| Archive for workinghprs.myfastforum.org Chat forum for owners of working HPR and Versatile gundog breeds. |
| chiendog |
Slovak club of AmericaLooks like there is now an SHRP club in America:http://slovakianroughhairepointerclubofamerica.com Seems to be associated with a Weimaraner (and now SRHP) kennel: http://www.bigwaterkennel.com |
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| josie |
Most of the breeders listed are in the UK on that site...
And there are no pedigrees online for the SRPs on the US breeder's page, so I can't tell where they come from. A couple of the photos I recognise from Michal Urban's site in Slovakia - hopefully he knows they are being used! |
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| chiendog |
From what I can gather on the http://www.bigwaterkennel.com site, their dogs are from Mr. Elder's kennel in Ireland. They speculate that they may be the first SRHP's in the US, but I believe a Mr. Dean Anderson imported the first two from Michal Urban in Slovakia three or four years ago (IIRC they were out of Brita z Rúženice x Deo Hrabníky). I am not sure if Mr. Anderson still has them. The last I heard, he was looking to get out of gundogs in order to concentrate more on police dog work and wanted for find homes for his Slovaks. "Big Water" seems to be a Weimaraner breeder (silvers, blues and LH's) that has recently added SRHP's |
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| josie |
If they're from Nicholas Elder then they are related to Grey, in fact might be Grey's litter siblings, as I know that one or two from her litter went to the US. | ||
| chiendog |
That is very likely then. I know of no other Slovaks in the US at the moment. I hope the breeder makes a go of it and that the club remains focused on field work. |
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| Louilou |
I hope they are involved with Mike Urban. The last communication I had with him I was sent really worrying health info regarding my Grey's line. This issue has apparantly been addressed in slovakia. But all of those UK breeders listed on that site are all really using dogs all very closely related and from the same stock. One hopes if they're setting up a breeding programme in the US it will include a broader gene pool. | ||
| chiendog |
I am not sure if Michal even knew of the club before I mentioned it to him in a recent email. And I am really not sure if there are more than one or two members in the club just now.
It seems that the only Slovaks in the US at the moment are those owned by the people who set up the club and website (they are Weim breeders ). I know the two dogs of Michal's breeding came to the US a couple of years ago, but I lost track of where they ended up. North America, like the UK, can be very good for some dog breeds...and very, very bad for others. Breeds like the Pudelpointer for example have had the very good fortune of being taken up by serious hunters who know a good hunting dog when they see one. The Drahthaar is doing very, very well too. I would hope that that Slovak finds itself in the hands of hard core hunters who know how to breed good dogs. Only time will tell. What worries me is that for the most part, outside of Slovakia, it is generally Weim folks that have taken a shine to the Slovak. And we all know how well they have done with the Weim 
How long before we see couch potato Slovaks, show Slovaks, Psycho Slovaks and Blue Slovaks? |
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| weima |
Unfortunately, a lot of the UK slovaks are with weim owners who don't know what the breed is about [either slovak or weim  ]. Some of them are even running the club I guess it won't be long before they are couch potatoes as these people will inhibit the natural instincts of the slovak I feel 
I have seen a few working but these are people who already have good hunting weis 
I would have thought every health test that can be done, hips, eyes, elbows, heart etc should be done on any slovak in the UK before it is bred from being a 'new' breed but this seems not to be the case. I know of one slovak who was having a litter & the owner hadn't had her hip scored when asked why the reply was hips aren't a problem in the breed  How do you know if you aren't scoring? I do believe the bitch has since been scored.
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| Louilou |
But I think plans afoot at the club to address things. I've been working with them re the health issues I've found so far. The club fun day seemed to be more working than showing people present. I only know of one member who's only showing and not working. I believe they want to work with Michal re the broadening of the gene pool. | ||