Impressed by Larry Gohlke’s standard wire bitch Lolly (FC Ulrika von Moosbach-Zuzelek SE) and Lolly’s son Czar (FC Czar von Moosbach-Zuzelek), I longed for the voice and responsiveness I'd seen those two demonstrate on many occasions. Finally, I got brave enough to ask Larry if I could breed Lili to Czar. Thank God, his answer was "Yes".

There followed some peculiar recommendations given to me by Larry. I was to put drops of deer blood into Lili's food while she was pregnant and double the drops after her litter was born. Lili gave birth on December 4, 2003 to four red wires. The puppies themselves had a few drops of deer blood in their food each day until they were 8 weeks old. I have photos of them out in the front yard with their eyes closed tracking the scent of fresh deer blood, so I must admit Larry had a very good idea about how to make game scent association in the womb.

On February 13, 2004, just before the puppies turned 12 weeks old, we graded the litter for prey drive and tracking ability by dragging a bloody deer leg. Larry decided he would take Ana Maria, ranked number two in the litter, home to Wisconsin and train her in the snow.

For Ana Maria's debut field trial, Larry chose the 2004 Dachshund Club of America National Field Trial in Chino, California. Ana Maria was 13 weeks old and brought home an Award of Merit.

Their next trials were two weeks later, hosted by the Metropolitan Washington Dachshund Club in Shawsville, Maryland. Ana placed 2^nd of 22 Bitches on Saturday and 4^th in a class of 20 on Sunday.

The following week, Ana took Saturday off because Larry was judging, then placed 2^nd of 16 bitches on Sunday at the Dachshund Club of Metropolitan Atlanta trial in Dallas, Georgia.

Ana’s last trial in the Open stake was on April 3, 2004 at the Wolverine Dachshund Club in Addison, Michigan, a trial Larry was unable to attend. Larry’s son Alex Gohlke beautifully pinch-handled instead and Ana Maria proceeded to win the class of 51 Open Bitches, the largest Open All-Age Bitch stake on record! Thus, FC Hurricane Ana Maria v Czar SW finished one day before her four month birthday and became the youngest Field Champion in AKC dachshund field trial history.

Shortly after finishing in Michigan, Ana Maria came back to Texas to grow up. Larry made me promise not to enter her in a field trial until she was at least a year old. He did not want me to undo his training while she was still so young.

It was a promise kept as I had Ana’s two sisters and brother to run and finish. One sister, Erika Miller, became FC Hurricane Erika v Czar SW in October 2004, and their brother Rhody, FC Hurricane Rhody v Czar SW, finished in January 2005. Finally, Ana’s late blooming, pick-of-the-litter sister got in the groove. Kate, FC Hurricane Kate v Czar SW, finished her Field Champion title with three First Places in March, 2005. Two of those First Places were at the 2005 DCA Nationals in Texas where she was also Best Open both days.

In February 2005, Ana Maria began to be handled by my very dear friend and fellow competitor, eight-year-old Miss Laura Knoll. In the fall of 2005 I began to be concerned as to “why” Ana was not living up to her potential. Truly, Ana was the better bitch compared with her sister Erika Miller but you wouldn’t have known it by their trial performances. I decided, much to Laura's dismay, to switch Erika over to Laura. (Laura tried not to show it, but I knew it was a great disappointment for her to have to make the change). Laura and Erika Miller finished 2005 in the Top 10 while Ana and I struggled but made it into the top 20.

The following year, Ana Maria seemed to thrive and blossom. She ran very well for me all year, defeating over 200 Field Champions, and ending 2006 number two in the DCA Top 10. (Grandpa Leo finished third and sister Erika was ninth.) After Thanksgiving, however, Ana began to have mysterious diarrhea. She would be fine until we arrived at a trial and then her stools would be bloody. Ana went through seven weeks of rigorous testing and treatment for every imaginable disease. A specialist was consulted and she was put on Sucralfate to coat her digestive tract. None of the veterinarians were able to isolate a specific physiological problem. The final recommendation was that I stop trialing Ana. 

I did and the problems went away. But a part of my heart was broken.

In January, 2007, after three weeks of no bloody diarrhea, I was out at the Ladonia grounds preparing for the Basset Hound Club of America Hunt Test which was run the week before the Dallas Fort-Worth Dachshund Club trials. I had Ana with me and she was fine until I took her into the rabbit enclosure with her sister Erika Miller. Almost immediately the bloody stool began. I called the specialist and luckily he was in. Standing at the main gate to the enclosure, I told him exactly what had happened and where we were and who was with us. He said, “Aha! I thought it might likely be a simple nervous stomach but since you couldn’t provide me with a trigger other than field trials, I had no recourse but to tell you to quit trialing Ana”.

I could hardly believe my ears. What I wanted to hear more than anything was coming over the phone! “Go ahead and trial Ana. Continue to give her the medication a day prior to each trial and let Ana be all she wants to be”.

He pointed out that it was likely not the actual field trialing but Ana's attachment to me and the fierce competitiveness between her and her sister Erika that was the problem.

So it was, on that same cold, wet day in January, that I decided to keep Erika home for a while and concentrate on Ana. The rest is in the books for 2007 as Ana Maria finished the year, in perfect health, as the Number One DCA Field Dog.

Thankfully, Laura’s magical gal Ochre (FC Annie Ochre von Dorndorf) had come to live with Laura in Mississippi which made my decision to leave Erika home a little easier for all of us. Erika is fine with it as she has always been a daddy's girl and relishes my husband’s undivided attention when Ana and Leo and I go to field trials.

There is a dynamic between Ana and Leo and myself that I have finally come to understand. I used to believe that a person could have but one heart dog and of course for me that was Leo. Ana has taught me differently. I now think of the two of them as the left and right chambers of my heart.

2008 has been a great year so far as the three of us have competed in four field trials and have won two Absolutes. Leo, now ten years old and number three in lifetime DCA Field Trial Merit Points, was Absolute Winner at the first trial of the year, January 5, at the Bayou Dachshund Club trial in Prentiss, Mississippi.

And Ana Maria, in her feisty style and not to be outdone by grandpa, won Absolute at the 2008 DCA National Host Trial on the grounds of the Lone Star Dachshund Conservancy, January 25, in Ladonia, Texas.

Another footnote to this story is that Ana’s “Mama Lili” became an ROMX in her only breeding to that wirehaired powerhouse Yankee dog called Czar.

I feel that I am on the right track. I got precisely what I sought. In truth, God blessed me greatly by allowing me to be in the right place at the right time with a daughter of the dog I will always treasure, my Leo. I am thankful for John and Jolanta Jeannenney’s extraordinary breeding program which produced Czar. And the icing on Ana Maria’s cake was that she was chosen as a baby puppy to start at the knee of the master, my friend, Larry Gohlke.

Tallyho!

Judy Gallamore, Anna, Texas