Breed Notes Weekending 25th March 2016

B​SALUKI BREED NOTES WEEKENDING 25TH MARCH 2016.
 
I hope everyone had a lovely long weekend even if the weather gods were not with us.    Last Sunday the SGHC held their Annual General Meeting.  Pleased to say the meeting only last about one and a half hours though the Bee Club Michael belongs to held theirs in 15 minutes.  That is something to aspire to.  A fond farewell was given, at the AGM, to Don Everton as the Club’s retiring Vice President.  Taking up the helm will be Dr John Hudson as VP.  There will be one new committee member, Diane Layton-Smith, all the other members remain the same as last year.  The judge for the 2018 Championship show will be Zola Rawson.  Open Show judge for 2017 will be Chris Lewis and Limit show judge for that year is Andrea Ireson.
 
Kathy Webb still have a few copies of “The Saluki” the Crufts edition 2016 of the Club’s magazine.  If you would like one, please contact her on 01737 353279.

Breed Notes Weekending 18th March 2016

AGM of the Saluki or Gazelle Hound Club will be held at Steventon Village Hall, The Green, Steventon, Oxfordshire OX13 6RR on Sunday 20th March 2016 at 2pm.  For those of you that cannot make it, I will review results in next week’s Breed Notes.
 
We have received a warning about the ‘dog chewies’ from China though chewies manufactured in this country are ok.  In one of the National papers it has said that they have been found to contain a tremendous amount of salt and can cause kidney failure in dogs.  Many years ago we use to feed these to our dogs, who truly relished them.  Eve, who was the culprit managed to steal a whole bag and consume the lot.  For about a week she smelt of the chewies, I can imagine what her stomach felt like.
 
Crufts, we managed to attend for a few hours on Sunday.  As usual, manic.  I would like to commend Caroline Kisco, Jessica Holme (if I missed someone or have incorrectly put names, I apologize), whom I assume was speaking on behalf of the Kennel Club, on the Sunday night’s Crufts television program.  This is regarding the German Shepard.  When I saw this dog on television in the group ring, I was quite horrified for the poor animal.  She was not ‘fit for function’ and I could not comprehend how her construction could be conceived as functional or aesthetically pleasing.  Many of the readers of this column may not realize, but judges sign a contract, when judging at Championship Shows that the dogs they award, should be fit and fit for function.  Later in the evening, the social media was all a buzz about the German Shepard as pictures had gone viral.  Thankfully the KC took a strong stand and defused the situation by stating they were as concerned as we were.
 
Crufts, it was lovely to see old and new friends at Crufts though one is so busy there is never enough time to finish a sentence.  Salukis were judged by breed specialist, Mrs Mary Sanders-Parkers (Classicus).  She chose for her DCC, BOB Int Ch Elamir Amar owned by Mrs Michelle Wybou  He was born on the 13th February 2009 and his breeder is Mario Cabral.  His sire is Ch Amiyat Anakin and his dam Ch Anjal Sahara Halima.  RDCC went to Lahatpar Hadi El Basher owned by Mrs Danielle Van Der Lichte.  BCC for her first CC went to Al Zubeyda Iman owned by Mr Jean-Luc Lemouzy.  She was born on 1st December 2013. Her sire is Bel Ch Al Zubeyda Fodeil and dam Fr/ Int /Aust/ Ch Elamir Bella Kissing Star. RBCC went to Mrs Deborah Copperthwaite’s Al Caliphs Artemis.  Best Puppy was Mrs Adele Walton Haddon’s Amal Hayati Ohdedar El Azizi Fuadi of Ilsham(Imp)  He was born on 20th May 2015 and is breeder is Mr S Elen.  His sire is Ali Darian Jonoob Baad Alqom and dam Hadiyyah Djaal Lhilal.  I was a bit disappointed that we did not get a chance to see more of the Hounds and Terriers Groups on television but as it was Crufts’ finals I assume there was not enough time within the allotted scheduling.  We should see them next year as we will be on the Thursday. 
 
I have done my calculations of what percentage of the entry at Crufts was   ‘Authority to Compete Dogs’ (ATC) dogs.  Last year it was 17% and this year it is 20%.  It would be interesting to see if this is the trend for Crufts in general or just the Salukis.