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Tessa IV vom Altmoor
While within our household Tess is officially “Nancy’s dog”, we each take her on a good many of our hunts. She’s proven herself not only within the German testing system, but also on grouse and woodcock in the Upper Peninsula and Maine. Staples are Jersey pheasant and woodcock when she’s not sitting calmly behind one of us in a kayak, waiting for the next wood duck to be dropped around the bend just ahead. To watch her work a field is a joy to behold and she simply never needs correction, always with one eye on you. When she works a moving pheasant, she’s absolutely tenacious: displaying excellent manners and concentration as she tracks and points, while always making sure of our location. Once pinned, the pheasant is pointed until we arrive. Deliveries are always to hand at a sit. She epitomizes the partnership between hunter and hunting dog.
At the 17th Invitational International Armbruster in Mankato Minnesota the top judges in the country judged Tess to be one of the four females they determined to be “Most Representative” of the breed, meaning that this is what VDD breeders should be trying to breed toward in terms of the whole package – personality, performance, and appearance. We’re extremely proud of that designation, which says it all. Tess is the product of eight generations of vom Altmoor breedings, and is the seventh consecutive generation to bear our kennel name. Her mother, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandmother were all "Nancy's dogs" as well.
While it sometimes seems that Tess is torn between being the world’s best couch potato or our favorite gun dog, she manages to struggle through being both. She is also a great favorite at the animal hospital where Nancy works. In addition to regular visits, she has also been used as a demonstration dog for continuing education at the clinic. One of her most endearing traits is that she never has to be lifted by any techs - exam table, x-rays, treatment grid - just point and she's airborne. It's also been very interesting to see her version of the DD's ability to discriminately evaluate situations - not only does she know when it's time to play and time to be serious, she also keenly assesses our fellow hunters in the field. If a hunter without a dog enters our hunt, she'll be friendly, go over, wag her tail to say hi, and hunt for us all if we say so. If hunters with dogs, or wayward dogs, encroach on our hunt, she is all business, and ignores the interlopers while hunting strictly for us. It is so nice to have dogs that are totally trustworthy in any situation - Tess has never met any human or dog that she did not like, whether we're at the animal hospital, at training days, or out hunting. She is the essence of versatility, not just in the field, but life in general. Tess is what we like to call a go-anywhere, do-anything dog.