F3REE COLUMNS minute or two to follow his instincts to white object into the air for the judges ping action allows them to traverse look for movement. If he doesn't get to see. It was used toilet paper in the very harsh, rocky, brushy hillsides with- hack to the business at hand, I verbally field! Jesse looked at me like I was out injury to themselves. Their springi- remind him to track." crazy, put her nose down, and contin- ness allows them to do spectacular leaps Helen explains that when she got ued tracking. I sheepishly put my arm from a standstill.This above all makes her first Greyhound. she started training down and followed her. She made a them unique. in obedience but started looking turn down another leg of the track and I believe the fear of losing these spe- around for another sport to try. She stopped over the notebook to tell me it cific abilities is the reason Spanish thought tracking looked interesting, was there. breeders hesitate to classify the Ibizan although there were no classes or "We passed that day, but not without Hound as a sighthound, equating instructors to work with. She called some embarrassment. Tracking can be sighthound with Greyhound. The FCI Gail Burnham for advice, although she fun and memorable!" standard warns against this fear in the was nervous about calling someone Thank you. Helen, for showing us breed disqualification of"anything in "out of the blue." that Greyhounds can be scenthounds as the characteristics that reveal admixture Gail was very helpful and gave Helen well as sighthounds. of Greyhound blood, since although advice that she still uses to this day: —Carol Curlee, [email protected] speed in racing is increased, the sensi- Use food for motivation, always; don't Greyhound Club of America web- tivity of hearing is diminished, as is the bore the dog. and don't ask for repeti- site: greyhormikhrborarnericainc.org standing jump and especially the sense , tion: of smell, which are the principal physi- When asked what she enjoys most Ibizan Hounds ological qualities of the breed." about tracking with her Greyhounds, Sighthound Plus The Ibizan Hound is a sighthound Helen answers,"The camaraderie. It is a he Federation Cynologique with added talents. He is a sighthound noncompetitive sport—one either TInternationale (FCI) classifies the who evolved to hunt in rough terrain passes or fails. I enjoy being out in the breed (the Podenco Ibiceno) as a primitive and cover. In our modern world so countryside with the dogs. After track- hunting dog. Here in the United States, removed from their heritage, without ing, sometimes the dogs are able to run the general consensus is that the Ibizan the pressures of natural prey and habi- off-lead and play in the fields. It is a Hound is a sighthound. tat, we as breeders must strive to do relaxing, non-stressful sport." The breed is undoubtedly built for our best to preserve and protect these Helen measures success by having a running. The legs have long, fine, wondrous abilities. good time with her dogs and being bladed bone. The feet are oval, as are — Nan Kilgore Little, able to successfully navigate a track. She those of the hare. The chest is deep and NanKiigore@;) unberlithe.con; says it is very humbling to be depend- relatively narrow.The head is long and Ibizan Hound Club of the United ent on your dog to be right. narrow, as befitting a sighthound.The States website: ihrus.org I invited her to share a memorable tuck-up is pronounced, and the overall story about tracking."Once I was impression is of elegance and grace. In Irish Wolfhounds tracking my clogjesse," she said, "Ch. speed the breed can compete with the We Are What We Eat Aragon Dark Wind, CDX,TDX, who other sighthounds on the lure-coursing sk 12 breeders how they feed their didn't have strong article indication. Geld. ...dogs,A and you will get a dozen She would rather track than stop and As long as game is in sight, the Ibizan different answers, some of them indicate the article. Her track had a pursues by sight.This is when they give expressed quite passionately. non-regulation article at the end:The voice; this is why they bark as they Knowing there is more than one tracklayer had dropped the glove some- chase the lure.This barking helps the good way of feeding, I have always felt where on the track and used his note- pack to function as a unit. Ibizan you must be doing something right book as the end article. Hounds are team players. when you have long-lived hounds, fer- "For some reason I assumed that the What sets the breed apart is the addi- tile brood bitches, healthy puppies with notebook was white," she continued."' tional use of hearing and scent when glossy coats, and stud dogs with good thought it would be easy to see and game goes to cover. A hunting pack of sperm cotmts.Your dog's health is the thus might help her indicate the article. these hounds stand and listen for the best indicator if something is working, So I chose to run that track. rustle of the rabbit in the dense brush and a properly balanced diet is arrived "We were coming up to the end of of their Spanish homeland. at by study of the needs of the hound the track, the other exhibitors watch- They also use their sense of smell to at various stages of growth. ing, when Jesse stopped and sniffed locate the rabbit, although they do not am not a great fan of throwing a something white. I ran up to her, prais- "cold trail" like a scenthound.The whole raw chicken to a canine com- ing her for 'finding it,' and lifted the Ibizan Hound's light, precise, high-step- panion in this day and age of the preva- AEC GAZETTE • 14 *FEBRUARY 2014 BREE COLUMNS U) knee of salmonella and the use of it was beneficial to vary the diet, as did travel the hilly terrain of Norway for 0 growth hormones in food animals. I am the other two gentlemen. hours—an effortless task for a dog of a great believer in quality sources of None of this is far removed from medium size and substance, square in protein such as red meat, wild game, what breeders do today. It was much profile, close-coupled and balanced in O eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, and milk the same in the other great kennels, proportions. Front and rear quarters are for those who can tolerate it. each having worked out their own well-balanced in angulation and mus- Where I raise the eyebrow is at the recipes for successfully feeding their cular development, adding to his stam- purists who claim that commercial dry hounds and keeping them in the best ina and mind-set when he is following dog food is a modern innovation and of condition, knowing that in the end the scent of a moose. does not belong in the diet of a carni- we are what we eat. Strong legs and small feet are an asset vore such as an Irish Wolfhound and is —Lois j.Thomasson, for maneuvering the sharp rocks and held responsible for a number of the ills LITRoses* zol.rom craggy slopes.When one of the many we see in the breed today. If those who Irish Wolfhound Club ofAmerica streams that meander throughout the make such claims had done their website: inylubofinnerica.org terrain is too wide for the dog to jump, homework, they would have found that he must wade or swim. An open coat dry kibble and biscuits have been in use Norwegian Elkhounds would allow the woolly undercoat to for several centuries by early breeders, he following was written by Dr. absorb water, not only weighting the including Captain Graham himself in TNina P. Ross. dog down, but putting him in danger the 1800s. Graham fed his hounds raw of freezing. meat along with kibble soaked in a Form and Function The majority of owners in the U.S. soup made from calves' or sheeps' heads History depicts the gray elginmd as do not have hunting opportunities, but and bones, the boiled meat of which sailing the stormy seas with his Viking the Norwegian Elkhotmd still proves was cut up and mixed with the dry master. He did not like the loud clashes his worth as a trusted and intelligent food.Various green vegetables in season of thunder but controlled the trembling companion. He often chortles in a were added to the mixture. On occa- of his compact body to gain the respect high-pitched voice when he is exuber- sion, oatmeal porridge or dry biscuit of his master as an intelligent, depend- ant, and he is content with a gentle pat was given in lieu of the rich soup and able companion. Flashes of lightning lit on the head when he has pleased its kibble. up his beautiful silver coat, causing him master. Far-seeing eyes and a keen sense Colonel Roger D.Williams, who to appear ghostlike in the night, the of smell stimulate his hunting instinct, kept a number of hunting breeds and darkness all but hiding his black muzzle, even if his targets are squirrels and rab- bred several hundred Irish Wolfhounds ears, and dark eyes.The thick, flat-lying, bits in the backyard. at the turn of the last century, consid- black-tipped hairs of the outer coat The gray elkhound is a true hunting ered beef and mutton the best meats formed a protective covering for the dog, employing many of the tactics of and prepared his biscuit from one-third thick wooly undercoat, which was also sight and scent hounds.