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My name is Kit Critchlow. I have been hunting since I could follow my father through the hills of Utah. I've owned a hunting dog since the age of 10 and have been training dogs seriously for about 10 years. I am fairly particular about the dogs I keep in my home. Not all are suited for the high demand hunting that I do. Those that have hunted or trained with me know I ask more of my dogs that most hunters do. For this reason I feel that many hunters will be happy with the type of dogs I am producing. I am a hunter first and a breeder second. If you find someone who spends more time than I do in the field, they probably have some pretty nice hunting dogs.
I have been fortunate in my few short years involved with the Deutsch Drahthaar. I have been able to find dogs that are very good at the types of hunting I do and are also very good companions to have around the house.
I have very high standards when it comes to choosing a dog that will stand the test of time.
My list of priorities in keeping a dog are as follows:
1. Temperament - The dog must be excellent with people, including children. The dog must be easy to live with in the house which means they must be fairly calm. Last but not least the dog must get along with other dogs at all times. I have little tolerance for growling or fighting. All of my dogs share the same kennel, crate and food bowl on a daily basis. In my opinion there are some DDs that have temperament problems. It is not a big problem with the breed but should be researched. I don't anticipate any problems with the dogs I have or the stud dogs that I choose. You can hunt a dog a few months a year but you have to live with the dog all year round.
2. Hunting Drive - This can be a fairly broad statement but what it means to me is that that dog gets out and actively searches very hard for game. As stated in the JGHV judges book, "the will to find" is an excellent way to sum it up. Some dogs love to run, some dogs are very prey driven and some dogs are very nose driven. All of this adds up to hunting drive in my opinion. There aren't any slackers in my house.
3. Nose - A dogs nose is a fairly difficult thing to evaluate. I've seen several hundred hours of dog work in my life and I have to say that for the most most part, dogs that hunt hard show very good nose work. I think dogs that don't show good nose work are typically dogs that don't have much hunting drive. There are the exceptional noses and I certainly value that highly. For the most part, the average hard hunting DD has a very good nose. I can't say my dogs noses are better than the average DD but I can say they have no trouble finding birds, tracking cripples or doing 40 hour blood tracks.
3. Confirmation - To me this is not a confirmation rating or a show rating, this is the ability to run efficiently, hard and for a long period of time. If the dog has this ability, I don't care much what it looks like. My dogs are typically light on their feet/and or have a long stride. I do a lot of bird hunting and ground coverage is important. Since most of my hunting is in Arizona, efficiency and stamina in the heat are also important. My dogs will typically be a little smaller and leaner than the average DD. This is because these dogs are more suited for the demands of the desert. On average the DD is not the ideal dog for the desert. I'll be the first to admit that. My dogs however, do a nice job compared to other desert hunting dogs.
4. Coat - All of my personal hunting dogs have a medium to short coat. Long coats to not work well in the house or in the desert. This is not the highest priority and it is probably the hardest thing to control in a DD breeding but if anything I will error on the short side of coat. I suspect that most of my litters will have 1 or 2 dogs that do not have beards. These dogs are referred to as "Slicks". You may have noticed that my female Jazz is a slick. This is not a breed disqualification but does prohibit a dog from entering a breed show or an invitational test. Determining if a pup will have a beard can be done at 7 or 8 weeks so you will know when the pup goes home with you. If you absolutely cannot live with a slick, please make sure and let me know.
5. All the rest - the VDD testing system has many strengths. Because of the high standards set by the VDD and the commitment of VDD breeders of the years there are many thing that you don't generally have to worry about when purchasing a DD. In general I believe these are pointing instinct, love of water, tracking instinct, natural inclination to retrieve and cooperation. The JGHV tests focus on many natural abilities such as Tracking, Nose, Search, Pointing, Cooperation, Desire and Water Work. Because of these high standards much of your puppy research is done for you.