Daxlore Salukis in Portugal

Photo session with João Almeida

2012-01-27T13:49:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, our good friend and freelance photographer João Almeida used his talents with the camera and took some of the most marvellous photos of our boys to date. The result shows our boys playing and running in a sandy landscape, so typical of our Saluki imaginary.

We cannot thank João enough for his time, patience and dedication.

One can find João Almeida's works over here:
[Photo site]
[Photo blog]
[Photo twitter]

João's full profile [here].

The photos:

Santa Claus loves Salukis

2012-01-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

This last Christmas was wonderful for the boys who got a few presents: a termic water bottle for us to take on our lengthy walks and runs from my Parents, a furry yellow squeaky rugby ball Mrs. Helen Graham (Daxlore Salukis) sent from Saint Antonin Noble Val in replacement of a shaggy old green used-to-squeak one and, most recently, a couple of wonderfully beautiful ceremonial dog collars, hand-made by our most talented friends Joana Búzio and Maria Madalena Paixão Marques.

Thank everyone for their kindness towards our boys.

New youtube video

2011-09-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Our boys having fun at the beach. Click [here] to watch the video.

"Should a Saluki move with Tremendous Reach and Drive (TRAD)?", Robert Cole

2011-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

Mr. Robert Cole is a canine expert from the USA who contributed articles for many years to the canine press in the UK and also published a compilation of these articles as a book. In these articles he presented four or five outline dogs and asked readers to place them as if they were a judge. He then gave a commentary on each dog and the correct placings in terms of their conformation.

In this article he examines the TRAD (Tremendous Reach and Drive) Saluki and depicts very well the difference between the TRAD version and the typical.

To read the article here just scroll down until your reach the article at the bottom of the page.

“Saluki, Companion of Kings” (Vera Hope Watkins) – book review

2011-08-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Windswift Salukis are one of my personal favourite kennels, for all I can see from old photos of the most important dogs bred by Miss Vera Watkins, since the affix stopped existing when Miss Watkins passed away.

This is a different book, more intimate, with a feel of reading a newsletter or paper on the breed more than a traditionally structured book. Miss Watkins showed no problems on stating personal opinions on how the breed should judged, bred, interpreted and handled on her book. Her texts are direct and concise, to the point, almost like she orally dictated her writing to a recording machine or a reporter. That makes the book very intimate and personal and the reader never loses the feeling that it is reading Miss Watkins’s feelings about the Saluki and her Windswifts and the kennels of her time and not a more in-the-middle structured book with lots of research from other sources, pages of fancy pictures and the lot. She wrote what she knew directly about the breed, straight from her experience and knowledge, which she shared in this valuable book.

Miss Watkins’s preference went to smaller and lighter Salukis and some of her concerns when writing the book were that of smaller Salukis being ignored in dog shows in favour of bigger and heavier strains. Windswifts were really smaller and lighter Salukis, the kind of Salukis that originated in desert areas where they had to travel at horses and camels backs towards areas where the Bedouin could set them free to catch smaller prey, while other strains were heavier and hunted bigger game in more irregular terrains. This strain was her favourite and the kind of Saluki she tried to achieve.

The book has a nice study on the Saluki standard, with full explanation of every aspect of the standard and other aspects missing from it too, like details on how a Saluki should move. Movement on the Saluki has a very interesting appendix on this book that fully explains the major faults to look for when a Saluki is moving. This book appendix was written by Miss June Applebee, and is indeed a very valuable addition to the book.

The Judging your Saluki chapter is an obligatory reading to everyone in touch with Salukis at dog shows, mainly judges. It is very detailed and, once again, has a very personal touch on it.
Clearly Miss Watkins’s main concern about the breed is that it should be kept pure, true to type, within the standard. She championed many beautiful Saluki hounds over the years and reading her book was both a learning and humbling experience. The expressed opinions on if one should mate her Saluki bitch, what to look for in a sire, the dangers and sins of dog showing, the danger of losing sight of how a Saluki should look like and of how the imports defined the standard should mandatorily be read by anyone involved or to be involved in this wonderful world of “Salukidom”.

The concerns of Miss Watkins in 1974 are the same we must all have in 2011.

Estoril photos and videos

2011-08-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Photos and three videos taken this weekend in the Estoril shows.

[1st video] | [2nd video] | [3rd video]

Estoril Expo's

2011-08-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Next Friday the 19th of August and the following Sunday on the 21st, Daxlore Yanis and Daxlore Danarius will enter ring for the Estoril shows. Daxlore Yanis will show at the Specialty on Friday while Daxlore Danarius will enter ring Sunday at the International.

Full details [here] and [here].

Daxlore Danarius in action

2011-08-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Danarius at the ring.
Photos taken at the 117th Lisboa International Dog Show by Teresa Oliveira.

Expression of self

2011-08-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

self-expression
n
the expression of one's own personality, feelings, etc., as in painting, poetry, or other
creative activity
self-expressive adj

Photo and editing credits to Pedro Oliveira and Lorraine Fitzgerald (Dawnchase Salukis, UK)

Lisboa results

2011-07-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Danarius was Best of Opposite Sex Saturday, under Judge Mrs. Gabriela Veiga (PT) and was awarded both the CAC and CACIB Saturday at the 117th Lisboa International Dog Show (Lisboa Winner 2011).

As for Daxlore Yanis he was awarded, Sunday at the 118th Lisboa International Dog Show (Ch. Qualifier), with the RCAC-QC and RCACIB. Judge was Mr. Roberto Velez Pico (PR)

Daxlore Yanis was awarded with the QC (Ch. Qualifier). We are waiting for the Portuguese Kennel Club's official confirmation on his Portuguese Championship.

Thank you Pedro for the wonderful photos.

Lisboa dog shows

2011-07-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Next weekend, Daxlore Danarius and Daxlore Yanis will enter ring at the 117th Lisboa International Dog Show (Lisboa Winner 2011) and the 118th Lisboa International Dog Show (CAC-QC).

Danarius will enter ring #4 around 10:48AM under Judge Mrs. Gabriela Veiga (PT), on Saturday. On Sunday around 11:03AM, at ring #9 under Judge Mr. Roberto Velez Pico (PR), it will Daxlore Yanis' turn to compete for the most valuable CAC-QC to become Portuguese Champion.

You can find both show's time tables here (Saturday show) and here (Sunday show).

Both shows' location:
Hipódromo do Campo Grande, Lisboa
Azinhaga dos Ameixiais, Lisboa, Portugal
GPS: 38º45’24.92’’N – 9º09’37.49’’W

Bedouin song

2011-06-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

From the Desert I come to thee
On a stallion shod with fire;
And the winds are left behind
In the speed of my desire.
Under thy window I stand,
And the midnight hears my cry:
I love thee, I love but thee,
With a love that shall not die
Till the sun grows cold,
And the stars are old,
And the leaves of the Judgment
Book unfold

Success for Daxlore Danarius

2011-04-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today, at the 1st Montijo National Dog Show, Daxlore Danarius achieved his first CAC and was Best of Breed, finishing later in 2nd place for Best of Group. Daxlore Yanis was RCAC and 1st at the Open Class - both graded "excellent" by judge Mr. José Homem de Mello (PT), who also did the group judging in the afternoon.

Both our boys behaved beautifully and we're very pleased to see the younger boy evolving this way. Almost at the age of 2 years old, he looks very mature at the ring and he's a great pleasure to handle and watch. We're hoping both our boys will achieve a great many things this year.

Wonderful to see Jeane's debut in handling Danarius at the final minutes of the breed judging in the morning - very brave job handling your pup to victory.

Thanks to our family and friends for the wonderful day. Special thanks for my beloved parents for their immense patience and love.

1st Montijo National Dog Show

2011-04-14T15:19:00.001-07:00

After quite a long sabbatical period without dog show activity, Daxlore Danarius and Daxlore Yanis will enter ring next Sunday the 16th of April at the 1st Montijo National Dog Show.

Judge will be Mr. José Homem de Mello (PT). They'll enter ring #4 around 12:18PM - Danarius at the Intermediate class and Yanis at the Open class.

You can check the complete timetable here. The venue will be at the Parque de Exposições do Montijo.

This will be the first ever dog show at Montijo and we're very happy to be part of this event. Let's hope this will be the first of many.

"The Saluki in History, Art and Sport", Hope and David Waters

2011-03-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

Nowhere to be found was this book, the classic of all classic books about the Saluki, written by the late Mr. and Mrs. David and Hope Waters (Burydown), first released in 1969, being out of print for as long as I tried to buy it. And it has been so for many years, as far as I know. One can find, occasionally, 2nd hand online offers over the Internet, but not being too much of a fancier of buying 2nd hand items of unknown provenience I kept hesitating, and never went forward buying it in such conditions.

I was lucky enough to learn, recently, that Mrs. Helen Graham (Daxlore) became aware that a lady in London, who inherited some Saluki memorabilia from an aunt of hers, was selling some if not all of the items that came into her possession. It was a trusted, known source, so I went for it and one of the things that I immediately purchased, without a blink of an eye, was a 1st edition copy of this famous book.

A decision I won't ever regret.

Beside being truly a collector's item, it is also a book that stands on his own despite that fact - beautifully illustrated, wonderfully written and very well assembled, it would still the book to read on the subject of the Saluki even if it was released today. Why this book is out of print I cannot understand. Any serious Saluki fancier, owner or breeder should have access to this very educational book, written by two of the most influential people in the Saluki world, in an era where kennels like Burydown, Knightellington, Daxlore, Windswift, Mazuri, Tahawi and many others kept the breed true to type. But the task of finding a copy is a very hard one.

This wonderful book starts off the best way possible, the first 6 chapters dedicated to the Saluki origins and history. The beautiful illustrations that go with the text fail only because of some being black and white. Anything else is priceless. It's quite obvious that most of what can be found in dozens of books and thousands of articles and websites about the breed originated in these texts. After the initial chapters, the book becomes a little bit more trivial, addressing more common interests about the breed - caring for your Saluki, Salukis in Britain, Europe and America, etc. But they saved the best for last, since the last chapter and the appendix are pure gems: "Saluki in art" and a text written by the Hon. Florence Amherst in 1907 on her view of the breed.

Reading the book, looking at pictures of dogs from the 1920's to the 1960's, looking at portraits, frescoes, bronze medals and artwork, some a few hundred centuries old, the reader gets a sense of getting educated on what a Saluki should really look like in such a delicate manner that resembles the breed's temperament itself. The Saluki heritage, and the responsibility everyone embraces when taking a Saluki into their home, is very well demonstrated throughout the book, overwhelmingly co-substanced with historical facts, artistic artifacts, reports, stories and poems, adding up to the authors and their predecessors' knowledge and competence of years of study on the subject.

I once had a piano teacher that felt compelled to teach me not only the classic pieces everyone else was learning, but also pieces composed by her late father, no doubt a very gifted pianist and composer. Two out of three pieces I learned at that time period were composed by my teacher's father. So, It's only normal and understandable that most of the pictures on the book displayed most of the authors' Burydown champions of that era - a little but forgivable peccadillo from the authors' natural pride in their winning dogs. After all, Burydown produced some of the best champions and quality dogs of our time, being one of the most influential blood lines in many of the western Saluki kennels to this day.

I frequently hear at dog shows that both my Daxlore Salukis are of a "classic type", that I must be prepared that "some judges won't understand that" and it's a "really hard path" the one I chose, regarding success at dog shows, naturally. All of this sounds all kinds of alarms. What those people are really saying is that Salukis resembling in type those of "classic" origin will have a hard time winning at the ring in favour of more stylish and extravagant dogs, recent products of fashion and hype, imperfectly exaggerated, its resemblance to past hounds in the desert nowhere to be found. One can only hope that the "classic" type, like anything else that falls into that category, will stand the proof of time, and that fads will go away as quick as they came. Other breeds weren't so lucky and were lost forever, mere shadows of the original functional dogs. Few breeds, if any at all, have all of this rich and contextualized historical background to support their continuation. Let's hope foundations like these are enough to prevent disaster.

Some things are meant to last. Books like this should not only belong to a library and be esteemed as part of one's proud collection; they should be read more than once. Read it again if you haven't done it yet. I know I will.

Quite an experience reading this book, and an unforgettable one. In my opinion, there's much, much more to be said, researched and interpreted about our lovely breed in history, but mainly in art. Any art historian out there that should dedicate time and efforts on this subject would most certainly find himself on his way to a discovery that surpasses, very largely, the fact that we're addressing the subject of a hunting canine of the desert.

Our boys running free

2011-02-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Our boys doing what they do best. [Click here]

"The Saluki", by Amy Nicole Pierce

2011-02-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

"Sleek and graceful
This is me
Lithe and beautiful
Wild and free
Endless energy...
The thrill of the chase
This life is mine
It makes my heart race
The love in my heart
The breeze in my face
Racing the wind
What's around the next bend?
With quickened pace and
The thundering of paws
My soul is the earth
My thoughts are the stars
I just love running
For I'm part of the sun
My name is Saluki
Now my race has begun"

The Saluki, by Amy Nicole Pierce, USA

TV ad: Optimus' "Chateau Brutal" commercial

2010-11-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

From all the experiences you can learn from living with dogs, and particularly Salukis, shooting a TV ad is, no doubt, a very unusual one. Joana Búzio, a very good friend of mine and a reputed whippet breeder, asked me if I was interested in sending photos of the boys to a professional dog trainer who was looking for sighthounds for a commercial. I sent him the photos and, a few days later, they were selected for the job.

I got the script for the shootings the day before the recording sessions. The first shot location was in the Palacio do Correio-Mor in a town called Loures. When I got there I realised what a big thing this really was: besides our boys, there were 30 or so actors and supporting actors, models, two horses and a carriage, sports cars, motorcycles, and lots of sound techs, make up artists and the like. The actors were dressed up in 18th century French court style. The theme for the ad is a Count of French ascendancy who goes crazy and gives 1 million euro in phone calls and SMS's to all users who join the 'Optimus Tag' network. More or less, something of a Moulin Rouge (the movie) type thing. A bit nuts, really, but quite funny.

The shootings started at 4pm and they filmed some outdoor shots. Here, our boys were required to walk on leash with 'the Count' and two ladies. Sadly, they didn't include this take in the ad. They also left out the parts with the sports cars, bikes etc. They included very little from the outdoor shootings, really.

I took the crate and all the stuff I usually take to dog shows so that by 17.30 pm or so the boys retired to the crate and slept until we left the place about 8pm to go to the Palacio Foz in Lisbon. Here they shot most of the scenes that ended up making the bulk of the ad. Around 11pm the boys were required to sit in a 'French portrait' kind of shot, where the Count held them on a leash surrounded by the Count's party. They behaved very well outdoors but here they were stressed out a little bit. The place was crowded, noisy and it took some time before I was able to calm them down. I relaxed them using 'horse whispering' techniques and belly and back massages and they quietened down quite nicely. But when they were finally relaxed, someone decided it was a good idea to shoot some dry ice underneath the platform they were sitting on and they went nuts – for dogs and wolves, smoke means fire – so they flashed away from the platform like their lives depended on it, and I had to restart the whole process again.

I was with Fernando Silva (the professional dog trainer), a really nice person. He was wonderfully sweet to the boys and they loved him immediately. He was my interface with the techs. He helped me out with every aspect regarding the dogs and what they had to do and when, he was great.

When we left the set, he said the boys were incredible. He had already shot with other sighthounds and had bad experiences and, knowing that our boys are not the 'sit, wait, roll over, play dead' kind of dog, he was amazed at how quickly they adapted to all the fuss and mess of a TV set. And they were really amazing and sweet. Like all Saluki things, one has to have the right approach and be patient and kind and wait until they relax and acknowledge that there is no danger in the new surroundings. After that, it's a win.

Danarius stresses more at the beginning but once he calms down, he's the funniest guy. He licked some of the female models' noses and even tried to chew the hand fan of the girl standing next to him in the last shooting – after the dry ice episode and all. As for Yanis, he simply ignores everyone in this situation and focuses on me only. His main goal is to always know where I am at every minute and as long as I'm near, he's okay. He doesn't have the initial stress like the younger one has, but never relaxes to the point of becoming playful. Always in the middle, looking out for me to make sure it's okay to do what those strange persons are asking him to do. Very interesting personalities.

After the last shots in Lisbon, our work was done and we left for home. It was a really interesting experience, really worthy of doing, but very exhausting. As for the result, I wasn't expecting for them to show more than one second at a time, but I was expecting for them to use both shots, the outdoors walk on leash and the indoors portrait. They only used the indoors one but from what I saw they threw away 99% of the material they recorded: a full day of film turned into a puny 30 second TV ad. But that's fine, one has to value the experience more than the final result.

The campaign started on November 1st and is showing every now and then on the major TV channels here in Portugal. Optimus is the third biggest phone company in Portugal with about 1.7 million customers, right behind TMN and Vodafone, and they really invest a lot in marketing.

There is a video on youtube which shows the glorious last second where the boys show up.

Fernando took lots of photos but unfortunately one of his dogs chewed up the cable that links the camera to the computer but as soon as he figures out how to get the photos from the camera he will send them to me.

Review on "Saluki: The Desert Hound and the English Travelers Who Brought It to the West"

2010-10-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Always eager to read everything I can about the breed I love, I recently ordered and read Mr. Patrick Duggan's book, "Saluki: The Desert Hound and the English Travelers Who Brought It to the West".

Living in Portugal was no easy task for the Saluki fancier in the early nineties, when I started attending as a youngster to dog shows, where finding material to read and investigating about the Saluki was very hard if not impossible for someone out of the dog breeding inner circles. It took some time until the Internet got flooded with literally everything about anything. Nowadays it is quite easy to search for videos, photos and articles, something impossible to do years ago. But the experience of the early years is still very present in me and it didn't get old, so the sight of a new book about the Saluki in my hands still causes me a childish joy, and this book was no exception.

Hardly deserving of praises like "Duggan...has done so thorough and readable a job as to render any further book on the subject unnecessary" (American Kennel Club Gazette), it is indeed a very interesting book, well worth reading. The subject of the book is, in my opinion, what is not so right about what it offers in content. It focusses on the life stories of Hon. Florence Amherst, General Lance and other British Officers serving in the middle east, their first imports, the context of their time and place, but lacks a little bit on focussing on the breed itself. It's more about the "English travelers who brought it to the west" than the Saluki itself - but that's quite alright, after all.

It's not at all an all-around book for those who are first starting to learn about the Saluki and are willing to buy their first book on the breed - instead, it is for the Saluki fancier who already has some degree of knowledge on the breed and its origins but is unaware of more detailed stories behind those who brought it first to England. Those who care less about the breed but want to read about that special moment in time of the British Empire and the Arab culture of the late 19th, early 20th century, will also find the book interesting. For the British Saluki expert, however, I would guess this isn't such an interesting book, although interesting still. For me, it was worth the reading and I feel that I know more about the subject now than before reading this book.

Overall, if you are willing to add knowledge on the breed and fancy historical subjects, go ahead and buy this book. I enjoyed it very much and would read it again.

Estoril results

2010-08-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Yanis and Daxlore Danarius achieved wonderful results this weekend at the Special, National and International dog show marathon in Estoril.

Daxlore Danarius, handled by our good friend Ana Sousa, entered ring to win Best Junior Friday, at the Specialty. Both him and Daxlore Yanis got the "Excellent" grade by Judge Mr. Luís Catalan (PT). Daxlore Yanis finished 3rd place at the Open Class.

Ana Sousa leaving ring with Danarius

Practice time with Yanis

Both behaved very well, Danarius adapted very easily to Ana's brilliant handling. Very refreshing to watch from the stands your dogs being handled by other people, and if the handler is a friend like Ana, even better.

Mr. Luís Catalan (PT) evaluating Danarius

The remarkably high number of entries for Salukis is very good news for the breed here in Portugal, and the high quality of the dogs competing was remarkable, among them national and international champions.

The following day, at the National, Daxlore Yanis entered ring to win Best of Opposite Sex and achieve his 6th CAC. Judge Mr. Jeff Horswell (GB) graded him "Excellent".

"Good type, excellent head, correct top line. Good posture.
Excellent, 1st place" Judge Mr. Jeff Horswell (GB)

Finally, it was Daxlore Danarius turn to return to the ring at the International on Sunday, to win Best Junior again and, this time, to also win Best of Opposite Sex, amazing for such a young fellow, even more if you think of the opposition he had to face.

"Very good looking. Noble head with good eyes. (...) Good and stylish movement.
Good hair and texture" Excellent, Best of Opposite Sex, Paola Watten (IT)

Many, many thanks to all our friends and partners in crime at dog shows. Extra special thanks to Ana Sousa for handling our younger boy on Friday, to Pedro Oliveira for all the help with the logistics and his photographic skills, to Elza, Luís, baby Gabriel, Adolfo, baby Dharma for their friendship and wonderful photos, Joana and the whole Whippet-team (a.k.a. the "w-team") - you're all the best.

Extended weekend at Estoril

2010-08-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Yanis and Daxlore Danarius will enter ring the next three shows at Estoril, starting Friday the 20th of August. Friday afternoon, around 3, will be the Sighthound and Saluki specialty. Both Daxlore Yanis (Open Class) and Daxlore Danarius (Junior Class) will enter ring. Judge will be Mr. Luís Catalan (PT).

Saturday, around 12:51, Daxlore Yanis will enter ring #3 under Judge Mr. Jeff Horswell (GB) at the National and at the International, Sunday, it will be Daxlore Danarius' turn to enter ring #11 around 12:09. Sunday's judge will be Mrs. Paola Watten (IT).

5th Estoril National Dog Show timetable.
59th Costa do Estoril International Dog Show' timetable.

Location for the events here.

Salukis in Britain: early years

2010-08-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

The British Pathe is a very peculiar website containing a vast collection of old movies, TV documentaries and the like from the end of the XIX century to the late 70's. The following movie clips show what the early imports and dogs looked like in the early 20's and 30's. Here we can see the classic Saluki very well represented by some magnificent dogs, true to type. These were the dogs who defined the Saluki standard, the first imports to Britain from reputable Arab breeders and the result of the first British litters.

[1923 footage]
This film shows features the Sarona and Amherstia Salukis. It shows Brigadier General Lance and his wife feeding their Salukis on a wet day. Sarona Kelb, the Adam of British Saluki dogs, shows in this film at the age of 4, looking magnificent. This was the year the breed standard was first written.

Sarona Kelb

[1930 footage]
A film taken at the Isle of Wight, showing bathing suit girls walking several Salukis to the beach in a flamboyant fashion. The video starts with the girls playing with a few puppies in the garden.

[1933 footage]
This video is probably earlier that 1933, since Sarona Kelb died in 1931 and still features in this clip, standing on a table side by side with other Salukis. This footage shows Brigadier Lance and his party walking the dogs.

[1955 footage]
The only clip with sound. It features a TV spot for the 1955 SGHC /Arab Horse Society Show, held in Roehampton. Professional dog trainer John Holmes staged an impressive demonstration with Miss KM Trevithick's trained Mazuri Salukis.

Photos from last weekend at Sintra

2010-08-01T07:17:00.001-07:00

Luísa showing her skills with Daxlore Yanis at the Junior Handling class

Daxlore Danarius moving

Daxlore Danarius showing his joy

Daxlore Yanis 5th CAC at 2 years old

Best Male Junior of Breed for Daxlore Danarius

2010-07-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Under Judge Mr. Gert Christensen (DK), Daxlore Danarius was Best Male Junior of Breed this Sunday at the 27th Sintra International Dog Show. He was then shortlisted for the Best Male Junior in Show under Judge Mr. Zeferino Silva (PT).

He was graded "Excellent" and got the following review by Mr. Chistensen:
"Long masculine head. Nice eyes. Good neck and top line. Excellent body, well proportioned. Moves well. Nice temperament."

5th CAC for Daxlore Yanis at Sintra

2010-07-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Yanis got his 5th CAC at the 29th Sintra National Dog Show. He finished 1st at the Open Class with the "Excellent" grade and was also Best of Opposite Sex.

Judge Mr. Zeferino Silva (PT) wrote of him:
"Typical. Well proportioned. Correct head. Good angulations. Enough chest. Correct top line. Good tail insertion. Moves correctly but could have better pace."

It was nice to see more Salukis today at the show, owned by Portuguese. Let's hope this tendency keeps up. Tomorrow is Daxlore Danarius' turn at the Junior Class. Let's see what happens, it should be fun.

Photos will follow the next few days.

Sintra shows' schedule

2010-07-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

The schedule for next weekend's Sintra dog shows is out. Daxlore Yanis will enter ring #1, Saturday, at the 29th Sintra National Dog Show, under Judge Mr. Arne Foss (NO) at 12:48 for the Open Class. Sunday, at the Junior class, it will be Daxlore Danarius' turn to enter ring #1 around 12:30 at the 27th Sintra International Dog Show. Judge will be Mr. Gert Christensen (DK).

Show details: [National] [Internacional]
Timetables: [National] [Internacional]

Lisbon shows - two wonderful days

2010-07-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Danarius started the best way imaginable the first of two shows in Lisbon this weekend, at the 115th Lisbon International Dog Show.

He finished 1st at the Junior class in the morning, under Judge Mr. Per Iversen (NO), who wrote a wonderful review of him:

"Lovely dog. Moves with attitude. Very nice head and expression. Good neck, body and top line. Well presented" - 1st place, graded "Excellent".

In the afternoon, among 40 or so other junior male dogs, he finished in a fantastic 3rd place, under Judge Mrs. Ann Joe Sampaio (BR).

He is a very promising young fellow who became very confident at the ring and is a joy to watch and handle. The day was both a pleasure and a success.

The next day, at the 116th Lisbon International Dog Show, it was Daxlore Yanis turn to enter the ring, with the difficult task to compete for the C.A.C.-Q.C. among much mature and older dogs at the Open Class.

He did wonderfully, finishing 3rd place, under Judge Mr. Geert Jipping (NL), who also wrote an excellent review of him:

"Good type with the correct proportions. Excellent head and correct expression. Correct chest and angulations. Moves very well". Graded "Excellent", 3rd place.

Both our dogs are in the process of maturing still: Yanis always the younger dog at the Open Class, Danarius still a Junior, but future looks very promising, with lots of margin of progress.

The good times we spent with our dear friends this weekend was half of the fun. Thank you all that came to see us Saturday. Special thanks to Marisa Silva and Pedro Oliveira for Saturday's pictures.

With our good friends Mr. and Mrs. O'Daly and their beautiful Salukis

Lisbon International Dog Shows schedule is out

2010-07-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Portuguese Kennel Club has released next weekend's schedule for the 115th International Lisbon Dog Show (Lisboa Winner 2010, CAC, CACIB) and the 116th International Lisbon Dog Show (CAC-QC, CACIB) - Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th of July, respectively.

Daxlore Danarius will be presented at the Junior class Saturday, 10:06AM, at ring #8 while our other boy, Daxlore Yanis, will enter ring #9 the following day at 9:54AM.

Judges will be Mr. Per Iversen (NO), Saturday, and Mr. Geert Jipping (NL) on Sunday.

Details and location of the event can be found here:

Saturday Programme
Sunday Programme

Full schedules here:

Saturday Timetable
Sunday Timetable

"Breed notes: haplotypes" Article by Mrs. Helen Graham

2010-06-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a fascinating article by Mrs. Helen Graham on the subject of Professor Hannes Lohi's research on canine models of human inherited disorders.

This was posted by kind permission.

"I'm not sure how well known Professor Hannes Lohi is in Saluki circles in the UK. He is, however, well known in Finland where he is Professor of Canine Genomics at the University of Helsinki. In 2008, he addressed the Saluki World Congress in Helsinki on the subject of his research, which has not only been disseminated by the Saluki clubs in Scandinavia but also in North America and elsewhere thanks to the publications of Saluki Health Research Inc, and by other breed clubs. Indeed, I recently found his work outlined and explained on the Canadian Poodle Club website.

Professor Lohi and his team work with dogs because their research focuses on canine models of human inherited disorders such as epilepsy, auto-immune disorders and behavioural traits. The dog is a geneticist's dream because there are hundreds of different breeds which man has produced and in the process burdened with over 400 inherited diseases, making the dog the species with the second largest number of known genetic diseases, surpassed only by humans. The presence of hundreds of pure breeds, each of which represents a group of genetically similar animals in an isolated breeding population descended from only a few ancestors, allows geneticists to undertake research to facilitate understanding of common complex diseases which have proved difficult to investigate in humans. A benefit of this for dogs is that the discoveries from such research enables the identification of DNA markers which will will help eradicate genetic diseases in breeds.

In Finland, Professor Lohi and his team have established a dog DNA bank which currently includes some 20,000 DNA specimens from 240 breeds of dog. This is of relevance to the Saluki world as one of the breeds whose DNA is banked and studied is the Saluki.

In 2009, Saluki Health Research Inc in the USA agreed to pool its DNA results with those gathered by Prof Lohi and some of the data will form the basis of several proposed projects. These include a cancer study which will look at hemangiosarcoma and another related project using returned DNA samples will look for genetic causes of other conditions such as heart problems and skin conditions.

Over the past two years, Professor Lohi has developed a DNA test to estimate the diversity of an individual dog's MHC haplotypes. To understand the relevance of this to dogs in general and Salukis in particular it is necessary to explain exactly what a haplotype is, and in so doing I am drawing on an internet article by Mary Jane T Weir, Health Officer of the Poodle Club of Canada, and Natalie Green Tessier.

Many breeders are familiar with the concept of the COI, or Coefficient of Inbreeding. This is a mathematical analysis that provides a measure of the degree of relatedness of the individuals in any given dog's pedigree. In essence it is an indication of how much of the dog's genetic inheritance or genome is made of of pairs of the same gene. This calculation doesn't indicate which part of the genome is homozygous, or identically inherited from both parents, and which part is heterozygous, or dissimilar. It is also an approximation which may not be totally accurate for any individual dog.

Most dog breeders use some form of close breeding, variously known as linebreeding or inbreeding, as this reduces the genetic variables involved in mating two individual dogs and thereby increases the COI. The aim is to produce dogs consistent in type and quality and as such it has proved very effective for many breeders. However, an inevitable, if unintended consequence of this approach is a significant reduction of individual genes within a breed as breeders select for traits that conform to breed standards. Weir and Tessier cite in support of this claim the Imperial College Study of 2008 conducted on the basis of the UK KC Stud Book which found that in the 10 breeds studied the gene loss over six generations was a minimum of 70% (in Greyhounds) and up to 90% in some other breeds. To understand the possible implications of this it is necessary to look at current understanding of the immune system.

The section of the canine genome which covers the immune system is called the Major Histocompatibility Complex, or MHC. This is different from the usual model of two genes, either dominant or recessive, at each location of a chromosome in that within the MHC there are millions of partial codes which enable the immune system to manufacture specific defences against each disease. Geneticists have given the name haplotype to the sections into which the MHC is divided, and while it is still the case that in any one of these sections a dog can have only two haplotypes, it is becoming increasingly clear that if these are identical the dog's capacity to mount a vigorous immune response is reduced by half. Therefore, the fewer haplotypes a dog has the less able it is to fight disease and mutations such as cancers. The converse of this is that the more diverse its MHC, the more powerful and effective its immune response is likely to be.

Studies of wild animal populations appear to support the conclusion that the more genetically diverse the wild population, the healthier it is, and geneticists studying domestic animals are beginning to find evidence of the same principle.

At this point, Profesor Lohi re-enters the picture because he has developed a DNA test to estimate the diversity of an individual dog's MHC haplotypes and this test is now commercially available.While the currently available test doesn't identify disease genes per se it will enable breeders to choose breeding pairs which will only produce heterozygous puppies and research indicates that this may reduce the possibility of eventual AI diseases of various kinds in resulting litters.

In order to have options of different MHC haplotypes it is in a breed's interest to preserve the largest variety of haplotypes possible as the more identical the genes are the more likely the immune system will be to attack healthy cells of a specific type resulting in a whole range of auto-immune disorders and cancers.

It is of interest to note that Prpfessor Lohi and his team have found that the Saluki has 24 individual haplotypes, which is the same number as that found in wild canines, as opposed to the Standard Poodles sampled from the UK and Scandinavia which so far have been found to have only 6 different haplotypes. Nevertheless, over recent years the incidence of previously unknown or uncommon auto-immune disorders and cancers in Salukis has increased and it is my understanding that Finnish Saluki breeders are increasingly using Professor Lohi's tests in an attempt to reduce and eliminate AI disorders in families where an individual or individuals are known to have been affected by these conditions.

Hannes Lohi's research can be accessed on http://www.koirangeenit.fi/in-english/contact-us/ and he can be contacted here:

Lohi Group
Biomedicum 1 Helsinki
Haartmaninkatu 8
00290 Helsinki
FINLAND

Helen Graham"

Moita show

2010-04-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

Although there was no CAC's or BOB's for us this time, our boys behaved like true champs yesterday and the 6th Moita Dog Show (CAC). Daxlore Yanis and Daxlore Danarius were graded "Excellent" by Judge Luis Catalan (PT), and Danarius was shortlisted for the Best Male Junior in the afternoon. But the best part of it all was Danarius relaxed attitude, not nervous for the first time at all when the Judge approached and touched him, and Yanis will to make our friend Ana Sousa job handling him an easy one. Ana did a fantastic job and Yanis cooperated much better this time. Our thanks to Ana for her amazing handling and for helping us out again; we could not show both our dogs without her help.

Reviews of our boys:

Daxlore Danarius: "Typical. Well proportioned head. Good teeth and colour. Good angulation. Good body and top line. I'd like to see better front movement"

Daxlore Yanis: "Typical. Well proportioned head. Good teeth and colour. Good angulation. Good chest. A bit short at the kidney. Good top line."

In the afternoon, our younger boy was one of the 18 or so juniors at the Best Male Junior. He was then shortlist to the final 8. He behaved even better then, standing and moving in a very relaxed way and enjoying the experience.

So, no CAC's or BOB's this time but Danarius evolution and Yanis reaction to a different handler really made the day.

Photos from Caldas da Raínha show

2010-04-07T19:05:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos taken by our friend Pedro Oliveira at the last show at Caldas da Raínha.

Caldas da Raínha results

2010-03-28T12:23:00.001-07:00

Daxlore Yanis and Daxlore Danarius performed very well today at Caldas da Raínha (CAC) dog show. Yanis entered the Open Class and Danarius made his debut as a Junior. Yanis was awarded with another CAC and a 1st place, handled by our good friend Ana Sousa, and Danarius was awarded with a surprisingly BOB, considering he's just 11 months old. We were delighted by their performance and ring attitude.

Judge Mrs. Carmen Gil Polo (ES) wrote excellent reviews of our boys:

Daxlore Yanis - graded 1st place at the Open Class with "Excellent"
"Good type, head and neck. Good top line. Good angulations, front and back. Good movement"

Daxlore Danarius - graded 1st place at the Junior class, "Excellent", Best of Breed
"Good type. Good head and top line. Excellent front and rear angulations. Good movement"

Danarius was also selected to Both Best Junior Male in the afternoon and got a 2nd place at the group 10 finals later in the day.

We'd like to thank very much Ana Sousa for all her kindness and her help handling our older boy. We'd also like to thank Pedro Oliveira for being with us all day long helping us out, and his family for the kind support and companionship. Thank you all very much for everything.

Photos will follow soon.

Caldas da Raínha show's schedule is out

2010-03-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

CPC has released the schedule for the 7th Caldas da Raínha Dog Show. Our boys will be judged by Judge M. Carmen Gil Polo (ES) at ring #4 around 11:54 AM.

Full schedule [here]
How to get to the event [here]

"Cães e Companhia" Magazine: the Saluki

2010-03-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

This month's edition of "Cães e Companhia" features an article written by me, by kind invitation of Marta Manta. The article features three pictures of Daxlore Salukis: Daxlore Yanis, Daxlore Danarius and Qesas Aziz of Daxlore.

[Cães e Companhia's blog]

[Grupo V site referencing March's edition of the magazine]

Thank you, Marta, and everyone at Grupo V for giving us this opportunity. Thank you also to everyone who was kind enough to send pictures of their beautiful Salukis for the article.

Great year at the show ring; getting ready to 2010

2010-01-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

Last year was a wonderful year for us. Daxlore Yanis getting his first CAC's and CACIB's, Daxlore Danarius' debut as a puppy at the ring by the end of the year and all the learning process involved.

But most of all, the support and love from all our friends. And the new friends we made at shows.
Our boys will return to the rings soon. Let's see what this year has for us.

6th Int. Dog Show of Batalha

2009-12-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today at Batalha's 6th International Dog show, Daxlore Danarius was awarded Best Puppy of Breed, under Judge Mr. Zeferino Silva (PT), and Best Puppy of the 10th Group, under Judge Igor Selimovic (HR).

Batalha schedule released

2009-12-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

CPC has released the schedule for the 6th International Dog Show in Batalha (CAC; CACIB), next Sunday the 13th. Our boys will enter ring #6 around 11:57AM. Judge will be Mr. Zeferino Silva (PT).

10th Santarem International Dog Show

2009-11-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

Yanis and Danarius did very well at Santarem. Yanis won his 3rd CAC, 3rd CACIB and was Best Of Breed. He needs a CAC-QC and an "Excellent" grade at the specialty to become Portuguese Champion.

But today's show was not much about Yanis, but much more about Danarius's debut at the show ring. He behaved very well, surpassing our expectations. Although a bit scared when Judge Mr. Adolfo Martinez Noguera (ES) first approached him, he ran through the ring very well. He was Best Puppy of Breed. In the afternoon he was much more at ease when and was awarded Best Puppy of Group. We're very proud of him.

We cannot thank enough our friends that drove all those miles just to support us. The cheering we heard when our puppy finished his first round at the ring was amazing. Thank you all very much.

Santarem International Dog Show: schedule announced

2009-11-26T04:17:00.000-08:00

The CPC announced today the schedule for the 10th Santarem International Dog Show (CAC; CACIB). Daxlore Yanis and Daxlore Danarius will enter Ring #2 around 11:32AM. Judge will be Mr. Adolfo Martinez Noguera (ES). Yanis will compete for the 3rd CAC and 3rd CACIB in the Open Class; Danarius will make his debut in the Puppy class.

Event location [here]

Full schedule [here]

Two more shows in 2009 - Danarius' debut

2009-11-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

Both our boys are registered on the following events:

10th International Dog Show of Santarem (CAC; CACIB) on the 29th of November

6th International Dog Show of Batalha (CAC; CACIB) on the 13th of December

Danarius will make his debut in the puppy class. As for Yanis, he'll pursue his 3rd CAC and CACIB in the Open Class.

Early morning run at the beach, by Pau Storch

2009-10-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

This work is a result of an early morning run with the boys at Guincho Beach that our friend Pau Storch captured with his talent. Thank you, Pau, for your amazing work.

July's Lisboa International - Photos by Ana Carmo Marques

2009-10-28T17:17:00.001-07:00

Our good friend Ana Carmo Marques was kind enough to share some of her photos taken at this year's Lisboa International, where a 17 months old Daxlore Yanis won a CAC, a CACIB and was BOS. Thank you, Ana for your kind support.

Judge was Mr. John Wauben (NL).

Like an arrow...

2009-09-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

"Like an arrow it was sent
Tearing away from his own skin
Lightening like a cloud..."
Abu Nawas, IX century poet

Daxlore Danarius growing up

2009-09-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Here's Danarius at the beach. He's getting bigger by the day.

Moderation, exaggeration... is the Saluki changing?

2009-09-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

With the Saluki becoming more popular - although still quite invisible to the millions of dog owners all over the world - what risks does increasing popularity bring to the breed? Several other breeds suffered from a tendency to exaggeration and "flavour of the day" trends in the dog show world. Some of those changed some of the original breeds forever. One can say that a breed with a couple hundred years old is still in it's early stage of development and change is inevitable, the first dogs being the primitive form of a breed under development. But what about the oldest known breed in the world?

Is the Saluki changing or not? Is the beauty queen of the show ring changing the original desert hound? Is the Saluki of the early XXI century getting a longer neck? Too much angulation? More and more feathering? Will it come the day that we'll have the "desert bred Saluki" and the "show ring Saluki"? Or is this just nonsense?

Here's part of an article from the Salukis AKC Gazette Column, dated December 1993, by Columnist Mimi Carlyle. These were her concerns 16 years ago, and her view is most disturbing:

MODERATION: The key word in understanding Saluki conformation is moderation.

...According to the dictionary, moderate is "avoiding excess or extremes" within reasonable limits "middle of the road." If we begin with the idea that moderate is middle of the road "or halfway between" it might help to clarify the problem with understanding what moderate means in relation to the Saluki standard.

...Moderate [appears] four times in the Saluki Standard.

...Moderate is unexplainable in a vacuum, so comparisons are necessary, which require study and observation on the part of the breeder, owner, and judge of Salukis.

...Any breed that becomes extreme loses its original purpose and identity. This is the case with the modern show ring Saluki. The overangulated rears, along with the [stick straight] front, are major changes in our breed that have basically destroyed the hounds as true Salukis.

No one could ever begin to call most of the rears we see today moderate or middle-of-the-road, neither straight nor overly long. One of the best ways to judge the rear angulation is to drop a line, either visually on a live dog or with a ruler on a photo, from the rear point of the pelvic bone to the ground. Ideally, the line should touch the front of the toe -- which it will when the hock is perpendicular to the ground. That's moderate. When the lower thigh is much longer than the upper thigh, the dog will be overangulated. If the line drops along the back of the hock, the dog is underangulated, or straight in the rear.

The reason for a moderately angulated rear on an endurance or long-distance runner is that it contributes to power and speed. If the lower thigh is weedy and lacks strength, like a garden hose nozzle too far from the faucet, the hose bends out of control. The straight rear lacks flexibility and strength over distance; however, it just may be preferred to the long, weedy, overangulated rear for strength of function. Moderate means simply "in the middle."

...Few breeders are willing to accept the challenge of creating a Saluki that's put together correctly. Showmanship and hair are easier to achieve than a truly good dog.

There is no justification for the great extremes, not just in the overly long, overangulated rears, but of the total dog. It's mere popularity ? which the dog show judges go along with willingly by rewarding style and hair over substance and function. We can equate popularity in look to the different fashion trends of each year.

I use the terms "style" and "look" instead of "type" because I cannot consider the extremes created by the majority of current breeders to be related to type. True type is created by function. Each breed of dog looked as it did because of what it did, not the other way around. When dogs no longer function, it's a simple process to turn them into caricatures of what they were. That is what happened to our breed.

Until breeders and judges care, Salukis will continue to rapidly descend into the structural doom suffered by so many of the once useful and beautiful, elegantly functional animals of the past. Salukis are historic treasure not to be defiled by ignorance or arrogance!

Here's another interesting article on the same subject, this one non-Saluki related, written by Col. David Hancock, M.B.E., of Oxfordshire, England:
http://www.dogsincanada.com/extreme-concerns-breeds-suffer-whe-traits-are-exaggerated

Photos by Pau Storch

2009-08-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some beautiful photos taken by our friend and photographer Pau Storch in Estoril this Sunday at the International.

Thank you, Pau, for your time and patience.

Three shows in three days and lots of fun

2009-08-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today was the last of a three-day dog show marathon for us and Yanis at Estoril. He behaved wonderfully.

We're very excited to see where will he be an year from now - both Yanis (still a very young dog at junior age today) and Danarius, who will be 6 months old next November and probably will make his debut at the show ring shortly after that.

Yanis got the top "Excellent" grade by Mrs. Carmen Gil Polo (ES) today at the International, showing very well in all aspects.

One year ago Yanis, a 5 month old Saluki puppy then, went for the first time to the Estoril International just to get used to it. This weekend it was Danarius' turn, who apart from the normal initial shock of beeing among hundreds of strangers and dogs, was perfectly at ease shortly afterwards.

We want to thank all our friends that came to see us Sunday. We were touched by your kindness and support, and really hope you and your families had a good time. Cheers to you all.

Show schedules

2009-08-19T03:56:00.000-07:00

CPC announced the schedule for the next three shows:

Sighthound specialty, Friday: 3PM
National, Saturday: 9AM
International, Sunday: 12PM

Daxlore Yanis' next shows

2009-08-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Yanis will attend the following shows:

20.ª E. C. Monográfica de Galgos - Sighthound Specialty (CAC-QC) Friday, 21 August
4.ª E. C. Nacional do Estoril (CAC) Saturday, 22 August
58.ª E. C. Internacional da Costa do Estoril (CAC, CACIB) Sunday, 23 August

All three shows will be in Estoril, in front of the Casino.

Daxlore Danarius

2009-08-17T13:24:00.001-07:00

Daxlore Danarius (Daxlore Diva x Aziz Bakarat of Daxlore), born 28 April 2009

Arrived in Portugal 19th July 2009

Daxlore Yanis

2009-08-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Daxlore Yanis (CH Qesas Aziz of Daxlore x Daxlore Dezi), born 2 of March 2008

Arrived in Portugal May the 2nd 2008

2x CAC
2x CACIB
2x BOS

As a Junior, 3x BOB and 1x Best of 10th Group. 1x shortlisted for BIS

As a puppy, 2x Best Puppy of Breed and 1x Best Puppy of the 10th Group

Welcome to my Blog

2009-08-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy. Future contents coming soon.