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SALUKI (GAZELLE HOUND) BREED NOTES

SALUKI NOTES WEEK ENDING 8th September 2000

Karen Newham has sent the following note regarding her judging at the SGHC Open Show: “First of all, many thanks to you all for such a lovely entry of hounds. All were nicely presented and very well behaved. None of them refused to be seen, and in spite of the weather everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.

I have not had the chance to look properly at British Salukis for some time, though I have been to several shows, but I think perhaps there is a little improvement on those of a few years ago. I have now been with Salukis for about 23 years and remember the ancestors of most of those present today - perhaps I could observe a few points from the outside.

Please when you think of breeding from your hound then do your homework. Look at anything and everything to do with your pedigree. Talk to anyone who will talk to you about any aspect of the breeding, not just the breeder of your bitch, but those who knew the older dogs and those who were in the ring or on the field at the same time with their own dogs. These people usually will be glad to help in any way - if they try to put you off then think why? Maybe there is a valid reason, maybe not, but don't dismiss it out of hand. Gather all the information you can. Read, talk, watch and decide for yourself what you want. Make sure that you understand what you are trying to achieve, and then do it in the best way you are able. If you really want to do the best for our beautiful hounds then don't sit in camps, separate and as rivals. This achieves nothing. At shows there are no winners or losers, it all depends on the judge's opinion and interpretation of a very loose standard. We all know that this depends on so many things, and the dog you take home is always the best dog anyway!

Having said this, I was glad to see that after a few classes you all began to see that showing doesn't have to be the "life or death" situation, and that when you relaxed a little the dogs themselves were much happier and showed themselves off to their best in many cases. Had this been a Championship Show then of course things tend to be very serious so perhaps it would have been different, but the Open Show always used to be a good day out for both hounds and owners, so I hope you enjoyed your day too.

A last thought - afterwards someone said that they had expected me to put up the smooth bitch as best bitch. Why? Because it is a smooth and I have them too? Maybe I should also put up creams because my best ever saluki so far was a cream, or a black and tan because I once had nine of them, or a grizzle because my most handsome dog was a grizzle beyond compare? Don't forget that most judges have a previous history with the breed ( if they haven't then they shouldn't be judging) and that history is usually much broader than their latest star in the ring - please don't assume that you know what they will think. Usually you don't, and most judges have enough integrity to do the job to the best of their ability. I hope you will support them and discard the ones that don't.

Last of all, many thanks to you all for a lovely day.”

Hound Association was last Saturday and our judge was Mr Nick Bryce-Smith. He chose for the BOB,Dog CC ,( his second CC), Mr P & Mrs J MAHON’S Timaru Valkyrie of Jazirat (Imp) The RDCC was Mr C M & Mrs H V Williams & Mrs R. REDFERN’S Ch El Hamrah Mehrab-Khalifa (Imp) The Bitch CC was Mrs D GARRATT’S Ch Caryna Hera JW with Res Bitch CC to Mrs C ORMSBY’S Al Caliphs Subhadra of Yazid
Best Puppy : was Mrs E A MACDONALD’S Mabrooka Jayid
Best Veteran : Mr A MACDONALD’S Ch Mabrooka Matara
Timaru Valkyrie of Jazirat (imp) went on to win RBIS under the judge Leonard Pagliero, OBE.
Mabrooka Jayid went 4th Best Puppy in Show and won the Puppy Stakes which qualifies him for the Pup of the Year competition. This feat was also accomplished by His father, Baghdad Foreign Affair of Lokhandar (imp), a couple of years ago. Well done all on a very successful show for Salukis.

I have heard that Mavis Shellard is steadily improving. I am sure she would love to hear news from everybody. Out thoughts are with her and we hope her progress continues in A positive manner.

Michael Williams (cmhwilliams@hotmail.com)

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