How it all started

Already at the age of 13 I became interested in falconry and collected newspaper clippings and reports about falconry and tormented my parents that I wanted a falcon. A year went by and I visited a bird of prey breeding center in Lower Austria with my father. There came a big turn in my falconry career, namely I was offered the opportunity to help look after the animals and in return to be instructed in the art of falconry. So over the next few years I spent all my free time at the falcon station and learned how to deal with falcons, eagles, vultures and whatever other birds of prey there were. Unfortunately, there was not as much hunting with birds as I would have liked, so I got my hunting license at the age of 18 so that I could become active myself. But no proper hunt without a good dog. So I started looking for a suitable dog, and the decision had to be made between pointers and sighthounds because I kept seeing pictures of both in old illustrations and in books. The decision fell on the English Pointer, but these extremely fast and far-seeking dogs don't usually work alone, so number two came into the house. In the meantime I came into contact with the virus Field Trial and became more and more involved with good dogs and imported my first breeding bitch from Scotland from a pure working line.

Pointer of Falconers Dream
In 1991 I started my kennel called ''of Falconers Dream''. Since I needed more and more space for my hobby, I bought an old farm. There I was able to really develop and expand my dog breeding. I bought pointers from the leading countries like Italy, Spain, France and Greece over the coming years. But falconry was not neglected either. I mainly flew peregrine and red-naped hawks as attendant falcons for partridges and pheasants and saker and gyrfalcons for crows in the winter months.

Falcons and Sighthounds
But then the idea of using falcons to hunt larger game came to me and I thought of the illustrations of Arabian and Asian falconers using sighthounds as partners. After a long search I found what I was looking for in Switzerland and bought a Saluki bitch. Since I always want to do everything right, I not only trained my Saluki in the fields, but also took her to the racetrack. There you have the opportunity to keep your dogs fit all year round so that they are in good condition during the hunting season.

Saluki of Falconers Dream
But I wouldn't be myself if I didn't breed Saluki myself. So in the spring of 2006 I had my first sighthound litter. I kept two bitches from this litter, my light wish bitch Hayfa and the mahogany colored Hosneja. When my girlfriend moved in with me a little later, the Saluki pack also expanded. Hamra came back to her sisters and the rescue bitch Tami (Olimpia) has been sharing the leadership of the pack with my Enigma ever since. For my second Salki litter, I chose a handsome, high-performing male that was supposed to improve my hunting passion. He not only brought vitality, but also a great variety of colors, including my beloved pintos. In 2016 an interview about my Saluki breed appeared in the magazine of the German Sighthound Breeding and Racing Association.