During DWNA hunt test events, a frequent comment is, the testing requirements don’t match the way I hunt my dog so why should I be concerned about testing.  A second comment is, we should change the testing requirements to more closely match the way I hunt my dog.  The following addresses why the DWNA’s testing requirements are important and why we cannot change our testing standards. 

 

The rules under which we test our dogs were established by the VDW and provide the rules under which the VDW, DWNA and the JGHV test dogs. The VDW has been in existence for over 100 years and takes the breeding, development, and protection of the Wachtelhund very seriously. The goal of both the VDW and the DWNA is “to preserve and promote those characteristics that make the Deutscher Wachtelhaund a versatile gun dog while striving to eliminate genetic defects and illnesses that negatively impact the breed.” 

To preserve and protect the breed, it is critical, we, the DWNA, take the testing and breeding of our dogs as seriously as the VDW.  The traditions and rules under which the VDW operates successfully maintain the breed characteristics that make the Wachtel what it is today.  That being said, trying to convince the VDW and German breeders that they should compromise on their testing standards to make it easier for a population of Wachtelhunds to be established in North American is not possible.  An indicator of how seriously the VDW is about protecting the breed occurred at a VDW meeting attended by two DWNA board members.  During a discussion about clubs located in countries outside Germany, the Chairman of the VDW said the following.  “You are not Breeding Swede, Spanish, Finish, or North American Wachtelhaunds, you are breeding Deutscher Wachtelhaunds!”