Dachshund Seminar

On a very bright and sunny Sunday in September, Eastern Counties Dachshund Association held a breed seminar at the Roecroft Centre, Stotfold in Hertfordshire, writes Ian Seath, ECDA Secretary.

The UK Dachshund Clubs have been proactive over the years in organising a series of education programmes. The Clubs have agreed a rigorous Assessment process which has the support of the Kennel Club and is the final step on the route to approval for the A2 Judging List. A stepping stone on that journey is basic breed education.

The aims of the day were twofold; firstly to educate people interested in the breed and secondly to provide a relaxed forum for sharing experience. It was specifically designed not to be a "Judging Seminar". The event was attended by about 40 people with a wide range of experience of Dachshunds, 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 focusing on the Breed Standard and movement and an afternoon of "hands-on" practical experience. It was explained that the Hands-on would only involve Smooth and Mini-smooth Dachshunds to enable people to make comparisons more easily between the various dogs present.

The speaker was Lesley Patton (Lesandnic Wire Dachshunds) who used a very patient chocolate Standard Smooth to talk through the Dachshund Breed Standard. This enabled all the elements of the standard to be covered, with Lesley’s additional anecdotes from her own experience. Much reference was made to Sayer’s Illustrated Standard of Points which is the "bible" for anyone serious about understanding the Dachshund. The focus of Lesley’s talk was to encourage attendees to identify aspects of the Standard to investigate further during the "hands-on" session in the afternoon, particularly in light of seeing each dog’s movement.

A demonstration of gait in the six dogs to be used in the hands-on session was followed by a Question and Answer session. During this, some of the differences between the six Dachshund varieties were discussed, examples of the Wire and Long coats were demonstrated and there was a lively debate about the weight limit for Miniatures.

After a break for lunch, the hall was rearranged for two hours of "Hands-on" sessions. Participants were split into small groups who stayed together and worked their way round six Dachshunds (two Standard Smooths and four Mini Smooths). At each table there was an example of the breed, its owner and/or an experienced breeder/judge to provide guidance to the group. Each group had up to fifteen minutes in which to quiz the experts and get their hands on the dog and to bring the Breed Standard to life. There was space in the middle of the Hall for further 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 session, with Lesley Patton back at the front. Lesley asked each of the dogs to move once more, gave her verbal critique of each and answered any final questions from the participants.

As the afternoon drew to a close, those who attended expressed their appreciation of Lesley (who has that rare combination of breed knowledge and the ability to communicate it clearly) 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. 100% of the returned Questionnaires rated the day overall as Excellent. The feedback has shown an overwhelmingly positive response to the day and we feel our aims were largely met. As always, 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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