Salukis of Norway

Interview with: M. Behrmann, by: Eva Kristine Wiik

 

Could you please tell us a little about  who you are,

your background in sighthounds, and what type of hounds you have?

 

My name is Michael Bermann.

I live in Coxhaven, a small town where the river Elbe runs into the North Sea.

Nearly 40 years ago I started my“ sighthounds Career” with whippets,

but for the last 18 years I’ve been living with salukis.

At the present, I have four bitches and one male, both feathered and smooth.

As of 2001 I’ve been co-breeder of the Sawahin kennel.

 I like the moderate saluki type. Show and performance is for me important.

The saluki isn’t specialized for only one arena- show or coursing/race tracking

he is an excellent all-rounder!

For carrying out this idea in Norway as well,

I donated a special trophy which awards excellency in both fields.

 

When did your interest in LC begin and when did you become a judge?

 

When I started with salukis I noticed very soon that race-tracking was a little bit boring for them.

Since I’m fortunate enough  to own a fenced-in forest, approximately 70.000 square meters.

I became aware of their excellent hunting abilities.

From there on, it did not take long before we tried lure coursing.

In 1998, I became a lure coursing judge.

 

In how many different countries have you judged at LC- trials,

and what are the differences in how the trails are held?

 

I’ve judged lure coursing trials In the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland,

Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Poland and, naturally in Germany.

If it is an international LC trial there are no differences,

because the trial is regulated by FCI rules.

If it is a national trial, the differences are mainly in the amount of points give.

In Germany we have two systems:

# Nord Deutsches-System:
 Three field judges- each can give 0 to 16 points,
and one master- awarding points from –8 up to +8
# LCO-System:
 Two judges. They give 0 to 6 points in five different categories.

It is only the LCO coursing that awards a dog whit certificates towards the LC champion title.

You need four certificates in order to receive the champion title!

 

How do you perceive the lever of quality in Norwegian LC hounds

compared to hounds in other countries?

 

This is not answered in one sentence.

Generally speaking, Norwegian sighthounds are on the same level as hounds anywhere else in Europe.

But, because of the few LC events in a year, the dogs in Norway often run a little more “breed typical”.

Let me explain: For example, in Germany we have about 40 LC events a year.

If you’ve visited a lot of these LC you can imagine that we educate our dogs to perform correctly in the field.

The dogs learn that the lure’s behaviour is different from the hare’s in open field coursing,

and so they’re trained to hunt in a plastic world”.

 

What do you consider to be the biggest challenge when judging at a LC trial?

 

Well, again a question not made for a one sentence answer.

Here some are some of the challenges.

·         to find a course safe enough for the dogs, and tricky enough for judging

·         concentration

·         being self-confident enough to address the LC-officials about any problems that may surface

·         knowing the difference between real live hunting and LC

·         knowing the hunting abilities of all the breeds

 

You judged at the International LC trial in Lillehammer in Juni-2006.

What impressions are you left with after seeing the dogs compete?

Did they perform well accordingly to the bred standard,

and how was the level of competition?

 

 

                photo: Geir Kristiansen

 

After we changed the track of the course (many thanks to Geir and the other guys for their cooperation)

in order to make it a little bit more difficult for the dogs.

I saw dogs whit good, and typical, hunting abilities.

However, some of the dogs weren’t in as good a condition as I would expect a sighthound to be!

Especially a lot of the oriental breeds didn’t have enough stamina for this course which wasn’t very long!

I remember Ritzas Phantera, a little saluki bitch.

She was excellent in the conformation show a day earlier.

She performed very breed typically on the field, and she was in good condition.

 

In the US it is not uncommon to have the different BOB winners Compete against each other.

What are your thought on this? Is this an American phenomenon, or is it being in Europe as well?

 

From my viewpoint this is a great thing!

I have some experience with salukis/deerhounds, saluki/ borzois, saluki/whippets and salukis/pharaohs.

It is always very exciting to see how quickly the different breeds start working together as a team.

This has to be worth considering elsewhere as well!

 

Do you think show dogs and coursing dogs can compete on the same level in LC,

or has the exterior in the different coursing breeds become more important than their functionality

and instinct as breed used for hunting?

 

This is a very controversial question! Normally, there doesn’t have to be any differences,

but some breeders have special ideas about beauty and some breeders have special ideas on

how fast a dog should be. I don’t think we should invent the sighthound once more!

 

 

 

If we have dogs from breeders whose aim is to preserve a breed,

I think we will see dogs that are able to be excellent in both arenas.

However, if the aim of the breeding is defined otherwise,

we can see afghan with problems due to their long coats or afghan that are faster than a saluki.

Also, we can see greyhounds with great problems in speed,

and we can see borzois that are too tall to manage a right-angle turn, and so forth.

 

Why is LC important?

 

For most owners and breeders of sighthounds,

LC is the only way to give their dogs a close-to-natural opportunity to work.

Race-tracking, in my opinion, only satisfies the dog’s joy of running.

LC is also a kind of control. It can control that the constant breeding of sighthounds is kept moderate,

or it can pinpoint if the breeding has specialized in one, or more,

specific attributes judges with excellent education and a lot of experience.

 

In a LC trial, what characteristics do you put emphasis on in the different breeds?

How do you judge, i.e., a greyhound compared to an afghan hound?

 

Well, as I said above, in LC we need top educated judges with much experience.

The best way to gain experience is by taking part in a real live.

I have seen nearly all of the sighthound breeds working in live coursing so I have a very

firm idea of what sighthounds should be able to do.

Also, LC is more of a fun game and very away from the natural hunt.

   Ideally, when it comes to judging the different breeds, there should be different courses!

But there aren’t. So, judging is about comparing the real hunt, my “standard”,

to the actual work done on the course. For example, a greyhound must show me that it is able

to slow down its speed at the right time in order to react to the fast movements of the lure.

I also want to see attentive ears and the hound lifting up its head at the right time.

This shows me that the hound is paying close attention to the lure.

Also, a greyhound has to immediately show me its will to catch the lure.

An afghan should hunt with endurance, not giving one hundred percent from the beginning.

Instead it should carry its head upright, moving in short, powerful jumps.

Remember where the afghan comes from!

 

In your opinion, how should a saluki, a borzoi and an Italian greyhound

run in order to perform perfectly at LC?

 

Well. It will be too much to explain each breed’s special behaviour on the field.

Generally, all breeds must be in good condition and they must perform accordingly to their breed’s way of working.

The oriental breeds are long-distance runners, while the whippet is a “short-track killer”.

This is a question worth discussing for a whole weekend!

 

How should a LC field be constructed?

And, should one expect an Italian Greyhound to run the same field as a Galgo Espanol?

 

The best case scenario is a special course for each breed, but that isn’t possible.

So, we have to find compromises. A well structured ground, approximately 1000 meters,

with some trees or bushes, which also offers a variation in daylight throughout the day, is very fortunate.

The course can easily be fitted for certain breeds by removing, or adding some pulleys.

 

Finally, do you have any particularly fond memories of certain dogs or trials

that have made an impression on you?

 

I remember two completely black borzois I judged two years ago in Poland( http://borzoimajovebohemia.wz.cz/index1.htm ). Until this day I’ve never seen such good borzoi coursers. At the European Championship in Finland thie year I judged the podenco ibicenco, and I remember two males that, in my eyes, were the best of all the breeds. The 2005 Championship had two very different courses which made it possible for the dogs to show their different abilities on the field.

 

     

 

PS: If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

       m.behrmann@t-online.de