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And the wiener is . . . BYLINE: John Kelso, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Heather and Mike Hodnett are using the tried-and-true deli ham method
to train their dachshund, Mo, for the Wiener Dog Races today and Sunday
in Buda. "It's not something we do year-round," says Heather,
as she prepares to put Mo through her paces in the Hodnetts' Southwest
Austin Here's how the training works: Both Mo, the 15-pound wiener dog, and Mack, the Hodnetts' white fox terrier with the black face and ears, are led into the yard. Mike brings the bait -- a slice of deli ham in a plastic bag. Mo is loaded into the gate -- a wooden box with a screen front Mike built that is somewhat similar to the gate used in the Buda races. Mack the terrier stands outside the box, next to it. Both dogs are squeaking in excited anticipation as Heather shows them a piece of ham to get them juiced up like Jose Canseco on steroids. "Here Mack, look what I got, look what I got," Heather says to the dogs. "Here Mo. Look what I got." Heather trots to the other end of the yard with the much-coveted bit of ham. Mike lifts the screen on the box, Mo dashes out and Mack takes off after her across the yard. Mack wins the first heat and gets the ham. This is not good. You can't win at Buda if you get your tail whipped by a terrier. "You've got to get a little faster, Mo," Heather admonishes. Next time Mo does, and gets to the ham first. "What people won't do to win $500, right?" says Heather, who works for the state's Department of Housing and Community Affairs. In the Buda races, where more than 300 wiener dogs are expected to compete
this year, dogs run a 100-foot course at City Park. In fact, sometimes
the dogs just wander around, looking confused. And when you stop and think
about it, why would a wiener dog think it was supposed To fix this problem in previous years, dog owners were allowed to coax their dogs at the finish line with food bribes. "For the race, we normally use fried chicken," Mike Hodnett said. But because of an incident in which two dogs squabbled over a steak, food has been disallowed at Buda this year. Also competing this weekend to bring home the bacon (the $500 first prize) are the much-respected wiener dogs owned by the Shocklee brothers, the New York Yankees of Texas wiener dog races. The Hodnetts' Mo won the Buda races in 2003, but the Shocklees didn't enter their dogs that year. "It's funny, that year we didn't even know about them, then the last day everybody was talking about those two dogs," Heather Hodnett said. Those two dogs are Copper, a low-slung streak of greased wiener lightning
owned by Brian Shocklee of Georgetown, and Simba, a veritable Lance Armstrong
of a wiener dog owned by Brian's brother David, of Houston. Simba won
the wiener dog nationals at the greyhound track in Copper won the Buda races in 2001, 2002 and last year, while Simba finished second in those races. So the Shocklees pretty much own Buda. Heck, Simba's even been on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. "They didn't have big prizes (at La Marque)," said Brian, who helps manage the shipping department at Golfsmith in Austin. "All they had was trophies. But in Buda they pay $500, so we like this one a lot better." His dog Copper apparently is hell on wheels when it comes to chasing after objects that can be thrown. This is why Shocklee will stand near the finish line with a ball of some sort, or a squeaky toy. One hopes he won't lose the squeaky toy like the dog owner did in the movie "Best of Show." "He's just one of those rare dogs who is truly involved in chasing
a ball or chasing a stuffed animal," Brian Shocklee said. "He
tunes out other dogs or other people just to go chase whatever we're throwing.
He's just obsessed with it. The race we had a few weeks ago at Waterloo
Then there are those dogs who have yet to win the big prize but keep trying anyway. Take Maria Pronske's dog, Greta, for example. At this weekend's race, Greta will be running -- again. But Greta has yet to win the big prize. Pronske, of West Lake Hills, figures Greta's problem is that she's a standard-size dachshund, making her heavier than much of the competition. "Every year we get beaten by the miniature," Pronske said. "It's like a Suburban trying to race a Corvette." jkelso@statesman.com; 445-3606 |