Well, here it is, an update finally. After lots of training with Artus involving most every spare moment I had, going to train with Wild West Chapter members in Utah and Malad, Idaho, the time finally arrived to take Artus to the VJP in South Dakota.
It being my first time testing, I was very nervous to test him. I had a pretty good idea of how he would run, but no idea how the judges would score it. The VJP is a test in the German testing system (JGHV) that evaluates your dog's natural hunting abilities. They score the dog on several categories including tracking, use of nose, search, cooperation, and pointing. A month before the test, I was stressed over how well he was doing the hare track and his pointing was really inconsistent. At one point I decided I wasn't even going to go to the test because I figured he wasn't going to do well and I wasn't going to drive all the way to South Dakota to fail. I am really thankful to several Wild West Chapter members and my wife for taking extra time to help me work with my dog. A big thanks to Scott Nuss, Mike Ballard, Chazz Holt, Chad Jones, Shane Loveland, Zac White, Matt Norman, and Nate Bailey, for all their help. It was very appreciated. Also Jenny Horstman, Lynda Krull, and my breeder Tommy Chapman for always being available for advice on the phone.
Last week we finally headed to South Dakota. It was a long drive. About 15 hours each way. We left the older boys with family in Idaho Falls and took the baby. We weren't sure the boys would handle a 30 hour round trip with no stops for fun very well. Lynda Krull hosted the VJP and the grounds and the lodge were amazing! Last Friday we watched four dogs test. The weather was miserable with lots of rain and wind. I was happy not to be testing that day. We got to help push for rabbits and saw some good dogs run.
On Saturday, it was our turn. The weather was perfect for dog work. There were 5 dogs that tested in our group. Artus ran two hare tracks and was ok on the first and nailed the second one. He scored 11 in track which is very good. Also, for a long time I've known that when he sees fur that he can chase, he is vocal about it. It is something that can be marked on his papers but only if a judge sees it. On the second track, he followed the trail to the rabbit and when the rabbit broke cover, he was calling after it. This gets marked as sichtlaut, which means loud on sight. Then on the field search part of the test he ran just how I thought he would, but wasn't sure what the judges would see. They didn't tell us the scores at that point, but they did have Artus run twice which really stressed me out. Finally, we got back to the lodge for the scores to be read. Overall, he scored a 71 which will allow him to run in the Armbruster this fall. He scored a 10 in every category except tracking (11) and pointing (9). I was very excited and proud of my dog.
With my current work schedule being 2 weeks on and 1 week off, I will not have the time or consistency to get him ready for his fall test, the HZP at the Armbruster. Because of this, I am going to send him away for training for the next four months. I have mixed emotions about it because I'd really like to run him in the fall test myself, but after all the time away, the trainer will be running him instead. The positive side is that I think he will do really well at the fall test and he will come back ready to hunt this fall. In the meantime, we are going to have his hips and elbows x-rayed so they can be certified through the VDD. We will go down to see how he is doing whenever we can. I'm excited to see how this goes!
