Shortcut to the plate

Lottie is in hot pursuit. Excited, she pulls on the long orange leash that Sarah Hilckmann is holding loosely. Together with her husband Felix Kirchen, she lets the bloodhound in training lead her cross-country through the forest. Felix had laid the track earlier, which the dachshund is now to find again, relying only on her sense of smell. Lottie runs through the thicket, makes tight turns around trees, the trail is hot… until she lingers in a small clearing, still searching excitedly but noticeably confused. Her training is not yet quite complete.

With a single word, the young dog sits down, "to let the adrenaline settle a bit", she explains. Despite all the euphoria, a tracking dog must always be able to stay under control. "Not least so that he doesn't suddenly jump in front of the barrel of the gun." Sarah and Felix go hunting in their free time, and utilise the game they shoot themselves. "It would be a lie to say that we really never buy meat at all anymore, but most of the meat products we eat ourselves, we make ourselves", says Sarah. "There is no meat more 'bio' and local than this. The way to the plate couldn't be shorter."