Guest writer Maria's take on Monday late afternoon's adventures in the hills southeast of Walnut Creek. We explored the Walnut Creek Open Spaces of the Diablo Foothills.
Maria and husband Scott are breeders of a very rare and threatened with extinction breed.
The Transylvanian Hound
They created the website recently(website link below):
"Monday
we took our “pack” out for our third run with the RedBirdDogs! That would be
Rod and his Hungarian Vizslas. Our pack of Transylvanian Hounds, consists of
parents Hannah (5) and Avar (2), plus their two 8-month old sons Adam and Attila.
In her earlier years Hannah enjoyed off leash adventures in the hills around
us, but since becoming pregnant last November she has only been out for on
leash walks. Running in the open space is an entirely new experience for Avar
who spent the first year of his life in Budapest,
Hungary and of
course for Adam and Attila as well.
Hannah, Chloe, Adam, Attila, Avar and Bailey exploring the hills.
For
our inexperienced pack they are fortunate to have Bailey and Chloe, their
Vizsla friends to show them “hunting etiquette” in suburban open space. Until
we took Adam and Attila out for a short jaunt last week, “the boys” only had
experience chasing squirrels in our back yard and could only dream of chasing
the deer we’ve encountered walking the neighborhood on-leash.
Bailey, Adam, Avar, Attila, Chloe and Hannah streak across the hillside.
Transylvanian
Hounds (Erdelyi Kopó) are scent hounds and were bred to hunt bear, boar, deer
and lynx. They are also known as a driving hound as they are a game chaser,
whose job it is to drive the quarry towards the hunter. They generally work in
small packs of 2-4 dogs, with the older dogs teaching the younger dogs hunting
skills.
Hannah, Attila, Adam and Avar in the late afternoon sunlight
Like
a kid in a candy store our pack’s exuberance was palpable! Unlike a kid in a
candy store, they were relatively well behaved. Our purpose was to take them
out to experience the “great outdoors” and to learn off leash behavior. We did
expect them to catch scents and give chase, they did not disappoint! To hear
their hunting cry echo through the hills as we watched them streak across the
open spaces giving chase was an absolute thrill. Then seeing them happily
return, panting and grinning, was a very proud moment indeed.
Adam, Bailey, Avar, Attila, Hannah and Chloe running back to us
They
tested their limits and gave chase again, feeling more confident in their
abilities and more comfortable ranging away from us. We put them back on their
leashes a couple of times to remind them not to range so far and so
independently. Overall for a young inexperienced pack they showed remarkable
skill and obedience. These Kopó have earned another jaunt into the hills with
the RedBirdDogs as their leaders!"
Heading for home, Bailey, Attila, Avar, Hannah, Chole, and Adam
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