Hunting Tests With Teckels in Canada

The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is the only registry for dogs in Canada. No health or working tests are required to register a litter. Breeders take it upon themselves to set their dogs' individual health and working standards. Most breeders breed pets and do not select for workability.

The pricing of a puppy varies greatly, and breeders raise puppies with different focuses on socialization, training, and/or purpose.  Dedicated working breeders invest their knowledge and financial resources into a litter, and their efforts should be validated. A good idea is to question a breeder on their qualifications and knowledge about purpose and the breed's health and training issues. Teckel are bred in standard colours wildboar (saufarben), black and tan (schwarzrot), chocolate and tan (brown or braun saufarben), red (rot or duerrlaub), and black dapple (Schwarztiger) or brown dapple (Brauntiger).  Any variation of white, cream, or blonde is not permitted under German Standard, due to health reasons. The Canadian Kennel Club offers conformation shows for Teckels in three hair varieties, long, short-haired and wire-haired, and two sizes, mini and standard.

 

https://www.ckc.ca/CanadianKennelClub/media/Breed-Standards/Group%202/Dachshund.pdf

 

There are only a few options to work a Teckel in breed-specific sports within the Canadian Kennel Club.

We consider the following tests good working tests for our Teckels as they are not easily passed without training and require drive and courage, close to the typical Teckel sports available elsewhere:

 

Earthdog Tests -  Artificial dens simulate the work underground. The dog demonstrates keenness and the ability to locate and alert rats underground (Gerbils in Alberta). With increasing difficulty, den configurations are more complicated. 

Introduction to Quarry (IQ) - Earthdog suitability test.

Junior Earthdog (JE) - simple den configuration with 2 corners. 2 qualifications for a title.

Senior Earthdog (SE) - adds a false den and requires the handler to recall the dog out of the den within a time limit. 3 qualifications for a title.

Advanced Earthdog (AE) - like Master Earthdog but for a single dog.

Master Earthdog (ME) - is run in braces, and has a hunt-up component and obstacles in the dens. 4 qualifications for a title.

Grand Master Earthdog (GME) - requires 5 successful Master Earthdog runs after a title.

Grand Master Earthdog Excellence (GMEX) - requires 5 successful Master and Senior den runs after another.

You can read the rules here:

https://www.ckc.ca/en/Events/Overview-of-Events/Earthdog-Tests

 

Tracking Dog Tests - Not specifically for hunting dogs but our dogs can prove their ability to detect, follow and indicate specific scent trails (footsteps).

Tracking Dog (TD) -  The dog must indicate one article at the end of the 400 - 450 meters long track. Track is aged 30 min. - 2 hours.

Tracking Dog Excellence (TDX) - The dog tracks human footsteps for 900 - 1,000 meters and indicates 3 articles on the track. Track is aged 3-5 hours

Urban Tracking Dog (UTD) - the dog tracks in urban environment (grass/concrete/asphalt) 300-400 meters and indicates 2 articles. Track is aged 1-2 hours.

Urban Tracking Dog Excellence (UTDX) - the dog tracks in urban environment (grass/concrete/asphalt) for 600 - 750 meters and finds 3 articles. Track is aged 3-5 hours.

 

Chase Ability Tests - Lure coursing test with "artificial rabbit" - a white plastic bag pulled over a course. Small dogs like Teckels run a shorter course than big breeds like Greyhounds.

https://www.ckc.ca/en/Events/Overview-of-Events/Chase-Ability-Program

 

Blood-tracking is currently only legal in the following provinces:

British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.

Please consult the individual provinces hunting regulations before you track!

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New in Canada, not recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club:

 

United Blood Tracker - similar to European blood-tracking style, 20-hour blood-tracking test with or without tracking shoes.

UBT-AA - Aptitude test - ca. 150 meter track, one turn, aged 30 minutes.

UBT-1 - 400-500 meter blood-track, two 90 degree turns, aged at least 2 hours.

UBT-2 - 800-900 meter blood-track, three 90 degree turns, aged at least 8 hours.

UBT-3 - 800-1,000 meter blood-track, three to five turns, aged at least 4 hours, with 5 signs for indications.

 

Sports like Barn Hunt, Sprinter, or Trail Locate are easily passed without training and are therefore not representative of our working Teckels.

Canine Good Neighbour (CGN) is a basic obedience test with environmental (traffic) components, similar to the Begleithunde Pruefung (BHP) in FCI. This test is open to all breeds and mixed breeds.