Kennel Moniker

6 days and 3500 km through the length of Sweden. A very long road trip that ended with great results.

Barbwired Champagne “Liina” was awarded 2x BOS with CACIBs from breed judge Marina Kovalenko (RU) and Anne Sume (EE), both days with lovely critiques!

Additionally, Barbwired Better than the Rest was Ex and BM4 in Ch class under judge Kovalenko. The long trip was a bit hard on our boy and we decided not to show him on the second day, so he was our kennel cheerleader instead. 🙂

We were lucky to have sunny skies, beautiful summer weather and great traveling companions for our crazy trip. We really saw the beauty that Sweden has to offer including our first wild moose and midnight sun. What an experience!

The show queen ready for bed after the long weekend.

For fun photos of the dogs in their natural element, big achievements, and just goofy, everyday life, please feel free to follow us on instagram: Moniker Kennel

1750 km round trip in 48 hours… I must be crazy. That craziness paid off, though, and I am excited to report that Liina (Ch. Barbwired Champagne) won big in Dortmund.

At the VDH-Europasieger Exhibition, one of the biggest shows in Germany, Liina won:

Exc1, VDH-CAC, DTK-CAC, CACIB, BOB

from 25 entered miniature wires under judge A. Küppenbender (DE).

Additionally, these results fulfilled Liina’s CIB & CIE titles and qualified her for Cruft’s 2018.

We are tired, but what an adrenaline rush! Still over the moon about our win and so proud of my little girl!

With that her trip to Germany ends with amazing success: 3 passed hunting examinations (sfk, Sp, BhFK/95) and 3 new titles.

A great many thanks to my good friend Joana Krietsch for suggesting I join her at the show. It was beyond memorable, not only in kilometers driven. 🙂

Now we are all back in Sweden and ready to relax and enjoy the beautiful summer weather.

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Liina had a lot of work to do on her birthday, but we are happy to report that the little girl did us proud and she can now add the title: BhFK/95 bestanden behind her name.

Congratulations little girl!

A big, big happy birthday to all our dogs! Funnily enough, they are all April babies.

Baxter was born on April 1st and turned 5 years old this year.

Freddie was born on April 20th and turned 7 years old.

Finally, our little dvärg Liina turned 3 years old on April 21st.

All of the dogs are lovely inside and out and I am blessed to have shared my life with each of them. I am looking forward to many, many more birthdays together.

A very happy Easter holiday from Liina, Baxter, and I!

In Germany there are a few aptitude tests that dachshunds must meet in order to not only move onto more difficult and Elite tests (Natural tests, VGP, VP) and in order to be approved for breeding.

Spurlaut (literally translates to “Loud on trail”) is a test used to test the nose, desire, line security, and voicing of the dog. For an old post that I wrote regarding how Spurlaut works in Germany see this Spurlaut Post.

Even though I am now living in Sweden, I wanted to check my own breeding stock to ensure that this genetic trait is still present. In Sweden, Dachshunds can partake in 3 different hunting-type exams: viltspår (blood tracking), drev (hunting), and gryt (underground). Drev is the closest to spurlaut, but it is still very different. Even though hunting tests are not a requirement for breeding in Sweden, I think it is important to maintain these qualities.

We are happy to report that Liina has 2 new “titles” from Germany to put behind her name: Sfk and Sp!

Sfk= Schussfestigkeit (Shot steadiness)

Sp= Spurlaut

Not all dachshunds love water (Freddie can attest to that), but Baxter is a bit of a water rat. His mama Iiris is also a water lover. Liina has yet to make her point of view known.

From the first week we had him, Baxter showed off his swimming ability. The little guy thought that the lilypads in my friend’s garden were sturdy enough to hold him. With a splash, I ran over to save the little pup, only to find him swimming away like a pro. I lifted him out of the pond only to hear another splash a little while later…

His first passed hunting exam was water retrieving, which he did with gusto, earning full points and being asked to stay on as a back up dog in case someone didn’t want to swim out to the duck.

By this point, it should come as little surprise that Baxter will wade into any body of water we come across. While out for out first sunny, warm, spring-like day this year, we found a small pond in the dog park down in Malmö. After finding a stick (then a bigger stick), we had some fun retrieving until my little “otter” decided that the water was just too cold for him. The air is starting to feel like spring and the blue skies are giving everyone a much needed energy jolt. Here are a few photos, proving that dachshunds can love water! 🙂