Showsight September 2018

The Jagdterrier: A Working Terrier with the Heart of a Hunter INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD REYNOLDS continued

HOW DOES THE JAGDTER- RIER DIFFER FROM OTHER TERRIER BREEDS? It really doesn’t differ all that much in appearance or conformation. It’s sometimes got a better broken coat than the rest and it appears a bit leggier than many. Jagds are free of many of the congenital anomalies that beset other Terrier breeds. We are now testing for Primary Lens Luxation (PLL), but it is not endemic in the breed. My thinking is that it should be easier to breed good Jagds because of the rock-solid gene pool that still exists today. Jagds are undeniably attractive and never more so than to knowledgeable dog people (like EL and LG) who can envision what they could do with the breed. They are not as showy as a WFT, not as racy as a good Irish and far less elegant than a fine Welshman. No oth- er Terrier projects a look of sheer evil along with the innate ability to fulfill that promise. It’s the temperament though, that is the major difference. That tempera- ment is responsible for many Jagds end- ing up in shelters across the country. The uncontrollable urge to hunt and an energy level higher than anything imag- inable means that the average owner lasts about four weeks before giving up and surrendering the dog. WHEN DID YOU FIRST BE- COME ACQUAINTED WITH THE BREED? I’ve hunted with Jagds owned by others for years. For the most part, they were too “hard” for my style of hunting or too large for our smaller quarry on the East Coast. Mostly though, I had a team of Dachshunds and Norfolks that

satisfied my needs very well. Three or four years ago I was privileged to hunt with a well-known rat hunter in Califor- nia who had recently acquired a Jagd bitch. He allowed me to hunt her and I found her to be everything I wanted in a Terrier for woodchuck (as well as rats). While most of our group keeps Patterdales, I thought I’d try a Jagd and the rest is history. AS A DOG FANCIER, WHAT APPEALS TO YOU ABOUT THE JAGDTERRIER? As a dog fancier? Not much. They are hard to keep, hard to train and destructive if they don’t hunt regularly. People and other dogs appear to be “protected species” to a Jagd, but virtu- ally everything else is regarded as quar- ry. Early on I noticed that most folks keep their Jagds tethered. I was told that proper Jagd husbandry involved tying the dog on a thick chain out back of the property and throwing it a live chicken every other day. We don’t do the live chickenbit, butmy Jagds are tetheredout of necessity. As a hunter though, I am thorough- ly enamored of this great breed for its determination, relative freedom from congenital problems and the conforma- tion required to do the job I require, which is true earthwork. It doesn’t hurt that the breed also excels at rat hunting. You still need a team of different breeds to hunt efficiently, but the Jagdterrier is a really effective all-rounder. One noted breeder is the US is car- rying on a project to breed back to one nearly perfect male. I asked him why this particular dog and he cited five qualities: size; hunting ability; confor- mation; and the predictable quality of

his offspring. The fifth quality? I was told, “He healed up quickly.” I’ve come to recognize this virtue only lately. DO YOU WORK WITH YOUR JAGDTERRIER? IS YOUR DOG R.A.T.S. TESTED? We try and hunt at least one day a week and, if possible, two or three. “Rommel”, my number one Jagd has been hunted on fox, woodchuck and, of course, rats. At a year-and-a-half, he has firmly developed his instinct and hunt- ing ability. His skill and efficiency in dis- patching quarry still need to be honed to prevent self-injury, but he speaks the truth when indicating quarry and is an overall joy to hunt with. Moreover, like any good Terrier, he will hunt with and for anybody. HAS YOUR JAGDTERRIER BEEN ENTERED IN AKC EVENTS? Rommel easily qualified for a Junior Earthdog title in two consecutive tries. A perfect record. However, the idea of leaving the liner without quarry in his mouth is a foreign concept, so it is doubtful that he will ever progress to a Senior Earthdog title or beyond. The hunting instinct is far stronger than any recall command, so any activity that involves being off-lead for very long is out of the question. I’m still looking for a training professional that can get him to “Come.” I think we may try Fast CAT if the opportunity arises. Amongst the many litters of Jagds that are born in the US, Rommel came from one of the few that included con- formation in its planning. With that in mind, he has been shown in three AKC Open Shows, winning Best in Show at

The Jagdterrier is used to hunt a variety of quarry, including woodchuck. Photo by Michael Warriner.

Mrs. Lisa Warren awards ‘Rommel’ his first AKC Best in Open Show. Photo by Ashbey.

‘Rommel’s’ second Best in Open Show is awarded by Mr. Thomas H. Bradley, III. Photo by Ashbey.

124 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2018

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