I first learned of the Deutscher Wachtelhund
while living in Germany from 1988 to 1993. I obtained a German Jagdschein
(hunting license) in early 1988 and have kept it renewed since then.
During my five years in Germany, I hunted behind numerous German hunting breeds,
but the Wachtelhund struck my fancy because of its hunting passion
and friendliness. I purchased my first Wachtelhund in 1991 and brought a
pair of them to Alaska in 1993.
While in Alaska, I bred my
Wachtelhunds between 1995 and 1998, selling 33 Wachtelhund pups from four
litters. I have been promoting the Deutscher Wachtelhund in North America
since 1995. I have translated and written roughly fifty percent, or more
of all information currently printed in English on the Deutscher Wachtelhund.
In 1995, I translated my first VDW document
and provided copies to all Wachtelhund buyers in North America. It was titled, “Desired
Information for the Wachtelhund Buyer.” I mailed this document to hundreds of
people interested in the Deutscher Wachtelhund from 1995 to 2000 .
In 2001, I
corrected some translation errors and more correctly re-titled it, “Verein
for Deutsche Wachtelhund Training and Breeding Information
,” which is
part of this web site.
In 1995, I worked with Gary Gerhrman, of
Ontario, Canada; to get the United Kennel Club (UKC) to recognize the Deutscher
Wachtelhund. Actually, Gary had done most of the ground work with the UKC. I
talked with Cindy Cook from the UKC several times while they were trying to
decide which dog breeds to recognize in 1996. The UKC has a policy to recognize
twenty new breeds each year. In January 1996, the UKC started registering
Wachtelhunds. That January, I was the first to register nine Wachtelhunds with
the UKC, my initial pair and seven pups.
Like Gary, I was disappointed when the
UKC registered them as German Spaniels. The Germans do not consider the
Wachtelhund a Spaniel and actually classify the Wachtelhund separate from all
the other flushing (Spaniel) breeds. During 1996, I corresponded with Cindy
Cook (UKC) numerous times and sent the UKC German books on Hunting Dog Breeds to
show the various classifications. The UKC later agreed to register them as
Deutscher Wachtelhunds.
In 2000, I provided
VersatileDogs.com with their
Deutscher Wachtelhund description. In 2002, at the request of Fancy
Publications, Inc; I wrote another Deutscher Wachtelhund description for their
published Dog Bible. I have provided Wachtelhund descriptions
to numerous pet web sites.
In 2002, I translated the Deutscher Wachtelhund
breed description and standards from Heinrich Hecker’s book, “Der Deutsche Wachtelhund” and began
a two year process, again working with Cindy Cook, to get the UKC to publish the
Deutscher Wachtelhund Breed Standard. The UKC did so in 2004.
In 2000, I visited Germany to attend a
Wachtelhund field trial, meeting Eberhard and Lutz Morgenstern. They are
Wachtelhund judges for the German State of Sachsen. Lutz gave me his personal book
and notes from his Wachtelhund Formwertricher (Conformation Judge) School and
the VDW Hunt Measurement Rules and Judging Book. Much of this information has
been incorporated into this web site. Wachtelhund information from this web
site and Desired Information for the Wachtelhund Buyer have been used by
numerous people and media, some with my permission and a lot with out. Nobert Sammer and Kraig Glazier have used some of my
information for their Wachtelhund web sites with my permission. Chad
Richardson, with my permission, used some of my information to write his GunDog
article on the Deutscher Wachtelhund earlier this year.
In 2001, I returned to Germany to hunt Russian
boar and Red deer in Sachsen (East Germany) with the Morgensterns. I also
hunted Roe deer in Rhineland Phaltz (West Germany) with my long time friend Hans
Bader. Hans taught me how to train my first Wachtelhund. Hans Bader is a
retired policeman and has had a hunting lease in Germany for nearly twenty-five
years. He has trained numerous hunting and K-9 police dogs. He has won several
first place and numerous other trophies with his K-9 dogs in international
competition.
In 2004, I again returned to Germany to hunt
with Hans Bader and pick up a male Wachtelhund pup.
I currently have three Wachtelhunds;
a nine year old male, a 5 year old female and a one year old female. I co-own a
male Wachtelhund with Kraig Glazier and a female with Chuck Bowen, both have
been used for breeding. I've
imported over 40 Wachtelhund pups, some have already been bred other will be
bred in the future.
In 2004, I started working with the VDW to establish a Wachtelhund
club in North America. In 2006, with the help of Bill Wright we
incorporated the Deutscher Wachtelhund North America, Inc (DWNA) Club in
Wisconsin. The DWNA started taking memberships in January 2008. By
2009 we had 30 plus members and 6 kennels registered.