SLEYKH

I fell in love with sighthounds back in 1995 in my home country of Finland, and was originally involved in breeding and showing of Portuguese Podengos. I was introduced to Pharaoh Hounds in 2005, when I acquired my foundation bitch Kiya, Ch Skiska Kool Kozmos from Leanne Lewis. Kiya produced a fantastic litter to The Pharaoh Hound of the Year 2008 & 2009 in Finland: INT Ch FIN Ch SWE Ch EST Ch NWY Ch LTU Ch Northgate's Dom Perignon, who is of course closely related to the Crufts 2009 and 2010 Group Winner Northgate's As You Like It. The progeny from this litter achieved some of the best results in the show ring by any Pharaoh Hound in Australia, including the Supreme Champion Sleykh In Central Park (Foodie), winning multiple Best in Shows, Best In Groups, and coming second at the prestigious Dog of the Year. I continued to try to improve the breed in Australia by importing semen for a top Swedish Pharaoh Hound, Swe Ch FIN Ch Farao Anubis Golden Gait (Roger) in 2014, and this resulted in two beautiful litters, from Aust Supreme Ch Aust Ch Sleykh In Central Park in 2015 and Sleykh Miss Manhattan in 2016. The progeny have again performed well, and helped establish other breeding programs in Australia. I mainly enjoy the companionship of these beautiful, elegant, yet goofy dogs, and occasionally breed litters if I think the combination is sound, and likely to benefit the breed here in Australia.

I discovered the Portuguese Podengos back in Finland in 1997, when I first saw them at an all breeds show. I was lucky enough to own two from the kennel Tahtitaivaan, before moving overseas. Finally, in 2010 I imported the very first Portuguese Podengo Pequeno into Australia, and established the breed here. INT Ch FIN Ch EST Ch Tahtitaivaan Emmi arrived in whelp, and three of the six puppies helped establish other breeding programs in Queensland and New South Wales. In 2015 I imported my second Podengo from Finland, Tahtitaivaan Choco, also in whelp, to the top winning European dog, Portuguese Grand Champion Zorro Da Praia Do Ribatejo. This litter was used as a foundation to help establish a collaborative breeding program with the Westengo Portuguese Podengo kennel in Perth, WA. Already, we have had some fantastic puppies with the help of frozen semen imported from Finland. This breed truly melts your heart, you can't possibly have a bad day when you own a podengo, they simply won't let you! They are energetic, yet cuddly, small, but have the stamina of a hound. A truly versatile small dog, they are suitable for Rally-O, tracking, lure coursing, the show ring, or as the best family pet. We are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this breed in Australia