ShowSight Interviews
Richard Eichhorn, Drakyi Tibetan Mastiffs BY ALLAN REZNIK
1. Where did you
There was always a companion dog in our home and “Big Red,” “Old Yeller”, “Lassie” and “Rin Tin Tin” enriched and encouraged my early, formative canine fascinations. My moth- er always insisted that our dogs be neutered/spayed, much to my dismay. She frequently said, “When you have your own home, you can have ALL the dogs you want.” Little did she realize! In the absence of litters of puppies, I bred tropical fish, hamsters, rabbits, parakeets and cockatiels. My first jobs as a 13 year old were at a tropical fish store and a pet shop. 3. Who were your mentors in the sport? My dear friend, the late Rita Boget, was a Hall of Fame Tibetan Terrier breeder (Shampa prefix). She was the groom- er at the pet shop I worked at and I was her assistant. We became lifelong friends. She encouraged me in purebred dogs, taught me how to groom, and introduced me to Tibet- an Mastiffs. Linda Larsen of Dragonquest Tibetan Mastiffs became my friend, mentor and partner, teaching me the value of reading a pedigree and establishing a genetic-based breeding program. We amalgamated her kennel prefix with my Dokyi to become DRAKYI (“Dragon dogs”) in 1982.
grow up?
I was born in the
Southern California community of Glen- dale, and grew up in the adjacent bedroom com- munity of Eagle Rock. College years at UCLA. I’m a third-generation Los Angelino on my mother’s side. I have always lived within an hour of where I was born. 2. Do you come from a doggy family? And if not, how did the interest in breeding and showing begin? Yes, I come from a dog-loving family, raised on stories of generations of the family dogs that included Dachshunds, a white German Shepherd, a Jack Russell, an Irish Setter, a Bas- set Hound, a Miniature Poodle, a Labrador mix and an Elk- hound/Shepherd mix. I even walked the neighbor’s Beagle.
“I RELY ON INSTINCT, MOST OF THE TIME. I JUST GET A GUT FEELING ABOUT CERTAIN PAIRINGS, WITH PHYSICAL COMPENSATION FOREMOST IN MY MIND.”
106 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2018
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