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Della V vom Altmoor
For years we had planned to keep a female out of Cara’s last litter, and Della V vom Altmoor was the only female in that litter, which hit the ground 1/3/20. Della had a somewhat disadvantaged youth in that we had litters of pups all during her formative months and couldn’t pay much attention to her until the last of those were moved to the outside kennel runs in mid-July. We then started getting serious with her and were astonished at what a natural she was. She quickly became Nancy's dog. Her field search was incredible, her pointing intense and frequent, her love of water and retrieving was astonishing, and we had never had a dog whose hold training went so quickly. Late in August, after having done a moderate amount of water work with her, we took Della to a pond she’d never seen before and, while she couldn’t watch, we placed 5 dummies by kayak in the grasses on the far side of the open water, each about five yards apart, and all no less than 97 yards from where we were to start her. She took a line straight across the pond and returned each one, if memory is correct, in under 3.5 minutes, maybe less.
Della was so exceptional that Nancy put her through HZP a year early, at just under 9 months of age. On a windless (think pointing difficulty) 75 degree day in South Jersey, on 9/25/20, she scored a 186 and tied for the second highest score of the five dogs tested that day. The high scoring dog, with a 189, was 23 months old (and had scored a 182 a week earlier), another was 21 months, and two were 19 months. One of the 19 month olds failed early in the test and withdrew from further testing. The other 19 month old was a German import handled by a Chapter Director of testing and scored a 182. The 21 month old scored a 186, like Della. So, the others were 10 to 14 months older – just think of how much that means in terms of training and hunting. She earned 11’s in Nose and Duck Search and 10’s in everything else. She bested the score of all of our then-current girls and came close to the 190 achieved by her grandmother Talei III and her sire Donner. (Of course, they were much older when tested.)
Della proved herself again at her VJP (3/13/21 – NJ), in her actual testing year, with a score of 75 points – the highest scoring of the ten dogs tested that weekend and achieving the second highest score of all the dogs in the Atlantic Chapter VJP’s, earning 11’s in Nose (her second 11 in Nose), Search, Pointing and Cooperation. She was judged a solid very good in tracking with 10 points. Nancy was disappointed in her tracking that day, as she had seen her do much longer and more difficult tracks. But with the bunnies, things can happen that are out of our control, and Della held herself together. There were so many rabbits bopping around that it would have been understandable if she had just broken off her tracking and starting searching, but she remained on task and even came back to restart her track after a sight-chase in one case. It was in the field that she really shined: with a hunting season (she hadn’t done any hunting prior to her HZP) and a few more months of maturity she was consistently performing beautiful searches, ranging appropriately to the cover conditions, with text-book quartering, and the pattern and persistence one would expect to see in a much older dog. On birds the conditions were just perfect and Nancy was kicking herself for not stopping to take some pictures. Once again, Della demonstrated natural ability performances that one would expect of an older dog – pointing at impressive distance with great intensity and relocating multiple times. But the thing we most appreciate is her cooperation. Whether she is searching intensely, pointing like a fanatic, or being leashed sooner than she is ready to quit (because she is never ready to quit!) she is always where you expect her to be, always ready to come back with tail wags and kisses whether she’s hunting or in a testing situation. Following the VJP she was evaluated for loudness on hare track and was deemed to be Sight Loud (giving tongue while sight chasing) and received a Form 23b.
Della had already had DNA testing done (Neogen Barcode 101819051120) and was found to be FF (homozygous for Furnishings [beard and eyebrows]), therefore always producing bearded pups no matter the sire’s status. That same testing found her to be clear of CHB, vWD, EIC, and HUU. On 25 March 2021 Della was rated HD-frei A and OCD clear by the VDD e.V. orthopedic evaluation center.
On 4/17/21 Roger handled Della in the Belding, MI Breed Show at just 15 ½ months of age (by far the youngest dog in the Show.) She was Certified for Breeding and at the same time earning a recommended for breeding evaluation, scoring 10 in Conformation and 10 in Coat, where 10 is middle Very Good (9-11). We figure with another year of age she might go 11/11, but we’re always pleased with anything in the Very Good range. They measured her height as 61 and length as 62. (We get 63/65.) This was her first serious road trip with a travel time of about 14 hours each way and she handled it like a trooper. Roger let her ride on the front seat next to him on the ride home (driving straight through and arriving at 1:30 AM) and it was comical to watch her spend about 70% of the time standing with her nose pressed against the car’s air vent, apparently trying to interpret everything she could smell.
Like each of the girls we’ve kept before her, Della has been even more of a natural and required less training than those that preceded her. She can be described succinctly – everybody’s buddy, and EASY.
Della had just one other sibling – Dorn (aka “Dash”). As confirmation of the quality of their breeding we should mention that on 9/10 & 11/21 Dorn was part of an 11 dog HZP. Three of those failed. The water conditions were reported as having very difficult cover. On Saturday another Altmoor dog, Elyse V vom Altmoor (aka “Moxie”) scored 11 in Duck Search, and on Sunday Dorn was awarded a 12. The score of other dogs in the test ranged from 7 to 9. Three dogs including Elyse received 10’s in blind retrieve, Dorn scored a 9, the other scores ranged from 3 - 8. Many of the dogs had very nice scores in the field but fell short in the water work. Dorn, with a 184, was the high scoring dog of the weekend.
On 9/18-19/21, in a field of eight dogs with two judging teams for a VGP (Master Utility Test) Nancy handled Della V to a score of 304, Prize II. She received a 3 for Blood Track and Fox Box, with perfect scores of 4 in all other categories. (The Blood Track 3 was what prevented her from receiving a Prize I, in spite of her very high total score.) At 20.5 months of age, Della was the youngest in the test, with one of the others (which failed) as much as five years old. This was actually Della’s season to do the HZP (Fall Breed Test), but Nancy put her through that last year – a year early. VGP dogs are typically two to four years old.
For those not familiar with it, VGP is a grueling two day test where the dog and handler as a team are scored in over two dozen categories. (The earlier tests, VJP and HZP are intended to primarily evaluate only the dog.) To mention a few of the VGP phases, there is steady to wing and shot, a 300 yard retrieve of an 8 lb. or heavier fox or coon (as well as retrieving it over a barricade at least 28” high), a 400 meter blood track, an independent search (no duck scent present) of a difficult piece of water, the usual elements of HZP such as Field Search and Pointing, scent trail tracking of a duck across water, as well as multiple obedience items unique to VGP. Only the best of the best pass this test.
But best of all are the hunts and memories Della has given us. During a rabbit hunt in January of '21, Roger made an incredible shot on a cottontail, and we got to watch Della work out that track, then retrieve to hand. Her concentration, absolute determination to stick with her task, and her cooperation even while doing such a passionate and exciting job was a thrill for both of us. The following fall is when she got out with us in earnest. During upland hunting, whether alone or with another dog, for Nancy or Roger or both of us, she showed her adaptabilty to any situation, her incredible nose and steadiness, coupled with her die-hard retrieving ethic. When you send her, you know she is coming back with your game. This was cemented into our memories with our early season duck hunts on tidal rivers. That week was one of the best we've had. To see Della bull her way into what looked to be impenetrable phragmites to retrieve both ducks of a double that Nancy took is one of those lifetime memories. And the bonus is that as Della matures she is becoming quite an eye-catcher - her photos don't do her justice. She doesn't need to be pretty with the way she hunts and handles, but it's nice just the same.