Page 162 - K9 News - Issue 15 - March2021

The WEIMARANER,
A HPR Gundog and
so much more...
I am not a breeder, or a judge (in any discipline),
however I can truly say with my hand on my
heart this very special breed changed my life.
From the age of two, I was frightened of dogs
and as I grew up this fear did not subside. I
avoided them and couldn’t stand the thought of
being near one, simple as that.
Twelve years ago, I met my now-husband Dale,
at his car paints shop when I called in for some
aerosols. It’s amazing we ever got to know
each other at all, because Dale had a huge and
terrifying beast of a silver dog which always
went to work with him. Of course, “Hantz” was
neither huge nor terrifying (he was actually
slight in build for a male and very gentle) but to
someone who had spent their whole life feeling
afraid of dogs, being anywhere near him was
a daunting prospect. Inexplicably, he was so
happy to see me, but I wished he’d just ignore
me. No chance. I regularly needed to call in for
car paints as I was working at a garage at the
time, and every visit I made to the shop, this
dog was absolutely thrilled to see me from the
other side of the trade counter. I don’t know how
he did it but eventually Dale convinced me to
let Hantz get close to me. He opened the door
into the shop floor area and Hantz trotted out
proudly. If I skip to the end of this story, I’ll say
my phobia was cured and I’d made a friend for
life.
162
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MARCH 2021
By Ruth Burgess
Fast-forward roughly two years and I couldn’t
imagine being without Dale and a Weimaraner.
I was so thoroughly converted it was my
suggestion we became a two-dog family and a
few months later three year old Lucy arrived, via
the WCGB’s rescue and re-homing service. In
2012, I felt ready for a puppy and after going to
a few companion shows with the two adult Weis,
we thought we’d give dog showing a try. We
were lucky enough to have a male, Bentley, from
Stephen and Patsy. We are making wonderful
memories and have met lots of lovely people.
Bentley has won 1 CC with BOB, plus 2 RCCs.
He’s also an Open Show BIS winner, ShCM
holder, and in early 2020 his Veteran Warrant
was confirmed. We didn’t make memories solely
in the show ring though, as Hantz, Lucy and
Bentley all went on to have success in the most
recently recognised KC discipline – Rally.
Rally
Rally is derived from the heelwork elements
of competitive Obedience. Unlike Obedience,
handlers and dogs attempt a preset course with
no instruction from the judge. There are signs
placed at up to 18 stations of the course and the
requirement is to perform any one of the 80+
exercises available. These are chosen by the
judge and everyone in the class will attempt the
same course, one handler at a time. There are