ECDA Seminar 1998

On a very wet and windy Saturday in October 1998, Eastern Counties 
Dachshund Association and the Basset Fauve Club held a joint breed 
seminar at Langford Village Hall in Bedfordshire, writes Ian Seath, ECDA 
Secretary.


The aims of the day were twofold; firstly to educate people interested in 
the breeds and secondly to provide a relaxed forum for sharing 
experience.  It was specifically designed not to be a "Judging Seminar".  
The event on October 24th was attended by about 70 people with a 
wide range of experience of Dachshunds and Fauves, as well as those 
from other breeds simply interested in learning more.


ECDA Chairman Jean Matthews introduced the day and welcomed 
everyone.  The day was divided into a morning session with guest 
speakers describing the breeds and an afternoon of "hands-on" practical 
experience.  


The first speaker was Nora Price (Samlane Mini Wire Dachshunds) who 
used overhead projection slides to talk through the Dachshund Breed 
Standard.  This enabled all the elements of the standard to be covered, 
with Nora's additional anecdotes from her own experience.  The focus of 
her talk was to encourage attendees to identify aspects of the Standard 
to investigate further during the "hands-on" session in the afternoon.  A 
brief demonstration of gait in the Mini Wire, Mini Long and Standard Long 
was followed by a Question and Answer session.  During this, some of 
the differences between the six Dachshund breeds were discussed, 
including a lively debate about dentition.


Eddie Dawe followed on with an explanation of the history of the Basset 
Fauves, explaining their hunting origins in France as well as the 
derivation of the name.  We were left in no doubt that "Fauve" meant a 
breed of dog, not a particular colour!  Eddie also spoke about the various 
imported dogs over recent years and the influence these had had on the 
breed, commenting in particular on the challenge facing enthusiasts of 
bringing what were essentially hunting dogs into a non-hunting 
environment in the UK.


It fell to Pam Aldous (Sweetdean) to speak about the Basset Fauve 
Breed Standard and her approach differed to Nora Price's in that she 
chose to talk through the Standard with the aid of two Fauves, a puppy 
and an older, top-winning bitch.  Pam worked through the Standard, 
illustrating key features on the two dogs, as well as on several 
poster-sized photographs she had brought.  These dogs were also used 
to demonstrate gait and the final Question and Answer session tended to 
focus on coat and colour.


After a break for lunch, the hall was rearranged for an hour and a half 
"Hands-on" session.  Participants were split into groups who stayed 
together and worked their way round nine hounds.  At each table there 
was an example of the breed, its owner and/or an experienced 
breeder/judge to provide guidance to the group.  In all, there were three 
Fauves and representatives of all six Dachshund varieties.  Each group 
had ten minutes in which to quiz the experts and get their hands on the 
dog so as to bring the Breed Standard to life.  There was space in the 
middle of the Hall for demonstrations of gait, so people could see the 
dogs moving as well as posed on the tables.


By three o'clock it was time for a brief refreshment break and then time 
for the final Question and Answer session, with Pam Aldous and Nora 
Price back at the front.  Once again, the questions turned to coat and 
colour as well as the issue of breeding within the various Dachshund 
breeds, which has not been permitted since 1977.  While some people 
felt there would be benefits to be gained from an ability to "cross-breed", 
most were agreed that it was preferable in the long-term, that 
Dachshunds should remain recognised by the Kennel Club as six distinct 
breeds.  Perhaps the most provocative question was whether Standard 
Dachshunds should be weighed, like their miniature cousins.  
Unsurprisingly, Miniature breeders felt they should and views were split 
among breeders of Standards!


As the afternoon drew to a close, those who attended expressed their 
appreciation of the speakers and the ladies in the kitchen who had 
provided the buffet lunch and kept us topped up with tea and coffee.  
The final task was to complete a brief Questionnaire of the day to provide 
feedback to the organisers.  This has shown an overwhelmingly positive 
response to the day and we feel our aims were largely met.  There are 
things to learn, and to improve upon, and we will take note of these, but 
we are pleased that so many people found the day to be both informative 
and enjoyable.

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