Eli Gunneng

 

Template for interviews – The Borzoï Encyclopedia (borzoipedia.com)

I was born in Oslo, Norway

I grew up in Oslo as an only child, but with many cousins and cousins of almost the same age. Several of them had dogs, I got my first a golden retriever in 72

I was educated in trade & office, now in healthcare. Works with traffic injured and accident victims, who have sustained extensive injuries and ended up as multi-handicapped

My Parents did not have dogs.

I Have owned these breeds, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Borzoi & Whippet

Kaznan Farina was an inspiration to me, super vigil, aristocratic with an absolutely amazing radiance

My kennel name comes from Latin, a Bending Shape of Stretching

These dogs had the most influence, Ch. Kaznan Udalka, Int. Ch. Bartina av Fjascho, Int.Ch. Stravi Bathsheba, Int.ch Stravi A Kind of Magic, It Ch Stravi Ripple, Nord. Ch Stravi Red Cloud, Int ch. Stravi Edward Nigma, Int.Ch S. Dick Tracy, Ch. S.Valdai, S. Vadim and sister, Ch.S. Vikki Veleska

I was very enthusiastic about Red Cloud, he had all the race details in place, had he been a couple of inches taller and white, maybe more people would have completely agreed with me 😉 and, of course, Bathsheba and A Kind of Magic. Otherwise, the aforementioned dogs certainly satisfied me!

Quite many of my dogs became Champions. Int ch’s and several of them have ended up top 10 borzoi No. 1, and other places on the same list, Bis for all races, special Bis, group winners in both Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

I’ve always had a breeding program, otherwise it would be very random. I’ve sworn to line breeding, but obviously with the necessary outcrosser.  I have always thought about long-term and future combinations, how to preserve, can and should something be added, weave it and that dog together and always think carefully about what results it will/can bring, what can be improved and what lines and individuals have what I want. Breeding only on heavily titled individuals and the most successful in the breed has not been my goal, I have been more concerned with how the dog is built, does it fit in with my lines, does it have the qualities I want to preserve/add. I’ve seen a lot of big winners with gross mistakes I certainly don’t want on my line. Having litters just to have litters or because puppies are cute/”I want a new puppy because the bitch is so nice. If the neighbour think it’s pretty, profitable”, etc.. is to me a bad idea. This is not the world’s easiest breed to sell, and it is extremely important that you as a breeder are careful about who you sell to! There are far too many fates, dogs sold to people who can barely take care of themselves. The breed deserves so much better than that.

To me the whole is the most important, the balance between power and elegance, that it is able to move breed-typically, lightly and very ground-covering. I also have a thing for beautiful heads, and correct tail guidance, and the breed details should be in place.

One grave fault I will not compromise about is temperament, it must be good. Aggressive or showing that it is afraid, withdrawing or acting angst-bitter and of course hereditary disease will automatically exclude an otherwise correctly composed individual.

What can I say about dogs today compared to 30 or 40 years ago. Unfortunately, the standard has dropped considerably in this country, we had a completely different one and higher quality a few years ago.

I have imported 3 dogs, 2 from Finland and one from Canada

Often I know very early. Often there is one that stands out at birth, it usually holds stings, otherwise it is easy to see when they start trotting around, see how they stop naturally and how else they behave

Have always started with goat’s milk, then puppy food from Eukanuba, eventually added a little V&H, the adults have gone to Eukanuba for hunting dogs and of course added a type of oil and meat of some kind

Culling of large litters. That’s not an appealing thought to me

I have judged the OS a few years back and will judge as one of three in Amsterdam in August

I think that some foreign dogs are now of a higher standard than in Norway. The breeders here at home have a job to do in this respect

To prepare a borzoi for shows I have always focused on them being in good condition, they have been able to run freely in the woods and fields and also in large areas and surfaces, otherwise trotting training by bike has been a high priority. When it comes to grooming, I have naturally seen to that it is tangle-free, whether it has needed a stub here and there, claw clipping, looking over teeth for tartar and of course bathing and blow-drying. Very often they have also been allowed to run freely for a few laps on the day of the exhibition itself a little bit in time before we get in the ring – of course this has been weather dependent, they must not get dirty – because they have had so much “gunpowder in their legs” that it has been necessary for them to race out ahead of time

Have your dogs provoked Lure Coursing or other activities? I’ve given it a few tries with a couple of my own dogs, but they’ve preferred running after whippets or other types of animals to a plastic thing…

As far as exhibition is concerned, it’s kind of like that during the day, it seems. Somewhat random who judges, far too few with a background in the breed and who clearly have no idea what the breed should look like! I prefer a Borzoi to look like a Borzoi, not a slightly furry Greyhoud. Judges who don’t like Borzoi shouldn’t agree to judge the breed either! LC is fun, and also an important thing for the dogs, if it has flaws/lack of teeth pigment, etc, it has little bearing on how fast it can run or how well it works on LC.Personally, I don’t have patience with all the waiting, I think it’s just as fun to watch when they run together several together in the woods and fields

Just now, 2023, I don’t have any dogs

My interests are family and good friends, good food and drink, walks in the woods and fields or along the sea.

I have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren, youngest son has dog, a whippet. Both are very fond of dogs and animals, but I don’t see anyone taking over from me right now

I Think the future of the breed is in good hands, I hope breeders here at home will compete with the foreigners. Competition is healthy and it challenges you as a breeder how to breed even better individuals, There is little that is as enjoyable as winning at big shows for judges who really know the breed and have a sighthound background

I am a member of NMK/NKK, have been to BU several times over the years, just left BU after finishing my two-year term, former secretary of NMK, and served on NMK’s exhibition committee

Submitted by:

Arvid Andersen

on January 17, 2018 10:13 pm

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Stravi

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