Trips Taken for the Love of a Breed

PUPPY EXPRESS--DELIVERING THE DOGS
by guest author and dog lover Scott Maze.

 

"We learned a lot in our first year of breeding Transylvanian Hounds, but I confess I never really thought about the logistics of delivering the puppies.  That was a mistake, but correcting it has been very enjoyable.  The lesson began with our first litter, which was born in January.  The first two puppies to leave us went to Indiana.  They were escorted by a wonderful lady who actually came to California to personally pick out the show-quality female she wanted, and ended up taking another puppy with her.  The fun part is that those two puppies rode to Indiana with her on a private jet owned by her friend!  We have an in-flight photo of the two in their carriers, with pilot and co-pilot in the background along with an interior complete with beautiful wood paneling.  What a way to begin!

 

After our Hollywood-style start, however, things got pretty mundane.  Several puppies went to local owners, while one took a cross-country flight on a commercial airliner.  I felt sorry for her, traveling alone to be greeted by strangers, but her new owners sent along some of their clothing so she would know their smell and she acclimated very quickly.  After that, I thought the delivery process was pretty much over.  Then we found Rod Michaelson through his Redbirddog blog and realized we both live in the same town and share the same interests.   We’ve enjoyed hiking and socializing with Rod, Joanie and their Vizslas and our hounds love their off-leash time in the open space with Bailey and Chloe. 

 

We also went to Hungary for the first time. Our trip to Hungary resulted from our interest in breeding Kopós, as Transylvanian Hounds are known in Hungary, and the friendships that came out of that interest.  Our friends there owned Avar, the male who made our breeding program possible.  While we were there, we spent several days in Transylvania, now part of Rumania.  We visited many Kopó owners, a Kopó kennel and a dog show held in an ancient castle in the city of Alba Iulia, originally founded by the Romans. The show included a variety of breeds, including Vizslas, Kopós, and many others. 

The female owned by our Hungarian hosts had a litter of eleven puppies before we arrived, all but one destined for the United States, and we brought four back when we returned.  Delivering those puppies was not difficult, although one stayed long enough for us to start falling in love with her.  She finally flew to Los Angeles with her new owner, but not before we spent five hours at the airport.  She had stayed with us so long that she would not fit in a carry-on.  We ended up finding a crate, changing airlines, then changing flights before we could wave good-bye.    

But the story continued, as our friend from Hungary arrived within the month with another four puppies, the remainder of the litter.  Three of these puppies were spoken for and two of them were quickly delivered.  The third puppy was promised to a family in Western Canada and I thought our friend was delivering it.  That was true, but it was not the whole story.  Our friend had promised to deliver that puppy to Tacoma, Washington the day after he arrived in San Francisco—and he intended to drive it there himself!   After twenty-six hour hours awake and a thirteen-hour flight from Budapest, our friend would not subject that puppy to more of the same.  However, his co-driver begged off the night before he left, so I became co-driver on a sixteen hundred mile round trip that took thirty-four hours.  We did stop to sleep, but my wife Maria packed lots of food so we spent the rest of the time driving.   The trip resulted in the on-time delivery of that puppy to a happy young family whose two children were surprised and delighted that they were taking a puppy home with them.

 

After returning in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I thought I was finally done delivering puppies for a while, but then Rod got involved.  A nice couple from Wyoming had contacted him, asking whether he thought a Vizsla would be appropriate for their situation.  Along with his Vizsla information, Rod suggested they might consider a Transylvanian Hound.  They already knew about the breed, so they did some research and looked at our website.   Monday as we took our Kopós for their walk, Maria got a call from the lady, who was very interested.  Maria explained this was the last puppy available and that it came from the kennel we had visited in Transylvania, so we knew the breeder and had seen the puppy, its’ parents and littermates.   That night, Maria sent photos of the parents, his littermates and kennel, and information about these Hounds.

 

Within days, the folks in Wyoming decided they wanted that puppy.  This time there was no one else, so I was elected to go alone and to go immediately so the puppy would have more time to acclimate in his new surroundings.  No, I did not drive all the way to Wyoming, but I did leave Walnut Creek at six o’clock Friday morning to deliver the puppy to his new owners in Sparks, Nevada, where we had agreed to meet.  My trip took over three hours but the new owners put me to shame—they had driven straight through the night without stop with their fifteen year old Italian Greyhound to meet me that morning!  I made the delivery, drove back through the Sierras and was home in time for a late lunch.


Viggo settling with "Monkey" at home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

 The puppy, his new owners and their greyhound again drove straight through to his new home in Jackson Hole, a round trip of over twenty hours in driving time alone!   (910 miles from Walnut Creek to Jackson Hole)


Viggo exploring his new forever home in the mountains around Jackson Hole

 

I am no longer naïve enough to say my days as a delivery boy are over, because I know better.   There will be more litters in the future—and who knows?   Rod may work some more of his magic.  But I’ll do anything I can to help anyone who loves dogs enough to drive twenty hours straight to get one!"

Scott (California Transylvanians)

Runnin’ with the RedBirdDogs!

Guest writer Maria's take on Monday late afternoon's adventures in the hills southeast of Walnut Creek.  We explored the Walnut Creek Open Spaces of the Diablo Foothills.  
Maria and husband Scott are breeders of a very rare and threatened with extinction breed.

The Transylvanian Hound

They created the website recently(website link below):

  http://californiakopos.com/

"Monday we took our “pack” out for our third run with the RedBirdDogs! That would be Rod and his Hungarian Vizslas. Our pack of Transylvanian Hounds, consists of parents Hannah (5) and Avar (2), plus their two 8-month old sons Adam and Attila. In her earlier years Hannah enjoyed off leash adventures in the hills around us, but since becoming pregnant last November she has only been out for on leash walks. Running in the open space is an entirely new experience for Avar who spent the first year of his life in Budapest, Hungary and of course for Adam and Attila as well. 

        Hannah, Chloe, Adam, Attila, Avar and Bailey exploring the hills.

        

For our inexperienced pack they are fortunate to have Bailey and Chloe, their Vizsla friends to show them “hunting etiquette” in suburban open space. Until we took Adam and Attila out for a short jaunt last week, “the boys” only had experience chasing squirrels in our back yard and could only dream of chasing the deer we’ve encountered walking the neighborhood on-leash.

Bailey, Adam, Avar, Attila, Chloe and Hannah streak across the hillside.

        

Transylvanian Hounds (Erdelyi Kopó) are scent hounds and were bred to hunt bear, boar, deer and lynx. They are also known as a driving hound as they are a game chaser, whose job it is to drive the quarry towards the hunter. They generally work in small packs of 2-4 dogs, with the older dogs teaching the younger dogs hunting skills. 

Hannah, Attila, Adam and Avar in the late afternoon sunlight

            

Like a kid in a candy store our pack’s exuberance was palpable! Unlike a kid in a candy store, they were relatively well behaved. Our purpose was to take them out to experience the “great outdoors” and to learn off leash behavior. We did expect them to catch scents and give chase, they did not disappoint! To hear their hunting cry echo through the hills as we watched them streak across the open spaces  giving chase was an absolute thrill. Then seeing them happily return, panting and grinning, was a very proud moment indeed. 

            Adam, Bailey, Avar, Attila, Hannah and Chloe running back to us

            

They tested their limits and gave chase again, feeling more confident in their abilities and more comfortable ranging away from us. We put them back on their leashes a couple of times to remind them not to range so far and so independently. Overall for a young inexperienced pack they showed remarkable skill and obedience. These Kopó have earned another jaunt into the hills with the RedBirdDogs as their leaders!"

        Heading for home, Bailey, Attila, Avar, Hannah, Chole, and Adam

A Run in Dog Heaven

Bailey and his Hungarian posse covering the hills of the East Bay.

Chloe and four Transylvanian hounds.

Coming back to us from a expedition into the hills.  Chloe played the pack leader.

She is the oldest of the six dog group.

She was so proud to be at the front.



Bailey takes the lead again



In the below picture, on the hill at the top right are two deer in flight.  At the bottom left are six dogs in full pursuit.  Bailey just crossing the paved country road.

 No worries though; the dogs never got close, but boy were they excited by the time they finally came back!