Greetings from the
Southeast Hunters
Chapter! As we prepare
to wind down our hunting
seasons and fire up our
training and testing
season, the SEHC is off
to a momentous start. We
recently held our highly
successful Annual
Meeting in Hamilton, GA,
attended by over sixty
members and guests.
Notable attendees were
Bryon Beaton, current
GNA chairman; Ed Carney,
GNA vice-chairman; Nancy
Bohs from the Atlantic
Chapter and our guest of
honor, Herr Jörg Tabel.
We extend a special
thanks to Forrest and
Tracie Moore without
whom the meeting could
not have taken place.
During the week of the
meeting, we held a breed
show, a BTR in which
five dogs participated
with a 100% success
rate, and the first ever
SEHC sponsored VSwp
twenty hour blood track
test. Five dogs
participated and three
successfully completed
the test. The passing
dogs were Arko vom
Moorehaus handled by
Forrest Moore, Ira vom
Moorehaus handled by
Mike Fortner and a
Bavarian Mountain Hound
(the first BMH to be
tested in this country),
handled by Ken Parker.
Congratulations to all
handlers and dogs that
participated. The SEHC
also conducted the first
JGHV mandated judging
apprentice seminar
directed by the SEHC
director of testing, Jim
Seeley. Four apprentice
candidates attended and
are hoping to begin the
apprenticeship process
this year.
The SECH has yet another
first. Dr. Martin
Coffman has recently
been confirmed as the
first Breed warden for
the SEHC. Dr. Coffman
graduated from the
College of Veterinary
Medicine at Auburn in
1970. He has over 40
years of experience with
small animals and worked
briefly with the Iams
Company. Dr. Coffman has
long been involved in
the dog sports, ranging
from Beagles to
Chesapeake Bay
Retrievers to Black &
Tan coonhounds. Dr.
Coffman is an avid
turkey hunter and enjoys
upland birds, waterfowl
and traditional bow
hunting for deer as
well. He is also a past
president of the
American Canine Sports
Medicine Association and
is the owner of vom
Briermiester kennels. We
are indeed fortunate to
have someone of Dr
Coffman's stature as our
Breed warden. Please
direct all breeding and
litter registration
questions to Dr.
Coffman.
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|
Successful
VSwp.
Left to
Right: Judge
Herr Jörg
Tabel and
handlers
Mike Fortner
and Forrest
Moore |
The Southeastern Hunters
Chapter has been
selected to host the
VDD-GNA Annual Meeting
for 2008. We are
currently gathering data
on sites, meeting topics
and guest speakers. We
are looking forward to a
great meeting and more
information will follow
as the details are
nailed down.
The feature presentation
of the Annual Meeting
was a series of lectures
given by Herr Jörg
Tabel. Herr Tabel has
long been associated
with the Drahthaar and
has many years of
training and testing
experience that he is
always willing to share.
His specific area of
interest is in blood
tracking and he spoke at
length to a captivated
audience on this topic.
Herr Tabel described his
training technique for
us, using hunger as the
motivation for the dog
to track and food as the
reward a successful
effort. He begins with
the 8 week old puppy
tracking a trail of
food. From the beginning
he instills discipline
in the puppy, not
allowing it to advance
unless it is on the
track and most important
to Herr Tabel, making
the puppy advance with a
slow, steady and
deliberate pace. After
the puppy is tracking
with confidence, he
transitions it from
tracking a food trail to
a blood trail and then
increasing the length
and age of the track.
Herr Tabel did admonish
those in attendance that
we underestimate the
blood tracking abilities
of our dogs and do not
expect enough of them.
 |
|
Successful
BTR.
Pictured
left to
right:
Bryon
Beaton,
Robert
Holland,
Mike Fortner
and Jörg
Tabel |
Herr Tabel also
presented a general
overview of German
hunting traditions. The
German hunting culture
stands in stark contrast
to our own. The Germans
render far more
deference to the game
animals and have a
reverence for the
rituals associated with
the hunt that we
sometimes lack in
America. He spoke of the
"huntsmen's language"
and entertained us with
a few examples of
hunting songs that he
played on his hunting
bugle. Herr Tabel gave
us a small glimpse into
the world of the German
hunter and I for one am
looking forward to
experiencing it myself.
The SEHC has elected new
board members:
Forrest Moore – chairman
Mike Fortner- vice
chairman
Jim Smith – business
manager
Martin Coffman – Breed
warden
Jim Seeley was again
appointed to be our
Director of Testing.
Contact information can
be found on the newly
designed SEHC website,
sehc.org. Please feel
free to contact the
board members with any
ideas, concerns, or
questions.
Upcoming events include
our annual VJP scheduled
for March in TN with a
full slate of dogs
expected. New training
and test sites are being
sought for the Southeast
so keep your eyes open.
Waidmannsheil, Mike and
Cindy Fortner |
