I had my first saluki when I was 5 years old. I was fortunate to grow up with this special breed that to me still has a soul that is so close to humans. Even now I realize that indeed the Saluki has been the gift from Allah (a blessed gift from God). When I finished highschool I got as a reward from my parents two litter brothers. They should a company me when I would move to Amsterdam to start my study at the University of Amsterdam in medicine. My parents, knowing how much I was attached to the old saluki bitch (she had always slept in my bed and to my parents frustrations always ate out of the good china) thought their gift would help me to overcome my home sickness. Missing the beach, sea and dunes and freedom of country life where I had grown up. Unfortunately for me these dogs died at young age of genetic diseases. Reason for me and my father (a gene scientist and former teacher at the University of Amsterdam) to do research. My grieve was enormous; disappointment, emptiness and angriness on breeders that had bred in a way that my dogs went through pain and I with them.
I looked around at other breeders all over Europe or my parents did. Our old bitch had died in meanwhile and they as well wanted a new saluki. I visited different countries and kennels, but often found genetic, health and temperament problems as we researched lines pedigrees and offsprings for many years. It was back then the opinion of breeders that shy, reserved or aggressive temperament belonged in this breed. My father visited the countries of origin of this breed. He returned in shock and told my mother and me how obedient and stable and full of confidence this breed was. What he told us was amazing and never experienced by us even with the enormous home life we had given our bitch. This proved my mother's (a psychiatrist) theory that no creature can be natural healthy born with suspicious feelings against a world it does not know.
Naturally, if we do know the history of this breed it is very logical. The saluki owned by the bedouins very often travelled from one area to another for thousands of years. Again it was my father and his colleagues (that conclude that the health problems and temperament problems would go together). A gene problem as they indicated caused by a too short genetic pole.
By 1988, after researching for more than ten years, being pretty obsessed with the topic and having spend a small fortune, with all information, facts and experiences, we finally knew what to get and start to breed. My parents left the breeding over to me and in 1989, I got my foundation bitch Nadjah. Nadjah was out of several different top English blood lines. Very elegant, a bit reserved in temperament and to my taste a bit too fine boned to be a functional gazelle killer. She has just turned twelve and still is in great health. Most breeders laughed about her out-cross pedigree. I did notcare much about the pedigree but about the result; I still do. It gave me a wide genetic pole, something scientist all over the world nowadays have pointed out as a necessary item to breed in a healthy way.
On my Nadjah, still deeply loved and still it is her elegance that made El Ubaid's Salukis known for their elegance, I needed to improve temperament and bone structure. Items I found in my Finnish imports in 1990. My first champion was Ch. Aziz Balthasar, Sire to my A litter. A double total out cross litter but very uniform. Within four years, this very first A litter proved to be more than just successful, in spite of all bias and and other bad items I had to go through and maybe always will have to. It gave me two Multi champions: Multi champion and Biss winner El Ubaid's Anastasia and Multi ch. El Ubaid's Abdull Aziz. Anastasia surprised us enor mously. For example she flew with us to Virginia Beach Specialties (USA) and in a class of 120 bitches made Reserve Best Bitch! She is simply a bitch with great quality and temperament. A bitch that can not be ignored. By everyone most respected for her gentle, easy, outgoing temperament. Extremely confident, a fast hunter that occasionally just brings us rabbits and so on. The entire A litter is a pleasure to live with. They are Salukis with great functionality, temperament and quality. Multi ch. Anastasia has been Top Bitch in the Netherlands in 1994, 1995 and 1996!
Ch. El Ubaid's Abdul Aziz was Top Saluki Dog for 1993 and 1994. El Ubaid's Aphrodite gained twelve best junior warrants, shown only twice in the open class. She gained one cc and one ib and was Best Open Class Bitch on the Dutch Winner Show in 1994. Her owner could not deal with some aspects of the show scene and therefor she was never shown again. She became dam of our B litter. Sire was the then still very young Oazis Al Sharq Bassam, now a real Multi Champion. This whole litter again proved qualities in every way. Dutch Youth Winner 1995, Dutch Winner 1996 and Dutch Ch. El Ubaid's Bellophor was Top Saluki over 1996. Naturally more known is European Youth Winner, German Winner, German VDH and DWZRV, Luxemburg Youth Winner El Ubaid's Barnabas, owned by Mrs. Dagmar Bischoff (Pariwass Salukis in Germany). He now has been used by several German kennels that indeed had the objectivity to see the quality of that dog! His offspring is being used in several European countries and by some top leading kennels. Another great litter mate is El Ubaid's Blakka Perka. He was shown at 8 months at Virginia Beach Specialities and was Reserve Winner Dog out of 120 other dogs and Sweepstake Winner. Shown twice in the open class with one cc and ib and one number three Best Open Class Dog at the Dutch winner show. His owner also decided not too show him anymore because of show circumstances. He remains a great quality saluki and lives a happy, most appreciated home life.
I continued line breeding on the mixture of Scandinavian and English bloodlines and created my C litter. Again with the same results. Multi champion El Ubaid's Cadiya, very much loved by German breeders, and Ch. El Ubaid's Chirin, exported to Belgium to kennel que el bekqh owned by Mr and Mrs Gemers- de Mey. Out of this litter we had our first transatlantic export to the USA to kennel Raszuli, one of America's top leading kennels. They had been so impressed by the temperament and quality of my breeding in the USA in 1995. In 1996 I continued with the special cocktail and used Multi Ch. Multi Biss Winner World Winner1995 Wallaby's Karram Khiyar. The best saluki seen in the last ten years in movement and anatomy in my opinion. Temperaments are so extremely outgoing in this litter as are other required qualities. In September 2000 they will be three years old and already two are Multi Champion: El Ubaid's Djoser and JW 1998 El Ubaid's Dignity. El Ubaid's Devine Duchess is also close to having her titles. El Ubaid's Diva was exported to the USA to Kennel Raszuli and just needs a few points towards her title. At this point Diva is staying with me to enter some European shows. With kennel Raszuli I have planned some cooperated litters. This will provide some refreshment of gene poles different from my constantly cocktail of Scandinavian and English lines. Raszuli Salukis is having a great kennel report in the Classic Saluki magazine and my breeding is mentioned as one of the best in the world for quality and the best for temperament. Indeed breeders all over the world admit never to have seen saluki that make such easy and intelligent life companions. Multi Ch.El Ubaid's Anastasia, dam to the C and D litter as well as the E litter born in 1999, has proven to be also genetically a great bitch
Ch. El Ubaid's Djoser is at his young age Top Saluki Dog, most winning dog number 1 in the Netherlands. His litter sister Multi Ch. El Ubaid's Dignity is Top Winning Bitch 1999 number two in the Netherlands and his half sister Multi Ch. El Ubaid's Cadiya is Top Winning Bitch number three in the Netherlands.
I bred the E litter to the very elegant Sf. Ch. Kirman Laertus, again the same cocktail but only with a bit adding of American bloodlines. The puppies, born in November 1999, again seem to have that special El Ubaid's quality. Out of this litter five puppies were exported, four to the USA to all different breeders that are impressed about the quality and temperament of my breeding. One went back to kennel Kirman (Finland) for the same reason. I am very honoured that older and very experienced and world famous breeders are openly stating hereby that indeed my breeding does have great qualities.
I made this step, considering the future cooperation with kennel Raszuli (USA). Ch. El Ubaid's Bellophor sired the next Raszulli litter. Dam will be the very elegant black and silver Ch.Raszuli's Voodoo. There is also a co-operated litter planned with a kennel in South Africa. Again this will provide both kennels with some qualities we find in each others breeding and provides us with wide gene poles. At this point I am very happy for the breed in general that more and more breeders come out in the open and try to solve hidden problems, try to widen up their gene poles. For this very same reason I am most happy that the quarantine law in England (the country of domestication of this breed in Europe) has changed. It will give the breeders a chance to get some refreshments in their breeding. I mated Multi Ch. El Ubaid's Cadiya to Multi Ch. Multi Biss Winner VDH European Winner 1998 Magadha Shenaz. It is a line breeding back just partly to some lines in my foundation bitch mixed with the bloodlines of the famous Finnish Kirman lines. Shenaz' genetic pole is very simular to my A litter. I chose him for my Cadiya because my C litter is the strongest line bred litter to almost pure Scandinavian lines. With this litter I have made a strong solid foundation, so that when I out cross to the American bloodlines, I will not lose the quality that has made my breeding in a short period so successful.
Our Cadiya whelped 8 puppies, 7 dogs and 1 bitch, born on April 29th 2000. The quality of this litter seems again to be very promising.
Breeding salukis is one of my hobbies I am doing it in the first place for myself, creating in a sensible way ideal life companion salukis, functional home bred and deeply loved, with excellent show qualities and still fitted to do the job they were created for. What else can one do, even how though the road might be, if one is so dedicated and full of love for this ancient breed ? I make sure that my puppies end up in goodloving homes and feel always responsible for their well being, always there for their owners with advice or help in anyway I can. I enjoy showing my salukis. This year I will fly with some of my dogs to the world's largest sight hound specialty in Kentucky (USA) and to the World Show in Milano.
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