Interview with Cornelia Hartman-Loest
(kennel aus dem ELBE-URSTROMTAL - Belgium)

How did the first bobtail appear in your life? Why was it exactly a bobtail? Please tell us a little about your first dogs.

Why is your kennel called just so? How did you choose the name for it?

To answer already on the first 2 questions, please take the text from my homepage.

Where do your dogs live?

We do have a big farm house (250 years old) . Our very old Bearded of 13 years is always in the kitchen and living room. From our other 10 dogs we have 3 groups and we change it every day 3 times, in the morning group 1 after lunch group 2 and in the evening group 3 comes inside, If I go out of my kitchendoor I am in the Kennelarea. Here is the groomingarea, the olderpuppyarea and the kennels for the dogs and also the sleepingarea.

To be honest I am more in the kennel to groom the dogs than in my house....

Do you have assistants in the kennel? What is their task?

If I am lucky I find a girl who wants to work here, this is very difficult, because girls want only to earn money and to watch television. But here is always a lot of work. cleaning, cleaning and again cleaning. and of course keep the dogs happy.
If I have no help I have to do all on my own,,,, poor me!!!

What kind of breeding dogs, in your opinion, should be:
- male,
- bitch.
Very simple: the highest quality you can get from in and outside!

What do you emphasize in the breeding?
Temperament of the real soft OES, no aggressive dogs at all, good hips and general health and fertility and as close to the breed standard as possible. And of course a superb movement!

Was there a litter which remained in your heart and which you are especially proud of?
We had many litters of extremely high quality dogs, too many to mention. Maybe one who is just a little extra special; our Z-litter born in april 2000, out of 8 puppies, 7 became a champion and also Worldwinner.

How important is the eye pigment?
Its the icing on the cake, it makes a soft expression, but is not as much important as movement and construction.

Are the champion's titles obligatory for dogs' breeding?
No, not for me.

What do you do with a dog which gets too old for breeding?
We keep them or we will place them at friends , We like to have our dogs happy and if you have 10 dogs you have less time per dog as if you would have only 2 or 3 dogs.
For this reason we think it is more than fair to the dogs to give them all the attention they deserve.
So, if they are 5 years old, we always have people who are waiting to take a dog from us to take care of them.
And we are very fortunate, that we still can get them back to breed .

What is the happiest moment in your life concerning bobtail?

To have them all freshly brushed around me on the field or on the sofa.
Or as well to get puppies........

What criteria do you use to choose the best puppy in the litter?
Construction, this is all you need to have a high quality winner, also the coat.

What forage do you feed your puppies and adult dogs with? Do you give them additional forage and what kind of?
All our dogs eat REGAL dryfood. We think this is the best food you can give to your dogs. Its based on Turkey and has not so high protein and no chemicals in it.

We know this food for more than 10 years and we still think it's the best you can get for your dogs.

Do you do make selection among the future owners of the puppies from your nursery? What can be a reason to refuse to sell a puppy to a particular person?
Yes, if people work whole days, plus they must know how much work the coat care need.

The dog breeding for you is:
- your life;
- a hobby;
- an art;
- a way to earn you living?
Everything, I just love it, it's a kind of art. It's a big big hobby which took over my whole life and is my passion.

Could you give a piece of advice to a beginner breeders?
Read as many books you can read ask the top breeders in different breeds and learn as much as you can.

What is you opinion about what had happened to the breed in the World and your country for the last 15 years?
Sad!!!!! The breed is very very poor in quality, health and temperament.

This happened around the whole world. You hardly can find these days top-quality males, the quality in general is bad, bad, bad.
This breed is on the ground!

Breed clubs. Are they necessary in your country? Why?
No, not at all, because the kennel club controls everything. and most clubs and their committee members only want to get better through the job. They are very often not in the committee to help to breed better animals.

The most top breeders in all breeds have trouble with their breed clubs!!!! Why, .... very often the committee members are losers and want to get rid of the top-people and make a misfortune from their position.
A bad situation, but too often it has happened.

What is an exhibition for you?
It's like gambling ............ and like a drug. ......... It's just wonderful.

Winning is not everything, it's the only thing!!!!!!!!

Beginning from what age should a dog start being prepared for a show-career? What is the best way to do it?
We start at 15 months maybe 3 to 4 times in junior class, Bobtails need time to grow up and to enjoy their childhood, I do not like to show them too early.
A dog must enjoy showing and this can't be every weekend at 2 shows.....
2 shows per month is ok, maybe 3 for an experienced dog, but this is the max.
We are doing not so much training, we try to learn them to be on a lead and to stand still, that's all. The rest they will learn at the shows.

What of your dogs did perform most successfully at the exhibitions?

We do not have only 1 who did most.... we have so many who won sooooooo much and so special wins.
It would be not fair to mention only 1.
we had winning the group at the world-show in 1981 with HOT DOG
To win for the first time at the winner Amsterdam show in 1985 with OSBORN and ÜBERRASCHUNG.
To make HOT DOG a dutch champion, my first one.
Winning the first CC with BOB in England with ZERMATT and making him later Uk-Champion.
All the wonderful wins with STONEBROOK CALIFORNIA BREEZE.
To become Top Dog all breeds in 1999 in Holland with NOT FOR SALE.
Y`LOOKALIKE winning at Crufts in march 2003, after she became the first UK-champion who lives abroad.
And last but not least BOB and BOS at the recent world-show in Dortmund 2003 and the prestigious groupwin of ZECRET ZORRO at the Euro-show in Bratislava october 2003.

What is your attitude toward professional handling? Do you use services of professional handlers?
No I do not like those professionals. too many judges are impressed, purely and simply because they are famous handlers. it's too much attention for the fame of the handler and the quality of the dog doesn`t matter .
And I doubt if it is much fun for a dog to travel around with 16 other dogs in crates with a handler???!!!!

Please let us know your attitude to usage of lacquers during the dog's preparation for an exhibition?
No problem, if it's not too much and it should not irritate the dog's eyes and nose. a little is ok for me.

Would you like to wish something to the Russian OES owners.

Be critical and do not believe that everything what comes from the Western Part of Europe is wonderful......
I have seen very nice Bobtails from Russia in very very good coatcondition.
I have great respect how much effort Russian dogbreeders put in improving the breed. I guess they do it for the dogs and not for themselves.

 

25.10.2003

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