H-litter
sire :
dam :

Zafran Asli (s) (imp. Israel)
x
Farha al-Faifa (s) (imp. Israel)


Born 1.3. 2003
3 dogs & 6 bitches and of those 1+2 feathered,
the others smooth

From the beginning Farha and Safi were imported for breeding. The idea was initially to use them with Western Salukis, but after getting to know these awesome desert Salukis I wanted to combine them. Both are from Israel and as such of very similar type, strong yet graceful, lightly moving, balanced and intelligent hounds whose relatives have been tested in the field. Farha's sire and doublegrandsire were particularly famous hunting hounds. An added bonus was the great love Farha and Safi had for each other – even now Farha is thrilled to meet her mate.

I got pretty much the kind of look I expected: varied, but all typical, very well-moving Salukis. Lookswise I am quite pleased with the litter. It consists of three types, one solid, very old Sinai, the other daintier and slower to mature, the third something inbetween. I'm not entirely satisfied with all the temperaments – some of the pups lack the unshakeable confidence I've come to expect of DBs. They are wonderful people dogs, very loyal and affectionate, but some have a certain insecurity that manifests itself as occasional dog aggression and in one of the pups as severe separation anxiety.

We experienced disappointments in terms of health. A couple of the pups had recurring ear infections which for one of them stopped when kibble was dropped from the diet. One, Hurra who went to England, was poorly for over a year with something that included weakness, bleeding gums and hematomas, but was never definitively diagnosed. She was treated with cortisone and then with doxycyclin as a tick borne disease was suspected. For a while it seemed that she was on the mend, and then she crashed again. She died at two years old of heart failure. A certain diagnosis was never made, but I assume it was IMT (immune-mediated thrombocytopenia).

In the spring of 2005 the male Hajum had an infection of the lymph nodes, at that time thought to have been bacterial. He recuperated after a long treatment with antibiotics, but fell seriously ill in February 2006. The diagnosis was immunological polyarthritis, an auto-immune disorder. Later he also developed IMT. It now looks as though the previous lymph node infection was related to this illness, along with the tendency of the tips of his ears to bleed in very cold temperatures. He is on constant cortisoid mediacation.

The nightmare continued - in the autumn of 2006 the bitch Habwa fell ill with acute auto-immune thrombocytopenia. She quickly got cortisoid treatment and for a time she was on a very low dosage and is enjoying life and running again. In the spring of 2008 however she crashed again and had to be put to sleep :(

The next blow fell in the summer of 2007 - the bitch Hafna fell ill. She retained a lot of water and her muscles atrophied. All possible tests were performed, details to follow later. The verdict was a harsh one - Hafna did not respond to medication and we were told that her kidneys had atrophied beyond repair. The only thing to do was to put her to sleep...
The post mortem performed on Hafna confirmed a diagnosis of kidney failure, specifically minimal change disease. Minimal change nephrotic syndrome is immunological and generally idiopathic, although in some cases it can be linked to a previous infection or another immunological disease.

Consequently I will not breed on from the H-litter, nor will I breed Farha again. After the pups Farha was allergy-tested because of a winter itch, and the test showed reactions to house and dust mites. Luckily this manifests itself only as occasional, fairly mild itching in wintertime and has not needed medication. Qashani Hiba Bint Farha has had her elbows and hips x-rayed unofficially, all was in order. Qashani Husn at-Tali switched homes in Denmark and escaped from his new owners and was hit by a car. He was 2,5 years old when he died. I hope all the H-pups will remain healthy from now on and that my other desert lines will have healthier futures.

[ click on the name to view the pup's personal page ]

sire:

Zafran Asli (s)

imp. Israel

Ramal of Kalansua (s)
Trad of el Huzeil (s)
Hobob of Kalansua (s)
Alex of Binyamina
Sacha of Mizpe Ramon
Honey of Binyamina

dam:

Farha al-Faifa (s)

imp. Israel

Regab of Abu Rekiek (s)
Pontiac of Abu Rekiek (s)
Ruth of Abu Rekiek
Risha 3 of Abu Rekiek (s)
Pontiac of Abu Rekiek (s)
Risha 2 of Abu Rekiek