Excerpt from interview for official Slovak Kynology FCI magazine,
Monika Tušanová, March 2016
…I was fortunate enough to have had Macumazahn Tusani Pearl (Perla) as the founding bitch of TUSANI kennel. She was imported from breeder Paula Edgar in Australia. Perla had in total 30 puppies, giving me and other breeders high quality progeny for breeding in all aspects (exterior, temperament and health). After that we gradually took in more ridgebacks…
How many dogs you have? What your plans for breeding?
Now there are six bitches living with us. They are all Perla’s daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. I continue to breed on them in two (perspectively three) lineages. Knowing the best about the quality of my work and progeny I am working on these lineages so that one compensates for the imperfections of the other and vice versa, because I am planning to combine these lineages. Now I prefer outcross but my goal is to establish a lineage descending from Pearl. Time will tell if this is a good decision.
How often do you have a puppies? What are your mothers?
I only breed on good mothers. This doesn’t only mean that they have to pass medical tests HD, ED, LTV, etc., heart and thyroid tests. A good mother must also be willing to be a mother and behave accordingly, i.e. being able to give birth and bringing up puppies on her own. All her natural instincts must be preserved; she must behave as a member of the pack when bringing up her own puppies as well as helping bringing up other puppies in the pack. If the bitch is a good mother it is very likely her daughters will be good mothers too. In a functional pack, every member takes part in bringing up puppies from the birth up to their departure. That is why motherhood is not tiring my bitches. And when I see that a bitch enjoys being a mother and she benefits from it, I allow her to have four litters. On the other hand, if a bitch isn’t a good mother she won’t have another litter no matter how great she is in other aspects. There is no general advice on how many litters a bitch should have nor what intervals there should be between litters. A good breeder can tell this for his bitches individually.
What is your priority at breeding?
Ridgebacks were bred mainly for their character, which I consider important to maintain. They are even-tempered, fearless but not aggressive. Their excellent communication skills makes ridgeback an outstanding dog that is nowdays a reliable family dog and equally able to work in different areas not only as a hunter. It is important to preserve the health of this breed to ensure both the dog and the owner are happy at home and at work too.
Last but not least we need to consider the exterior of the ridgeback to ensure his health and functionality are preserved and not only led by fashion trends. I think the current breed standard is sufficient and there is no need for significant changes. However, I would legalize ridgeless ridgebacks and the option of using them for breeding. The ridge would of course remain the main characteristic of the breed although I believe this is just a whim of men. I have bred 20 litters and in my opinion “Pepper” – a ridgeless male from my “E” litter has the best looking exterior. He is growing old and I will not be able to forgive myself that I haven’t pushed harder for more freedom of breeding in our club. This dog in particular could be very beneficial for breeding in many ways and without the risk of loosing ridge in the breed generally.
What your selection criteria for a breeding pair?
There is no ideal dog just like there is no ideal way of breeding without doing an occasional compromise. A good breeder is realistic. He is not considering his bitch ideal and knows that he will not find an ideal dog for mating. A good breeder knows the limit of compromises and can work with information rationally. He knows that successful breeding is also about luck. He is approaching his goals with little steps and with big amount of patience and humility.
Following the situation in breeding I am convinced that the goal of breeding should not be constant improvement of the breed but preserving it in the way we got it from our predecessors.
What success achieved your offspring at shows?
I have been breeding ridgebacks for 20 years. I have bred 32 Champions, 11 Grandchampions, 17 Interchampions, 1 World winner, 1 European winner, 12 BISS and 6 BIS. I value these awards a lot but they are not paramount for the breed.
As an international judge you have an overview of the breed in our country and in the world. How do you assess routing the breed, shows, breeding and RR community?
As a judge I judged ridgebacks in many countries across the world. They are diverse in type, quality but have one in common. It’s their high level of sensitivity and dependency on mutual understanding between the dog and their master. I have seen a lot of ridgebacks that were unhappy. It is a mistake not to give them enough room and opportunities to do what they were bred for. Dog shows are not an alternative.
Dog shows should be a display of breeders work and a promotion of the breed but now they turned into a display of beauty of individuals, handlers skill, chasing awards and raising dog owners egos. This is a highly competitive environment with lot of envy and maleficence around. As a judge, breeder and handler I welcome every activity where ridgebacks are put to work. I am most proud of my puppies in hunting grounds, rescue teams, sports or canistherapy. Not every ridgeback has to be a hunting dog but I am convinced that every ridgeback should feel useful and not just be bored on a couch every day.
Ways of breeding today are determined by demand and that is determined by fashion, awards, fame. Long gone are times where breeder could keep his litter on farm, select and experiment. We are dependant on good future puppy owners and mutual cooperation of breeders. It is now more important to select people and their information rather than individual dogs. Unfortunately people, their selfish interest and sometimes irrational activism are doing more harm to the breed than genetic flaws.
Who helped you in the beginning?
My biggest mentor at the beginning was Adriana. I got my first ridgeback from her. She taught me a lot about dogs and their behavior in nature. With her critical thinking and uncompromising attitude towards breeding she taught me to think, breed with humility and to study a lot. Books written by Eberhardt Trumler, recommended to me by her, are still on my nightstand.
What would you recommend to novice breeders?
Creed that I follow and recommend to beginner breeders is this: “Let’s do our work honestly and with love for the breed. It is not important how other people perceive us. The result of our work will stay and only time will show it’s true value.”
Monika Tusanova
TUSANI*FCI registered breeding
FCI International Judge, specialized for RR
March 2016