A New Arrival: June 2016

Photo by Diana Komaromi

We are extremely excited about the upcoming litter between Patti and Gator, but I don't want that to overshadow another very exciting bit of news. Last year, Remy's owner (Remy is Gil's litter sister, for those who might not remember), Diana, informed me that she was planning to breed Remy one last time, to a very accomplished and prepotent hunting dog named Vándor. She had acquired Vándor as a mature adult, as well as Vándor's sire, Finom. Given the outstanding nature of this potential litter's pedigree, and the fact that we are terribly short on breedable bitches here in the states, this was an opportunity that we just couldn't pass up. So, we told Diana that should a litter be born we would be very interested in taking a puppy, preferably a bitch puppy. To our delight, and hers as well, she happily agreed.

Remy and Vándor
Photo by Diana Komaromi

So we waited patiently for Remy to come in season, and when she did she was bred to Vándor a single time. Now all we had to do was wait. Given the size and success of Remy's first litter, I had little doubt that she would conceive, but given her age there was always the possibility of a miss, or at the very least a small litter.

Photo by Diana Komaromi

Come February, Remy's belly was growing larger and larger by the day, and on February 6th she finally popped. A total of 8 puppies were delivered; 6 girls and 2 boys. We were thrilled, and very happy that there were so many girls to choose from.

Photo by Diana Komaromi

As the puppies grew, Diana kept in touch with me and always asked if there was any particular puppy that I had my eyes on. At that early stage, there wasn't any particular puppy that stood out to me, so I kept on waiting and watching intently as the weeks went by.

Look at that face!

Photo by Diana Komaromi

By the time the puppies were 7 weeks old, Diana was able to give me a better idea of what their individual personalities were like. We narrowed it down to two of the girls, one named Fesztivál and one named Fricska (this is the Cserihegyi F-litter). Just based on their photos, Fesztivál appealed to me because she has a black mask that makes her look a bit like Gil, but I never want to make decisions based on color or markings. According to Diana, Fesztivál was more laid back that Fricksa, but both were very nice puppies. I told Diana that my preference was for a bolder, more confident puppy, so that meant Fricksa was the winner!

Fricksa

Photo by Diana Komaromi

Fricksa means "Flip" in Hungarian, which I think is an adorable name for a spirited little Agar puppy! In order to prevent a lengthy quarantine, we have to wait until Fricksa is 4 months old before she can be shipped to us here in California. However, with Patti's due date looming in early June, we decided to wait until late June to have her flown out. So, we will be waiting patiently for our bundles of joy to arrive next month. All of them :-)

Fricksa

Photo by Diana Komaromi

A New Puppy On The Way

There's a new puppy arriving to California from Hungary very soon.

Repülj Gácsér 

"Jussi"

I neglected to post about it, but Bukky passed away in February of this year, leaving his owner, Peter, and niece, Gypsy. He had lived a long and full life, but his death left a void in the household, and so Peter began looking for a new puppy to be a companion for Gypsy.

After making inquiries to Bukky and Gypsy's breeder, he was told that a litter was being planned, with Gypsy and Dude's litter brother assigned as the sire. So, he waited patiently for the litter to be born, and as they grew the breeder sent plenty of pictures and descriptions of each puppy and its personality. The choice came down to two little boy pups, and Peter decided to go with the one named "Gácsér" which means "drake" in Hungarian.

Peter has since settled on the name "Jussi", and we are all waiting very patiently for his arrival later this month!

New Blood: Introducing Rietsu!

This announcement has been a long time coming, but I didn't want to say anything about it until she was actually here in the states. Introducing the newest member of the California Magyar Agar tribe, this is Rietsu, formerly known as "Boróka" (her puppy name given by her breeder).

Given the small population of MAs here in the states, and most importantly the small number of breedable bitches, we have always been looking to bring in new blood from overseas. I was particularly interested in bringing in a dog from an established line of active hunting Agars, who's type is notably different from the typical FCI show/racing Agar. I was fortunate enough to find out about Rietsu from a friend in Hungary, and upon hearing of her availability I immediately contacted the breeder. To make a long story short, it took several months, and a lot of help from our Hungarian friends to get this new girl on a plane to SFO, but she finally arrived on Wednesday, August 27th at 4:30pm.

I made the trip down to the airport with a friend in tow, and after sitting in traffic for at least an hour, we finally arrived at the cargo facility to pick her up. After going through customs and filing all the necessary paperwork I was finally able to get her out of her crate. I always worry about these long, international flights, especially with younger dogs. They don't get any opportunity to leave their crate once boarded, and the journey is very long. However, as soon as I pulled her out of the crate, I could see that it was clean and unsoiled. I immediately took her out of the warehouse so she could go potty, which she did in short order.

She was worried for sure, but not afraid or skittish at all, which is always a good sign. While we were walking back to the car, a seagull flew overhead and she noticed it right away, following the bird intently with her eyes. It gave me a lot of hope that she will grow up to be a keen and skilled hunter.

Fresh off the airplane!

Although her sleep schedule was thrown off by the flight, Rietsu has settled in to her new life in America very well. She's extremely attentive, and sweet towards her humans, and she's making fast friends with her new doggie housemates.

 Rietsu, Photo by Jairi Rai

Rietsu is co-owned between me, Jairi and Tom. I cannot give enough thanks to her breeder, István Szloboda, for allowing us to bring this lovely girl to America, and to our friends Bori and Rita for helping her make the journey to her new home. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for her!

News from Abroad: Emlek Goes Coursing!

Emlek, her bracemate, and the hare they caught

Source, Rita Korpas

I've been meaning to write a post about this for some time, but never got around to it until now. With legal coursing becoming more and more of a rarity in Europe, it is refreshing and exciting to see Magyar Agars doing what they were bred to do in their country of origin. 

Thousand yard stare

Source, János Farkas

Emlek is a relative to Gil, Pi, Patti and Pesh (she is Gil's niece and first cousin to the Operetta puppies), so when I found out that she started coursing I was thrilled! Coursing in Hungary is very strictly regulated by the Hungarian government, but is allowed for Magyar Agars exclusively because they are considered a national treasure. These coursing tests are overseen by the Magyar Agár Tenyésztők Országos Egyesülete (MATOE), which is an independent registry not affiliated with the FCI. In order to be granted permission to course, each dog must be registered with the MATOE. Unlike FCI registration, each dog must go through an individual evaluation process to determine whether they meet certain conformational criteria as set forth by the MATOE. One of the stricter requirements is that the dog be solid colored with full pigmentation on the toenails. Apparently the wisdom is that dogs lacking sufficient pigment are more likely to sustain foot injuries due to the more brittle nature of their toenails. As such, poor Gil and Pi would not be allowed to course in Hungary, but thankfully they can enjoy that privilege here in America. 

Emlek is the lighter colored dog

Source, Zsuzsanna Barabás

The coursing tests are always done by the walk-up method, meaning that the dogs walking with the gallery in a line to flush the hares. Once a hare gets up, the dogs are slipped in braces and evaluated for their coursing abilities. Unfortunately, I was not able to get more information on the judging criteria.

Emlek straining in slips

Source, Rita Korpas

Emlek and her bracemate

Source, Rita Korpas 

Watching for hares

Source, Rita Korpas

Source, Rita Korpas

 Emlek and her owner, Rita, on the far left

Source, Imre Kovács

Source, Imre Kovács

Group Photo

Source, János Farkas

News From Abroad: Puppies Available

Vakvagta Jelenseg

Vakvagta Joslat

There are two beautiful puppies from the Vakvagta "J" litter that are still looking for their forever homes; one male and one female. These two pups are half siblings to our Fecni (same dam, different sire) and are located in Hungary.

These pups would make excellent racing, coursing and show prospects. Their pedigree can be viewed online here: http://www.sighthound-trophy.com/madb/testmating_show.php?sire=345&dam=721&actio%20n=Check

If you're interested in giving one of these pups a home you can contact their breeder, Annamária Lóky, at email: bijoufoxi@gmail.com

We have lots of experience importing dogs from Europe and would be happy to help in any way we can.

Happy Birthday Cserihegyi E's!!

It seems like only yesterday that Remy's puppies were born. A very happy birthday to our beautiful nieces and nephews from their uncle Gil :)

News from Abroad: A.U. "G" Puppies

I apologize for failing to report on this earlier, but Gil has some new cousins born by his auntie Disco that are at least 10 or 12 weeks old now. This is a beautiful litter; two males and two females.

Disco is a lovely dog; she's the perfect mixture of the traditional, old fashioned MA and the elegant modern MA. The litter's father, Danger Dog Vazul is a gorgeously athletic fellow that really compliments Disco.

How I wish I could have one of these beautiful puppies!!

Anyway, pictures and video below.







This one's my favorite:


This video is so adorable. It just made me grin from ear to ear!

Happy Birthday AU F's!!!!

Happy Birthday to a very special litter, the Aranyági Utonálló "F" litter: Fruska, Fáma, Fagyöngy, Fenyves, Fabula (Remy), Fenség (Gil), Furfang, and Fortély (Füg).

You are three years old today and what a wonderful three years it has been! We love you all!!

News from Abroad: New Coursing Champion!

Aranyagi Utonallo Fenyves is now the first pup from the AU "F" Litter to earn a European coursing championship. She is also the first to complete both her European coursing championship and her European conformation championship. So far that makes two dual champions in the family (performance and conformation), and hopefully she'll be adding her third championship for racing very soon.

Congratulations to her owner Waltraud Sporer and her breeder Andrea Lugosi!

News from Abroad: More Big Wins for Cserihegyi "E" Pups!

The Cserihegyi E pups are at it again, taking home big wins in the European show ring. On May 15th, Cserihegyi Ejha followed in the footsteps of her brothers and sisters by taking home a Reserve Best in Show Puppy award. Congratulations to her owner, Rita, and her breeder, Diana. This is an amazing litter and we can only expect greater things from them in the future.

News from Abroad: Big Wins for Cserihegyi "E" Pups

It was a weekend full of wins for two of the Cserihegyi "E" pups (Gil's niece and nephew). Two shows were held on one day in Budapest, a rarity according to Diana. In the first show, an all breed show, Emlék took Best Puppy and both she and her brother Elmés received very promising critiques from the judges.

Later in the day, Emlék went on to win second runner up to Best in Show Puppy!


The second show was a Magyar Agar specialty hosted by the MEOE and judged by world-renowned MA judge Tamas Jakkel. This time Elmés took the Best Puppy honors over his sister. To top it off, both pups took home a Best Brace award. Congratulations to their owner and breeder, Diana.



Here are the rest of the results for those who are interested:

All Breed Show, MA results

Dogs:
Puppy class (6-9 month)
Cserihegyi Elmés very promising 1.

Open (15 month and older)
Pottom Excellent 1. (without the CAC title)


Bitches:
Puppy class
Cserihegyi Emlék very prom. 1., Best Puppy

Intermediate class (15 - 24 month)
Nagymancs Tappancs Marcsi Excellent 1. (without the CAC title)

Working class (with coursing or track licence, 15 month and older)
Kucorgó-Dombi Fodorka Excellent 1,, CAC, BOB

Open class
Kalandvadász Zsálya Excellent 1, CAC

Champion class
Kalandvadász Űző Excellent 1, CAC


MEOE MA Specialty

Dogs:
Puppy class
Cserihegyi Elmés very promising 1., Best Puppy

Open
Pottom Exc 1., CAC

Bitches:
Puppy class
Cserihegyi Emlék very prom. 1.

Intermediate class
Nagymancs-Tappancs Marcsi Exc1, CAC
Kucorgó-Dombi Fodorka Very good

Open
Kalandvadász Zsálya Exc1, CAC
Nagymancs-Tappancs Trixi Very Good

Champion class
Kalandvadász Üzö Excellent 1, CAC, BOB

Happy Birthday BK N's!

Happy Birthday to Willow, Belle and the rest of the Betcha-Katcha "N" litter. They are 5 years old today.

News From Abroad: Fenyves is #1!

News From Abroad: Hiszti at the World Dog Show

Cserihegyi Befogod (aka Hiszti) won Best Veteran at the World Dog Show this year. This boy is 9 years old, but he's still rockin'! Congratulations Diana, he's beautiful :)

News From Abroad: Racing in Germany

I just got these photos from Willow, Belle, Luna and Gator's breeder in Germany. Betcha-Katcha Otis (brother to Gator and Luna) made his racing debut and placed third overall. Also in attendance were Belle and Willow's sister, Nookie, and Gil's sister, Fenyves. Nookie placed second overall and Fenyves placed fourth. All in all the BK and AU dogs did very well and we are very proud of them.

Now on to the pictures:

Otis in white, Fenyves in black and Nookie in blue

News From Abroad: Remy's puppies at 4 weeks

Girls:








Boys: