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Photo: © 1988 David Goodman |
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| The word midbar means
desert in Hebrew. I chose this as the prefix for my breeding because the Saluki and the
desert are eternally linked; the Saluki is nature's response to the demands of the hunt in
arid lands.The desert, the chase, and the cultures of Eastern peoples created and
recreates the breed century upon century. Midbar Salukis aspire |
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to remain a part of this history....coursing
hounds....in looks and temperament. Midbar breeding is based on a blend of direct desert
descent imports of Sinai and Jordanian Bedouin background (AKC enrolled), early American,
and English coursing lines. It thrills me to surround myself with devoted, athletic hounds
whose looks mirror the most ancient images of the breed. The Saluki of the desert is a
treasure which, with humility, I can only |
| hope to preserve. The notions of
change or "improvement" for the show ring have no place in my thinking or
breeding. When I write "looking to the source for the future"I mean that
"type" must always be assessed in an historical context. My goal is to continue
to produce Salukis that look like they hunted for ancient nomads....through the wadis
and valleys of timelessness. |
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| My involvement with the breed
began in the early 1970s; involvement evolved into obsession, love affair,
fascination....all the terms that imply passion....which is now approaching three decades
in duration. Salukis are truly the most wonderful hounds: they are versatile,
companionable, and beautiful. Their history is full of romance while they continue to ply
their trade hunting in Eastern lands and coursing in the West as they have from their
beginnings. As the poet Abu Nuwas wrote more than a thousand years ago in tribute to a
hound who filled his master's pot with food and his eye with beauty, "what a fine
hound you are, without equal". |
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| Basing my breeding on direct
desert descent, smooth coated imports, blending their genes with muscular, moderate,
plain-colored early American lines, refusing to cull (kill) healthy puppies and veterans,
and insisting on contracts to safeguard any pups placed has resulted in only 6 litters
bearing the Midbar prefix. My second litter, an accidental breeding which changed my whole
understanding of what the Saluki really is, forms the genetic basis for Midbar youngsters
who are competing with success today in the show ring, lure chasing, and open field
coursing. The outcross to Knightellington Wizz, an English import whose pedigree reflects
over 50 years of breeding for both good looks and coursing ability, added a measure of
color and elegance to my sound, workmanlike bloodline. |
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