AHI: Do you remember the first time you saw an Afghan Hound? How long after that until you had one? Was this your first breed? How long have you had the AfAffliction?

Wow, a long time ago now; ahemmmm... The first time I ever saw an Afghan Hound was on the TV I must have been 17 or 18 years old then, it was an ad for bath salts or similar, I recall being told afterwards that the dog in question was Ch. Saringas Abracadabra !! Not sure if that was true. However, he impressed me so much, I never thought an animal such as he existed, at the time I had a cross bred Collie/Lab and used to do obedience, and I did not have a clue about dogs never mind about the Afghan. Never the less, he left an ever lasting impression embedded in my memory.

 AHI: What were the qualities you first admired in the breed? Are those the same qualities you treasure today? Are there any qualities or traits you've come to regret.

I suppose it was the sheer exotic look of the animal in general plus the magnificent coat, as I said I did not have a clue regards dogs, standards or the likes. I still look for that exotic look and am not such a fanatic on huge coats as in the beginning although I do like to see well coated legs and ears. I regret the caricature traits we see so often and the sheer lack of interest regards type and shape shown by some judges, if it goes around the ring at a neck breaking speed, that's ok for many, a real shame, but they are winning!!.. 

 AHI: Tell us about your first Afghan(s)? Background,  personality,  pedigree? Are they behind your current program?

My first Afghan was a Black Masked Gold, bred in UK by Hazel Cranham of the Zanavars prefix, Ch. Zanavars Kochis at Shikarah. He was from the old Carloway Jagai and Moonswift lines. He was my first show dog and I must say I was particularly lucky to have started with him, he did quite a bit of interesting winning in the UK before I moved to Spain, he gained his KC Stud Book Number and had many BOB's to his credit. He was still very young when I left the UK and later on he became my fist Champion in the breed winning Multiple Groups and two BIS's at general all breeds International shows in Spain and Portugal he also gained his title in Portugal, he is behind all of the present day stock at our kennels. He was what I call a gentleman, he was a lazy old so and so at home BUT funnily enough when we entered the ring he changed his chip, he seemed to know what was expected from him and automatically as if I turned a switch on, he became a super showman, giving me his all, quite uncanny. He was a good stud; he was gentle with his girls and only mated when HE knew that they were ready and he was a great guy to live with, he is the grand daddy of all my stock.

 AHI: Who were people that mentored you through the years? What kind of impact did they have on you? Do you still consider anyone to still be your mentor?

My mentor all those years ago was Hazel Cranham the Breeder of Kochis, she not only put up with me pestering her to death about this and that (and later on moving into her home for a while with Kochis) but she taught me so much about the breed. She must have had the patience of a saint to have put up with me. However, we became the best of friends which we still are today.

 AHI: When and how did you start showing? Did you, and do you still, enjoy it? What has been the most notable change in showing over the years?

I started showing in the early 70's thanks to Hazel Cranham. My first show was an Open show "Nottingham & District Open" and there were three in my class, I came in number 3, what a disaster, I thought the world had collapsed in on top of me, I was so upset, my dear beloved Kochis came in third out of three, ha ha, what a lesson that was. I soon came back with a fresh outlook on shows and taking Hazel's advise, I took things slowly and surely, she told me that each show was a lesson and that I would soon learn BUT, I should keep my ears and eyes open and my mouth shut for at least the first 5 years and then, and only then could I perhaps start to make comments etc.. a good lesson which I took seriously (shame that the news kids on the block don't do the same thing) I really enjoyed showing, it was fun, we would all get together and cheer each other on, and if any of the gang won anything then it was drinks all around and claps on the back, sadly those days seem to have disappeared, it is now so professional and rather cutthroat that all the fun has been taken from it. Don't get me wrong, there always was good competition, but not to the extent that we see today, too septic... No comradeship!!! In other words, I do not enjoy the shows as much as before, I still really enjoy the challenge of outwitting Mother Nature.

 AHI: When did you breed your first litter? Was there a grand scheme or specific goal behind the breeding? Have your goals changed over the years? If so, how?

My first litter was around 1978-9, (by this time I was with Javier Blanco who had Poodles and Kerrie's and later we joined forces and we now share the prefix) and no, there was no real goal behind it, as most novices I thought it would be nice to have a bash at breeding (nice way to start!) However I did have quite a nice litter considering (beginners luck they say)

 AHI: Have you always had the same kennel name? Where does your kennel name come from?

Yes, I have always had the same kennel name. I was just playing around with letters one evening desperately trying to come up with something and hey presto, I came up with what is today my prefix, it has no special significance but I liked the sound of it and so that's how I came about "Shikarah" I have had it registered with the KC since 1975 and I also have it registered with the FCI.

 AHI: Do you have any special friends in the Af world? Have they (and if so how have they) played a part in your AfAffliction?

Yes I do, that is one of the things that I like and cherish most about the dog world, Thanks to the dogs I have friends and homes to visit in so many parts of the world. All my friends have and do play an important part in my hobby...

AHI: Do you have an all time favourite Afghan Hound (s)? Name(s)? Why?

I have several favorites.  From the USA, Ch. Kabiks The Challenger, because I admire his overall shape and his fantastic head and eye, plus his total control of the situation, he was a king and he knew it, to see him on the move was a sight to behold. I also greatly admired Ch. Phalavi's Puttin On The Ritz, he was commanding, he made you sit up and look at him, he was regal and powerful, also the fact that he was handled to perfection, it was a sight to behold to see dog and owner in perfect harmony. His daughter Ch. Casbar Sugar-N-Spice was also a great favorite of mine, a little on the tall side but so feminine, beautiful outline and what a mover, I would have loved to own her. I also loved DK Ch. Boxodan Hey Ma Look At Me, what a character, so feminine yet powerful, moved like a dream, full of arrogance and style, she was refined without being weak and nothing exaggerated about her, really beautiful. I would love to have seen the great Hazztaffer, so many people have talked great things about this dog, it is a shame that the only photo I have seen of him does not seem to do him justice.

 AHI:  Do you have a particular favourite from your kennel (Current and all time)? Name? Tell us about them.

My two favorites were (apart from Kochis), Ch. Indira of Shikarah (a Kochis daughter) she was what I call classic, beautiful outline with superb shoulders to neck and perfectly balanced rear, she was a fabulous mover and all topped by a feminine head and dark eye, unfortunately she was not the best show girl in the world, she did enough (well she thought it was enough) to gain her title, she was bored with the whole rigmarole so she did what I asked of her on the day and that was that. She never had a litter, very unfortunate for me.

 AHI: What characteristics do you place the greatest value on (Conformation, temperament, other???)? Why? Do these characteristics drive your breeding program?

Overall shape and conformation is most important for me followed by movement and temperament. These qualities are the root to my breeding program because if my dogs didn't posses those qualities they just wouldn't be Afghans

 AHI: What do you think are the most important factors in breeding? Are there any techniques or tools that can help someone thinking about starting a program?

Techniques NO. One has to be able to understand the standard, meaning of TYPE and then apply it, follow the lines one appreciates and base your kennels on that stock, be honest with oneself and study the pedigrees, not only on paper but by checking up on the actual dogs themselves because after all, a pedigree is made up from individuals not just titles!! Then hope for the best.

 AHI: Do you perceive any predominant faults in today's Afghan Hounds? If so, is there anything behind those faults (like following the flavour of the day)?... and a way out?

Faults are the flavor of the day so it seems!!! The biggest fault is lack of type followed by bad fronts and shoulders, coupled with the caricature specimens that abound plus the judges that promote these dogs then we have serious problems. A way out? That's a good question, the only way out is to educate all Afghan hound judges and hopefully they will apply when judging what they have been taught!!

 AHI: Do you feel that today's Afghan Hound has any worrisome health problems? If so what? If not, are there any areas that still deserve some attention before they become a problem.

I feel that the breed is still one of the few healthy breeds left today and the answer would be NO I do not feel that the breed has any really serious health problems so to speak of.

 AHI: What part do you think health tests should play in breeding? How do you use them? Is it specific to your breeding program or a general part of every Afs care?

 Tests are always good for any breed, our dogs have been tested for cataracts, pra and hip scored, any dog sold abroad or sent to Scandinavia have been eye and hip tested with amazingly good results. I feel that tests should be an every day part of caring for our Afghans or any breed come to think of it. BUT, we should never be blinded by over testing or only mating A to A because that could ruin a breed as we tend to forget the overall animal and drown in a pool of tests etc... Ending up with super healthy but ugly dogs... (this happened to Goldens in Sweden some years ago as I am led to believe).

 AHI: What message or advice would you pass on to people just coming to the breed now? Those contemplating a breeding program?

Well, I am going to repeat what Hazel Cranham told me all those years ago, little by little one will reach their goal BUT, keep your eyes and ears open and do not comment on others dogs until one has done ones apprenticeship, minimum 5 years. Regards breeding, do not attempt to breed until one understands the standard from A to Z, not only from memory but one must be able to interpret it fully and be able to apply it, this is probably the hardest part of dogs, understanding the STANDARD. This is why it is so important to have a good mentor to start with, if we don't, how on earth are we going to understand anything ?

 AHI: Do you have any general concerns about the fancy? (As in things that may drive down the numbers owning, caring for, and insuring that the breed is preserved.) If so, what should (and/or can) be done about it?

  I feel that the numbers have dropped due to the "In Thing" fast moving caricatures that have nothing to do with the breed, BUT are winning Groups and BIS galore. The solution would be to educate judges so that they have an insight as to what breed type is all about, have more breed specialists to judge the breed and ask judges to penalize these caricature type dogs severely once they have understood what TYPE is.

 AHI: Have you been drawn into the Internet scene? Is it a boon or a bust to you?

Internet is good and evil at the same time. It is marvelous as one can keep in touch with people across the globe in an instant or catch up on what's going on at the different shows across the world at any one time and check up on anything to do with dogs, peoples web sites etc.. On the other hand it can be dangerous because some of the forums (especially in Spain) are used to criticize and deform information in order to harm other peoples hard work or to talk bad about ones dogs ,or if so and so won because!!!! We know why he or she won!!!

Signed;

David Allan-Gibson and Javier Blanco Sanchez (Shikarah)
28.11.06
Madrid - Spain