BEFORE YOU BUY…

Dear future owner,
Before you decide on a hunting dog ? a hound, think through one more time if this is the type of dog for you!

The below text does not intend to discourage owning a hunting dog, but rather point out a few very important ?details? associated with the hound demeanor.
Before you add a new four legged member to your family, and become responsible for him, you should know how life will look after a hunting dog has moved in.

A young dog is no clean dog

Puppies arrive at our house at about the age of 7 weeks. Young hounds, much like litters of other breeds, can learn to take care of their physiological needs ?outside? up until the 7 month of their life. I?m sorry future owner… but for a long time, after you come home after work, you won?t only be greeted by your puppy, but also his excrements scattered throughout your house.

A puppy grows fast....

Puppies grow big and achieve their breeds relative size? they won?t be tiny and cute forever. Its important that the proper training, or rather raising, of the puppy begins from Day 1. Since the first day we teach our dog where his place is, in the house and in the hierarchy of our new ?domestic pack? Most people, unfortunately, approach a puppy as a little child ? this is a mistake. A puppy is not a baby, it?s only a dog of small size and should be disciplined from the very beginning and not from the first insubordination. It?s easier to teach a small dog to walk on a leash, then when he weights 35 kilos and has the strength of a locomotive.
A hound, fully formed and psychologically stable, is a result of solely our own work. Let?s not count on the dog to teach itself. The more time we invest, and the earlier we do it, the more likely our dog is to achieve this state ? only then our life with a category VII Fci will be a pleasure. Otherwise, it could be hell.

A dog is not a toy for kids

There is not such thing as a ?family dog? ? however there is a well behaved and trained one. A young hound is often careless and can cause trouble with young children. Don?t forget that a child is an excellent companion for a dog to gnaw on, push around and play with. Keep in mind that a dog standing firmly on its four legs can easily topple a child.

Time? Time for the dog!?

Having a dog was suppose to be pure joy, and now you have to let it out 3 to 4 times daily, along with a much longer walk to burn off that excess energy?! Believe me, reader, a hound has enough energy to spend eight hours running through fields while pheasant hunting? Owners who do not obey the simple rule (out 3 -4 times daily plus long walk) are bound to have their household items and furniture demolished in the most refined imaginable way.
Unfortunately there aren?t many places on our planet for our four legged friends to run around. Sometimes you have to take into account time spent getting to a place where your dog can run around loose, or do some training.

Bored? Let's destroy something!

A dog full of energy, a working class dog, left alone in the house can become frustrated, which in most cases results in whining, barking and howling ? something neighbors won?t love us for, or worse, the destruction of our property. If we do not allow for our dog to use the proper amount of energy from its reserves, daily, the dog may grow up with aggression issues or be overly timid.

Costs...

The upkeep for a dog is high. Besides food, we have to think of vet visits, debugging, buying protective products against parasites? torn books, eaten CDs, your newest pair of shoes and furniture repair. =)

VACATION!

Who doesn?t like them!?? however not all of our friends are happy to take on our four legged friend while we vacation. Hotels for dogs are expensive, and we won?t be able to travel everywhere with our dog.

If, after reading the above text, you are not yet completely discouraged to own a dog, you may begin to look for your dream companion ? a hound of course! =)

Its important to add that apart from their dog behaviors, hounds are very devoted and lovable dogs! Brought up correctly they become irreplaceable walking and hunting companions, and valued members of our family. One has to remember that dogs don?t live as long as humans and that losing a dog is often comparable to losing someone close. Will you want to go through all of ?that?, solely because you want a dog?

There are many ways to become a hound owner. We can:

A pure breed dog is a dog with a birth certificate from an organization affiliated with ?Miedzynarodowa Organizacja Kynologiczna ? FCI. (www.fci.be)

So, a pure bred dog is a dog with a birth certificate and a documented heritage. Buying such a dog with current laws is not so easy. Since January 2012, the day the new animal rights order was put into motion, the purchase of a pure bred dog has been complicated significantly. The new law forbids the reproduction of cats and dogs for commercial purposes. The mentioned law, however, does not include kennels registered in national social organizations, whose purpose is associated with the breeding of cats and dogs. Since the new order many organizations have popped up, used as a cover up for breeding dogs commercially. More, these organizations have created their own birth certificates that mimic the ones given by the Zwiazek Kynologiczny w Polsce. This association is the only authorized organization dealing with purebreds, and affiliated with FCI.
FCI was established in 1911, as the first association of breeders, and is the association which created and systemized the kynological world. FCI creates exemplary profiles of each breed and cares for the breeding standards in accordance with each breed?s needs. Currently FCI associates 83 organizations, one from each of the member nations. With nations which do not have a representative, FCI signs agreements. (umowa stowarzyszeniowa?)
Because of the current state of law, which allows the sale of puppies only through? national social organizations, whose purpose is associated with the breeding of cats and dogs?, its hard to tell apart the real kennels, continuing the work on authentic ?true bred? breeds.
Taking these facts into consideration, the basis of searching for a potential kennel should be the verification itself ? to check if the kennel is registered with the ZkwP. If one is unsure, or if, in some cases does not fully trust the assurance of the breeder, a simple call can be made to the regional ZKwP headquarters, to double check that the kennel is truly registered with ZKwP/FCI and weather the parents of the new batch meet all of the criteria, or if it is a conditional batch, where the parents did not meet all of the criteria.

What does all this mean for the potential buyer?

A ZKwP/FCI document handed out in Poland is based on the metrics of the puppies. Each batch is egzamined. The condition of the bitch is checked, and the puppies are examined for abnormalities, or if they stand out from characteristics attributed to their breed. Each future owner can freely look into these records. The information contains basic data on the dog and the breeder.
Apart the metrics confirming the line of the dog, the breeder should hand over the future owner a health booklet where information about vaccinations and parasite protection. Each puppy should be marked with a chip, or in some cases a tattoo on the inside of the ear. The chip is inserted by a vet under the skin of the neck or leg.
Breeders united under ZKwP are governed by many rules, which the future dog owner should get familiar with. This should be done before selecting a breeder, and will help from being deceived by a sub par kennel. You can read all about the regulations on the ZKwP website under the ?regulations? tab.