After 50 Years with Norfolk Terriers:

A Somewhat More Detailed Biography

Stuffed animals in the crib? Well, perhaps even back then my parents planted the love of animals in me from the very start. What is certain is that from a very early age, I preferred playing with stuffed animals and teddy bears rather than dolls. Dolls were not my world, but animals in circus wagons and cows and horses were my passion from very early on, and as a child I wished for nothing more than a dog. Fortunately, my parents were animal lovers!

So a wire-haired dachshund joined our small family relatively early on — a dürrlaubfarben (dead-leaf colored) standard Teckel, as they were called back then.

My aunt bred Teckels for hunting, and I felt infinitely happy at her place on the large estate in the Osnabrück region. There were also cattle, poultry, pigs, and working horses there (and later a “Frankenlerche” Irish Terrier!), and my father put me on the back of one of those draft horses early on. A few years later came the love of horses, starting with vaulting lessons, then dressage and a bit of show jumping, for a time working at a stud farm with trotting racehorses, and plenty of leisure riding in nature. There was a wonderful period when I spent every summer in the countryside in the Bremerhaven region, helping with all the agricultural work there — the harvest and, of course, the tasks involving farm animals, from feeding, milking, and births, all the way to being solely responsible for the dairy cows when the family went on holiday for a few days! Back then, farming was still traditionally run with plenty of pasture grazing and no factory farming. In the neighboring village, I trained a horse breeder’s young Hanoverians.

Later, Thoroughbreds became my great passion for several years during my school and university days — training gallopers at the Riem racecourse. During my studies, I completed an internship in the USA, which also included training Western horses. After graduating from high school in Munich, I first studied agricultural sciences in Weihenstephan, then veterinary medicine in Munich and Hannover. I completed my doctorate in microbiology in Munich and assisted in a rural veterinary practice at the Ammersee in Bavaria. The move from the south to the north, back to my home in northern Germany (I am actually a true Hamburger!) was in May 1990. There, I intensified the breeding of my Norfolk Terriers, which had already been part of my life for several years since 1976. Before that, incidentally, I had raised four Teckel litters at home in my youth in the early 1970s. Dead-leaf colored wire-haired dachshunds, which have also become rare today. Yet I have always remained faithful to the red color and the rough coat!

Already in the years before the move, I had successfully shown my dogs at exhibitions, but in the years that followed, this became an intensive pursuit for another 30 years — right up until the start of the COVID pandemic and the associated halt of shows — and in some years I entered up to 80 individual entries. Great successes such as countless national, European, and World winners, champion titles in numerous countries, group wins and placements, and Best in Show wins with my dogs made us known internationally and worldwide. Numerous dogs from my breeding program were successful for other breeders, complementing or founding their breeding programs, including in many other countries. The first Norfolk Terrier not born in England to become a champion there came from my breeding — followed by further UK champions, as well as USA champions and a Best in Show there! In numerous countries, my dogs have clearly left their mark, particularly in Scandinavia but also in other EU countries and even in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In addition to the countless dog shows I attended, showing my dogs there with great joy and considerable success, I organized — together with friends in my role as breed warden in the Klub für Terrier (KfT) — regular large gatherings for Norfolk Terrier breeders and owners over many years, usually held alongside KfT breed shows. We invited well-known breeders from other countries as judges and hosted nearly all the prominent names from England, the USA, and Scandinavia. These were wonderful events where large numbers of Norfolk Terrier enthusiasts came together with their dogs. In 1996, we published a handbook about Norfolks.

I myself, after completing training as a breed warden, passed the examination to become a breed judge for low-legged terriers in 1991 and judged numerous times both domestically and abroad. Particularly memorable were the invitations to specialty shows for Norfolk Terriers in Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and England. There, I judged among other events the Norfolk Terrier Club Championship Show, and in the USA, in addition to several smaller club events, even Montgomery County — reputedly the largest terrier show in the world. That was a great honor. For the invitations in England and the USA, one first had to be accepted onto the judges’ list there, which involved considerable effort and was largely based on experience and the number of previous judging assignments.

My dogs have left their mark on the Norfolk Terrier world, even in their country of origin, through close contacts and good collaboration with renowned breeders there. Their descendants are successful and have proven themselves. I would not want to be without the wonderful connections to other breeders around the world, with whom I have built long-standing friendships and repeatedly exchanged dogs. Just as I was able to learn a great deal from experienced breeders, particularly in the UK and USA, I have tried as a mentor to pass on my knowledge to new breeders and help them establish a breeding program. Unfortunately, very few are still active, and our beloved breed will likely hardly be bred in the future, because it is not easy and one cannot make money from them, as litters are too small (and the rate of missed pregnancies too high).

From the VDH (German Kennel Club), I was awarded the Baron von Gingins Memorial Medal in 2007 for my contributions to breeding — the highest distinction bestowed there..

Further four-legged companions in my life included first an Andalusian mare, Sonora, a wonderful horse who accompanied me for nearly 30 years. Her dam, Desdinada, also lived with me for some years. Later, two Thoroughbred mares joined us to spend their retirement with me: Sweet Caroline and All Our Luck. After their passing, a few Miniature Shetland ponies moved in with us, as they needed a new home due to their owner’s serious illness. A few chickens and cats were always part of the farmstead, of course. And now my third Deerhound — a wonderful breed if you want a large dog by your side. A very sweet and pretty Airedale Terrier lady has been guarding the house and farm for some years now, since sighthounds are less suited for that purpose! She and the Deerhound are the best of friends and constantly play together! So four-legged companions have accompanied my entire life, and breeding the rare Norfolk Terrier was my life’s purpose, to which I devoted myself with great dedication for five decades, building a valuable gene pool in the process.

After nearly 50 years, we have now retired to our historically significant farmstead right on the Weser dike, not far from Verden an der Aller, and have downsized considerably. Beyond the joy my dogs have given me personally over all these years, I can look back knowing that I have made many people very happy with one of my puppies. So much positive feedback from satisfied owners, and the countless messages that have repeatedly confirmed how much happiness a four-legged friend from me has brought into their lives, shows me that perhaps with all the effort I have invested in this breeding program, I have been able to make the world at least a little bit better for the new owners of my dogs. Then all the heart and soul that breeding Norfolk Terriers over such a long time has demanded was indeed worthwhile — for this breed is truly not easy to breed. That is why so few do it worldwide. And very few persevere for decades!

The many wonderful encounters with interesting people and the numerous friendships that have arisen through these dogs over the course of the decades are something I would not want to be without. They are an incredible enrichment of everyday life with the animals and some endure to this day. Unfortunately, quite a few of them are no longer with us and I miss them dearly. In my heart and in my memory, however, they all remain present — whether two-legged or four-legged.

Dr. Frauke Hinsch