About me

An Interview with Isabella Zirri

(Taken from Desert Tracks, ICDCA Newsletter, Summer 2001)

Velikaya's kennels of Italy has certainly become well known in the Canaan Dog world in recent years. Isabella Zirri has bred 9 italian Champions, 5 israeli Champions, 2 French Champions, 2 German Champions, 1 Czech Champion, 1 Slovakian Champion, 1 San Marino Champion, 1 Portuguese Champion, 1 AKC Champion, 10 International Champions, 9 World Champions, 9 Europe Champions, 6 Bundessieger, 5 Europasieger and 3 reproducer Champions. Her dogs' most important wins in 2001 include BOB Europe Show Tel-Aviv, BOB Crufts and BOB World Dog Show. We set out to find out more about Isabella and her dogs.

How did you first learn about the existence of the breed?
From an encyclopedia about different breeds. It was in 1988; I already had Siberian Huskies and I was looking for a more obedient and versatile dog, but at the same time very natural. The Canaan attracted me very much for his natural beauty and his temperament. After some months I went to a dog show in Belgium with my Siberians and there I saw two Canaans in a crate. They were Ch. Sirpad me Shaar Hagai and his daughter and.....I felt in love with them. I didn't meet Myrna Shiboleth (the breeder and owner of the 2 dogs) at the show, but when I was home I took her address from the catalog of the show and I immediately wrote to her. After some months I had my first two Canaans.

What attracted you to the breed?
Its naturalness, its versatility, its beauty and elegance, in a few words everything!! What I really love about the Canaan is that he doesn't do things "for free", but you have to win him over. He does something for you because he loves and respects you, not because he must. When the Canaan trusts his human he can do anything for him: he can do obedience, agility, herding, he can learn to be relaxed in the show ring, etc.... If there is no trust he builds a barrier and there is no more relationship, but complete separation. This is characteristic of many of the so called primitive breeds; at the beginning they can be difficult to understand, but the moment that you find the "key" they become the best companions a person can have. In his natural habitat the Canaan has to be suspicious of all strange things and people; this is a trait for surviving and we have to learn to understand and accept it. We don't have to try to make the Canaan a different dog, with a different temperament, only so he is easier to live with and suitable for everybody. The world is full of very friendly and very easy breeds, and people who look for that kind of dog shouldn't direct their attention toward a Canaan.

Where did you get your foundation stock?
All from Israel. I got four dogs from Shaar Hagai; Lilith, Lahav, Tehilla and Dalya and two from Beith Kuti: Edom and Aliza.

Do you have other breeds of dogs?
Yes, I have Siberian Huskies since 1985. Now I have 13 Siberians, many of them are old and I do almost no breeding anymore.

There must be fewer Canaan Dogs in Italy than in the USA.  Has it been difficult to set up a breeding program with so few dogs?
Till now I have only bred with my own dogs, most of the time in linebreeding. I have tried over the years to keep two different lines and I have worked and I'm still working with them. I could go on breeding only with my own dogs for many years, but in the near future I would like to do an outcross and for that I have chosen a Canaan brought from a Bedouin encampment. He is very similar to my dogs and he can add new blood.

What is your daily kennel routine?  How do you manage?
To find kennel help is very difficult here in Italy, so most of the time I do all the work alone. To take proper care of 25 Canaans and 13 Huskies is very hard, but there are many satisfactions!! Almost all my dogs, except the few who are in a kennel outside, spend their nights and some hours of the day in crates. I start work with the dogs at 8:00 in the morning. I let them out where they can run in small groups and they stay there until around 12:30. In the meanwhile I clean the kennel and I prepare the food. All my dogs eat raw and to have the food ready for everybody takes me a lot of time. When the dogs come in around 12:30 they find their food in the crate, they eat, and I take away the bowls and they can rest. In the warmest part of the day, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM I take the young puppies out, with their mother and with an adult male, usually Ipsy. We spend a lot of time with them, playing and observing. At 4 PM the young pups come in and I let the other dogs out again. The afternoon is for playing with the dogs, teaching them the leash or to show..., walking in the forest, etc... It is the best part of the day without any doubts. My youngest son loves dogs and he usually participates in all this.  At 8.30 PM the dogs are confined, except the ones who are in the house, who spend the evening with us. The dogs who are inside the house are the pups less than 3 months of age, the old dogs, and the dogs who are in the midst of their show career.

How often do you show?
I have shown a lot in Italy and in different parts of Europe. I have always thought that for breed as rare as the Canaan Dog it is very important to show as much as possible so the breed can become more known. Now I'm very happy and proud when at a dog show people approach me asking if they may see my Canaans; until a few years ago most of the people didn't recognize the breed!  Another thing that I like very much about showing, especially abroad, is traveling with the dogs. My Canaans are so happy to leave with me and spend some days always with me. This make them feel so special! This year I have traveled to Israel for the European show and to Portugal for the World Show. I went to Israel with three dogs for ten days; it was great even if at the end the dogs were tired, and to Portugal with 4 dogs for one week. This last trip was easier for the dogs; they had a lot of fun; even the young one at his first show was very happy. Showing abroad also means meeting other Canaan people, exchanging opinions, info and ideas. It is a very interesting experience and it is also useful because an international cooperation can help a lot in preserving and developing the breed.

What do you like most about being a breeder?
I love very much dogs (and animals in general) and I like to spend a lot of time with them, knowing their habits and their personality. That is why I've always had dogs and other animals in my life. What made me decide to start to breed dogs was my interest and curiosity in seeing what a dog can produce: what characteristics both structurally and of temperament that he can pass to his progeny.  What I like most about being a breeder is to see the miracle of life in the birth of a litter, the love the mother has, the first steps of the puppies, their first attempts of exploring, their trust toward you, their growth until the adult age, their first shows.... I had many litters in these 15 years of breeding dogs, but every time it has been special and wonderful.

What do you like least?
What I like least is when the puppies leave for their new homes. Not only because after 3 months spent with them I hate the idea of seeing them leaving, but most of all because, being maybe presumptuous, I think that it is very difficult for them to find a place where they can be happier than here. I try my best to select the future owners of my puppies with care and I can say that some of them are really wonderful, but unfortunately some don't understand the breed, its characteristic temperament or how to keep a dog in his best shape both physically and mentally.

What are the most important things you look for in a Canaan Dog?  That is, what breed traits are most important to you?
The first things I look in a Canaan is that his structure, movement and temperament make him suitable to live in the Israeli desert. I sometimes see dogs that are so heavy and so clumsy that it is hard to think they can survive there and the same for some that are too light-boned and weak. The true Canaan is a strong dog, but at the same time agile and never coarse; he looks neither like a big Finnish Spitz, nor like a tall Basenji.