with espen engh, sheila hoffman, pam lambie & eric liebes pharaoh hound q&a
Swedish dogs. Finland also has a strong population of the breed, all other countries having quite a heavy dose of Swedish bloodlines. It was interesting for me to judge Pharaoh Hounds at Westminster and Crufts within the timespan of a month in 2013. The winning pair (BOB and BOS) at Westminster turned out to be littermates, as were the winning pair at Crufts. But even more remarkable was the fact that the Westminster pair were litter mates to the dam of the Crufts pair. Breeding will out! SH: We see too many high ear sets with ears located on the top of the head instead of the medium set stated in the standard. Also many light eyes are showing up that are not blending with the coat color and look like headlights and a fair number have rounder eyes than desired. The alert, keen, intelligent expression is changed when any of these traits occur resulting in the loss of our classic head type and expression. PL: Pharaoh hounds are SERIOUS HUNTING/COURSING dogs! I campaigned a beautiful bitch years ago, Samba. She used to stalk birds and catch them in mid air! It was crazy and awesome to watch. Each year at the Pharaoh National the lure coursing entry is nearly as many as the conformation entry. It is exciting and noisy to watch this breed do what they are bred to do! EL: The Pharaoh Hound’s personality is another great high- light I love about the breed. Playful, but noble, alert and
seeing everything and with Sighthound “far-sightedness”, Pharaohs are a blast in the field and everywhere--some- thing to appreciate. 7. And, for a bit of humor: What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever experienced at a dog show? SH: While gaiting a dog around the ring, a follow exhibi- tor’s slip elastic gave way and it feel to her ankles. It was a white slip, so it was very obvious. She very calmly and efficiently kicked it off into her hand, stuffed it in a pocket and continued gaiting. I’m not sure her dog ever noticed. We all had to stop a minute for a good laugh, including her. So if you ever have a wardrobe malfunc- tion, handle it with grace and humor! EL: In the field, rather than the show ring, Pharaohs are famous for knowing too much about how the Lure Trial works. I think they lead the competition in delay-of-game penalties after they finish running. It is common for Pharaohs to revisit the course after the lure stops. They usually run out to a pulley and sometimes pull it out of the ground to see if the “bunny” is down there. It is like when they were running by earlier, they noted the squeaky pulley and made a note to come back and inves- tigate it later. This is always funny to everyone except the owner (and the field committee) who is chasing the dog down so that the trial can continue.
(photo courtesy of sheila hoffman)
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