As a hunting dog
The German jagdterrier is a product of the German hunters brilliance. To create such a useful dog breed for hunting is not bad, not bad at all. The German hunters realized early the importance of having a dog breed that you could use for most hunting. For ordinary people who can’t have various specialized dogs it’s simply intended to work as a good ”multitool”. German pointers, Münsterländers and Weimaraners are other examples of dog breeds that are intended to work as allround dogs. Of these breeds the German Jagdterrier is the only one of small build and with the quality, therefore, to also hunt underground.
Below is a selection of various events:
Driven hunt
We’ve been invited to a terrain where there are a lot of tracks from wild boars but where it’s been many years since any wild boar have been shot. The first battue is a thick spruce plantation that we are to go through. Diva starts searching and after 3-4 minutes she marks finding them. The wild boars pass by a shooter but he doesn’t get a clear shot. The boar goes outside the battue, Diva stops pursuing and returns. Back in the plantations I’ve already seen a glimpse of other boars that have gone around me. I send out Diva again and instantly there is full action. She barks intensively and they circle around me closely. I go up to higher ground when I see a boar coming in my direction. Waiting for the right moment I make the shot and the boar falls into the ground.
Bear in Russia
We are in the deep Carelian forests in Russia and we are here for a bear trial. Diva has never seen a bear, not even behind bars back in Sweden. But when I send her out and she picks up the scent there is no doubt. She means business! With her deepest voice she barks at the bear, who now and then gets irritated and makes some fake attacks. Diva is clever and runs away when she feels that it is too dangerous, but only to quickly return and irritate the bear again. Sometimes she glances after me, she is used to me coming soon and take the shot. After 10 minutes I have seen what I wanted and I call her off.
Search for wounded game
We’ve been invited by the owners of the experienced Xillo, who also is the father to Diva. A Roedeer gets shot for Xillo under a driven hunt. The roedeer marks somewhat that it has been hit but it escapes as soon as Xillo comes barking. Xillo pursues the roedeer but falls silent and returns. On the shot place we find light blood and some hair. We follow the bloodtrace to the road where to Roedeer was seen crossing over. We think that this is a sipmle death search. But boy we got it wrong. Diva, who has rested in the car after her first drive on elk, gets assigned the mission. After 150 meters tracking we find the first lie. We find plenty of blood and pieces of the lung. We trace another 50 meters through a thick spruce plantation until we come to a creek. We find some more blood where the Roedeer has jumped across and ran parallel to the creek. But where is the Roedeer and how can it move without blood and lungs ? Diva gets exited like there is something going on. She wants to cross the creek again and at the same time we glimpse a Roedeer who runs as fast as the wind. I can’t imagine that this could be the same Roedeer that we are looking for and I choose not to let Diva go after. But as we inspect the area I can only declare that my decision was wrong. It is the wounded Roedeer. After a couple minutes rest we continue and now Diva is tracking back at place where the shot was made earlier on. On a flat rock I get uncertain if she’s right on track because she seems to be tracking the same trace as before, but backtracking. As I turn around to say that she might be backtracking now, Diva sees the Roedeer who once again tries to flee. But before I know it she is at the throat of it and with a firm grip she pulls down the Roedeer so that I can end this.
Underground hunt
Directly from wild boar barking earlier We’ve been invited to a terrain to inspect some “hot” underground caves where they have seen many foxes. Unfortunately the snow has melted a couple of days earlier, but we will give it a try. There are two underground caves in a sand hill which goes along a small river. I send Diva who first scent in the opening and then goes down as a cannon ball. She has got some routine and has learned to smell if there are animals inside or not. After 5 minutes she comes up ”to tell” me that she has found something and goes back down again. Time goes by and we don’t hear a thing. A whining wind strikes us and the cold gets deep into our bones. I feel a little concerned because it’s gone half an hour and she hasn’t come up to “report” as she usually does. I call for her and a little while later she comes up. She has got some beating from a badger and we decide to abort and try the next cave which is only 30 meters away. This cave has fresh tracks of a fox in the sand. I send in Diva and now we hear her in full action barking. The ground shakes and she seems to be determined. After around 5-7 minutes persistant work it gets silent and out comes a fox who has chosen to flee. However, the escape ends abruptly when it gets hit by the swarm of lead.
Duck hunt
Diva, together with a springer spaniel, are sent from different directions into the reedy lake to get the undercover ducks to fly. Both dogs do a meritorious work and we all have much to do. When the shooters have done their part the game is retrieved and we sit down for more ducks to come. When it’s time to do the last retrieving Diva gets to find the hardest ducks which are wounded and have dived and swam into the reeds and uprooted trees under the bank. However, the ducks gets exploited one by one and also the last ones can be collected.