I grew up in New Jersey, raised by a Father who had a passion for English Setters used for native quail and pheasant hunting. As I grew, my interests led me to pursue many other breeds of dog in a sort of "trial and error" method of finding out what didn’t work! Career and family paths took me away from upland and waterfowl hunting for many years as I mainly focused on hunting

large game species.

 

A few years ago, upon the loss of my last hunting dog, I started the search for a dog to be mainly
utilized for blood tracking game for myself and others who hunt with me. My search led me to the

Deutsch Drahthaar (DD), and it was there that I learned that the versatile DD excelled at blood

tracking and much, much more. I purchased my first DD (Uschi III vom Altmoor "Greta") with the

simple request of having a dog that was a great companion, non-aggressive toward my young

daughters and which would track wounded game.

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Pretty simple requests with no thought of more in-depth training or testing in the Verein Deutsch

Drahthaar system www.VDD-GNA.org. My family brought our first DD home where my young

daughters quickly learned that a puppy’s teeth are VERY sharp and they have a LOT of energy!

I can vividly remember my youngest, who was 7 at the time, "suiting up" to let the puppy out of

the kennel. She donned long pants, long-sleeve shirt, boots and gloves to let the 8 week old pup

out for a little exercise. That dog terrorized them for the first few weeks and had them both

"treed" in a ladder stand set up in the yard one day. I finally saw that they’d made a

breakthrough when the youngest girl was seen grabbing the pup and prying her mouth open to

remove a hickory nut she was playing with. They’ve been inseparable ever since.

 

This dog has been read to on a daily basis by my daughter, taken for rides in little red wagons, dressed up for "weddings" and sled rides (including hauling their sleds back up the hill for them!), all like it was what was expected of her all along! There have been many, many times when I’ve been told the dog was going to be ruined for hunting and testing purposes because of all the above and her tireless game of "keep away" with my daughters. Through all the above, this dog has been found to have some type of internal "switch" where she immediately knows play time is over and it’s time to perform. I’ve been convinced several times that she knows what I want before I can even tell her what I want.

 

Allie vom Cohansey is Greta's pup from the first litter and has proven to be everything her mother is with some added talent. She was steady to wing, shot and fall on her first pheasant hunt at four months of age and has been impressing people ever since. Our third DD is Tramp vom Jagdkonig (Titus). He's looking like a very nice addition and is quite the "looker". His nose and game presence are second to none. We've come a long way since asking for a dog that could simply blood track.