally his head would come up to work the scent cones as they rose from the field, and then down it would go again. Atze worked the whole length of the field and then we saw it. A hare broke cover at the end of the field and off it went, Atze in hot pursuit.

He knew better than us. Why work a cold trail when there was a fresher one?

Below you can see Atze working a hare track from one of his last training sessions. He knows what working hare is all about. The light has dawned and there's no turning back. Atze has become a hare FIEND. It was wonderful to see the awakening of his drive. He learned quickly. His last track he worked like an experienced pro, through four turns, across a farm road, through grass into corn, into wheat and then into the forest, about 500 meters in all.

Of course, he got a lot of his drive from his famous grandfather PPS Flax vom Grünen Weg and his mother PPS Wenke vom Centralhof. Certainly there is a strongfamily resemblance. That resemblance fairly obvious in this photo of the three generations, relaxing in the garden after a training session with Atze.

Flax is on the far left, Wenke is in the middle and Atze is on the extreme right. The light in Atze's eyes in the right-hand photo, is the light for Hasenspur and using his nose effectively, dawning in his brain. He has gone from going on instinct, to going to work. But what about the other side of the pedigree? What of his father, PPS Mogli vom Orsoyer Land?

Well, Mogli has added a strong influence on the breeding himself. Atze's strength in the water comes from him. Mogli also has taught his son about fox and Atze is more than eager to participate in the dispatching of a fox. Just ask one of our other pudelpointers, Umea. She had possession of a fox she had dealt with, but on her return to hand with it, Atze ran up to her to try to take it away. That incident ended with both dogs carrying the fox; Umea had the body but Atze was helping her by carrying the legs.

So, Atze's sire Mogli added speed and an extra dash of drive into the mix. He would come along with us when were training, and after we were done, he would show us all what he was made of. Of course, his breeder and trainer, Michaela always knew what Mogli had in his soul. They have a bond that makes for perfect teamwork. It is something special to see.

Now, we have to do our work to shape and form all that is Atze's potential. We were privileged to have the opportunity to learn about what to watch for in a pup as it realizes the joy of working game, not just chasing it. We learned to evaluate the pup's rate of progress. We learned to help the dog and to set up new challenges for it.

And we were reminded of how much responsibility we carry for creating the final product years down the road.

The work continues at home. One thing we have learned is that you have to take advantage of training opportunities as they arise. A young fox from last year's litter, had been trotting through the front field. he came up towards the house, skirted the dog run and went to the front driveway. He paused, debating between chicken or duck for dinner. He must have been having a difficult time making up his mind, because he stood there for over 2 minutes. It was more than enough time to gather everything together to deal with the situation.

I have to say Jeremy's shot was impressive. it turned out to be a 50 meter crossing away shot. But that was not the difficult part. The trick was to shoot without going for the body. .

We took Atze out to retrieve the fox. He had played with an old fox from the freezer with his father Mogli in Germany. He had also tried to take away a fox that Umea had dispatched back in May (where are the three Judge's when you need them?). This day was a new lesson in work. This would be the first fox work for Atze by himself and to make the situation more difficult, a very fresh dispatch with no scent to relate to from other dogs.

We watched him start to sniff around in the spot where the fox had stood while thinking about his choice for dinner. It was exactly the same as when Atze was working a hare track in Germany. He followed the path the fox had taken when Jeremy opened the door and the fox realized he had to run away. Atze worked the scent right up to the fox. He sniffed at it, and jumped back slightly. But, then Atze went back to it, took another cautious sniff, and picked it up without any further hesitation.

When we told this part of the story to a friend ( and JGHV Judge) whose insight we value highly, her comment was .... "Kudos to Azte for just slightly hesitating before picking it up. Shows caution wanting to make sure the animal was dead and not still alive putting the dog in a bad position."

Here are the results

We were very proud of our young dog, ecstatic actually! He was 3 days shy of being 7 months old.