We live close to moorland and local farmers will often ask us to help them clear their barns of rats or to get the dogs to find and flush any troublesome foxes, to the gun.   Dachshunds are not terriers and do not hunt like terriers, neither do they hunt like a pack of foxhounds, their role is not to chase, corner and kill.  Their role is to use their nose and their bravery to find and flush foxes to the gun, at the request of farmers or landowners, who have a problem.  The aim is not for the dogs to get into combat or to put themselves in danger.  As in Germany, we observe a "closed" season, to give vixens the opportunity to raise their young in peace.  In Germany, Bernd was required to pass long and stringent examinations (Die Jägerprüfung) so that is the code of ethics we adhere to.  The controlling of foxes is required to retain balance and to preserve and maintain wildlife as a whole.  Preservation is at the forefront of our minds and this is borne out by ongoing studies that prove the flourishing of species such as ground nesting birds, where foxes are moderately controlled.  The fox has no natural predator so it sometimes becomes necessary to prevent an area becoming overrun with foxes, in order to ensure other species are not decimated.  Natural instinct helps the dogs to find and flush vermin, which would be completely unscentable to us.  A dogs nose can separate smells and identify them individually.  For example, we will smell a stew cooking, whereas a dog would smell, carrots, meat, onions and stock.