An Interesting Conjecture
Download this page in PDF formatIn the early ’70s, when I started showing Dachshunds , I slowly began to spread my wings until one day, back in 1980 at the Denver DCA show, I discovered that my dogs were some that breeder- judges considered in handing out their top awards at the National level. A couple of years later at the Washington DCA show in 1982, another breeder/exhibitor also became winners at that level as well and had a really great DCA weekend, winning WD, WB and BV at the same DCA. The WD was an outstanding example of what I felt the Dachshund breeders should use as he was outstanding in conformation and moved like a dream, but, besides that, he had one of the greatest temperaments the Smooth Variety had seen for awhile. His temperament was one that never got upset by any noise or change of location and he absolutely had the nature of the Standard Longhair who loved everyone that was around him. It was quite amazing and that temperament, along with his great quality, was such that many people, besides the breeder, decided to use this gorgeous dog in their breeding program .
At this DCA, the young dog won WD at both host shows as well as at that DCA, winning all of these awards from the 6-9 month puppy class. He finished in three straight shows, becoming their new Specials dog and THE Top Producer as he was just so much better than their older dogs who were top winners but had that typical Smooth temperament which meant that they hated to show, hated the Judge and anyone else who looked at them. This was so typical that almost all the Standard Smooths had it and, while I know, in my heart, where it came from, it was behind all the Smooths and you had to be VERY careful in breeding it out as most people kept their best puppies and, as a rule, they were the freakiest of the bunch. Often many females seemed normal, but usually changed after their first season and most people had already started showing them and loved them. This disposition was an example of what happens when we lose sight of what we need to maintain the quality of our stout little dogs.
This young dog was, on paper, sired by a dog of their same general breeding and out of one of their bitches but amazingly did not have that old time Smooth disposition and always managed to pass on his great temperament to his puppies. At the time, I assumed they were just very lucky and got even more than they expected from that breeding. Also, seeing as how this breeder always repeated their successful breedings, I wondered why this young dog’s litter was never done again.
I soon became close friends with them and started going to the same shows as often as possible and exchanging dogs when we could, often using each other’s dogs in our breeding programs. Since we were pretty successful and rarely competed against each other, we remained friends until they quit showing Dachshunds. During this time, after I finished a couple of the young dog’s puppies, breeding to him and their older Special, I had much of their breeding in my Boondox gene pool. During this stage of their breeding career, they repeated and repeated and repeated all their successful breedings and it again made me wonder why the young WD’s breeding was never done again and, remember, I am a VERY curious guy. His puppies were of a larger type, more rounded and smoother through the front with great rears and just always were eye catchers in the ring. They also were of a different type than the previous dogs of this breeder and that also made me a little suspicious, as well. The young dog’s puppies were not quite as typy as the older dog’s puppies, but they had other things to offer and had that great temperament which made them the best new choices in the Smooth variety.
An Apollo daughter who was a Top Winner as well as a Top Producer
A daughter of that Apollo daughter and dam of Juliet, the epitome of, IMO, Kaye’s breeding program
During the late ’80s, Kaye Ladd came along and, with her start in showing horses, she also knew the look we wanted in the Dachshund breed and started winning from her first litter. As I have said, the temperaments were not good in the Smooth variety and so Kaye bred to a young dog that Bobby and Janie Fowler had, CH Tallavast Apollo ROMX, a red Smooth whose grandfather was the great Standard Long, CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L ROMO, who had everything the breed needed in in structure, type and temperament. Also, while Apollo was a Smooth, he did not carry the Longhair gene and did not produce Longs in his litters. Apollo’s father was CH Tallavast Odyssey ROM, a Ulyssis son, and his mother was a young bitch of Dunkeldorf and Holmdachs lines. Anyway Kaye bred her first champion , CH Laddland Cameo ROMX to this young dog and produced CH Laddland Camelot ROMO and CH Laddland Guinevere. Camelot went on to be a big winner and a great producer with many greats coming down from her such as CH Laddland Stretch Limo, CH Laddland Elvira and later CH Laddland Juliet ROMO and her offspring. All were fantastic specimens with outstanding type that we absolutely wanted in this breed along with that temperament that we really had to have.
Another Apollo grandson and DCA BV winner
An Apollo son bred by Janie Fowler
Watching these new additions, I commented on the good produce coming from the young Apollo dog to the original breeder/owner and she said that she, in fact, was going to buy Apollo from his breeder, Dr Thomas, in the early ’80s. She imported him and had him at her house at that time. I asked if she had used him and she said she did, but there was some dispute over Apollo’s price and she sent him back to the breeder and so she never owned him with his papers. She asked Dr Thomas to sign the papers for the couple of litters she had produced and he signed the first litter’s papers, but did not sign any other litter papers unless she paid the stud fee for Apollo. She refused. I asked her what became of those puppies and she said she placed them as pets without papers . So, I just decided she didn’t like what she got and let Apollo go back to the breeder, but Apollo stayed at Bobby and Janie Fowler’s home where he actually became a nice producer for them and he was extremely useful to Janie’s breeding program. During the ’80s. I watched as several of Apollo’s offspring did some nice winning and appreciated what they offered the breed. I also was asked to do the DCA’s Sweepstakes in 1987 and my best Smooth was CH Hellabrun’s Isabella, a young Apollo daughter who was a standout that day and easily my best Smooth. She had great conformation and, as usual, had that great temperament as she, too, was down from that fabulous dog, Apollo, and his grandsire,Ulyssis . The breeder/owner of the young dog was not really happy with me on that day as she showed several puppies to me, especially with what I know now probably happened.
An Apollo daughter I put up at the 87 DCA
Later, at the beginning of the ’90s, Gina Leone started showing a new red Smooth Special, also sired by Apollo, CH Lovadox Rose Parade SS. She was quite a stunner and I, myself, gave her a Specialty Best of Breed at the first Specialty I ever judged back in Jacksonville, Florida in December of 1991. She was a real beauty and she had the look that I loved, arched and rounded and terrific from her head to her tail, along with the great temperament that is always a pleasure to find in Smooths or in ANY Variety. She was what I was looking for and she absolutely filled my eye when she appeared. She was also BV at DCA next spring and she had a great career from start to finish. Many people think she was as good as it gets in the Dachshund breed and is one of their favorites .
Beautiful Apollo daughter that I gave my first BB to when I started judging
Looking at Rose Parade, Isabella and all of the great ones who came down from Camelot and knowing where Apollo was during 1981, made me realize that perhaps someone did register one of Apollo’s puppies as sired by another dog and, entering him at DCA, had no idea he would finish in three shows and become the talk of the town . Perhaps that would explain why that young WD at DCA produced the type and quality that the Dachshund breed needed. Having finished a few of his puppies, I realized he produced that same disposition and quality in each litter. They were a step above, type wise, and had so much in common with the other Apollo get and watching those offspring move in an outstanding manner with a constantly wagging tail is really all the proof I need that it probably did happen.
In all this, the qualities they all produced were quite amazing and really changed where the Smooth variety went. Apollo’s grandsire, CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L ROMO, was truly where these qualities came from and that temperament, topline, rear and general type all came down from him and we should really remember that Ully being in his pedigree made him so valuable for the younger Smooths that came along. Never forget that those older dogs are always part of the pedigrees that we produce today.