About Arakao

The Tadawelt x Arakao litter was born August 17/18, 2013.  Just last week! Making them all of one week old. Yet they look bigger already and their color and size start to take on a little bit more personalized appearance. This litter has 5 males and 1 female in it.  I find the balance of it interesting as I guess I would have expected more than one female. Tadawelts first litter had two boys and two girls - right down the middle. So it is interesting with a completely different father - Arakao, who is quite the village dog here. I am hoping this means they will take after him in that he is a very easy-going fellow. That doesn't mean he is not an Azawakh but he is a very open-minded, and very gentle, extremely tolerant and yes, friendly Azawakh. I see how there can be a range of naturally occurring temperments and I do think his is one of them. He is the "essential village dog". His personality is exactly what drew him to my boyfriend, Billy, who's dog Arakao actually is.Billy is used to owning a more typical American dog. He is able to pretty much take him everywhere and anywhere.Billy has gone to a jobsite (rural area here) and let Arakao out and just let him hang around and meander at will.Other dogs and people may stop by and Arakao will go greet them, check them out and get some petting or play and then go about his own thing - no worries. This is an intact male! We house-sat and Arakao would hang outside with the mans mixed breed and run around the land with the neighbors 3 dogs too. Here in town we go up to Billy's father place and Arakao hangs out with Roscoe the pitbull - another intact male by the way.
He is just a natural dog with no big attitude that gets along with everybody and pretty well fits in just like any other "Madrid mutt" that is more typically found around here. I don't think this is untypical Azawakh behavior. I think he actually does represent a lot of village dogs in Africa - being able to handle the flow of village life and is not high-strung or sharp. He could handle the village boys playing and rough-housing and if it got too much get up and leave. I think he also demonstrates just how well Azawakh can get along with other dogs and groups of dogs and how well males can get along with other males.  I truly hope the males in this litter will take after him and find loving homes where these traits will be cherished and appreciated.

About Tadawelt

Arakao x Tadawelt litter is still hatching in the oven. Certainly the day is growing closer now since her belly makes her look like one of the "regular" dogs that you see roaming around town all the time!  I think hers is quite distinctive though and no way can she just look like a regular pooch - - she's an Azawakh!   So this is her second litter. Tadawelt had her first litter about 4 years ago. I would say I'm very pleased with that litter overall. Two of that litter are very proficient coursers, the other two I think could be, just haven't had as much chance to take them out and give them a real go.
Tadawelt herself, I consider an exceptional courser. She has tremendous heart that drives her beyond her physical limitations.When she's in the field, she's both having fun and on her game. She usually has a burst of pure "free-for-all" when she first steps out, running in circles, leaping for joy, writhing on the ground. She is a very happy dog and she shows it! Then as I begin to work the field she is on her game, watching the people and other dogs in the field closely, moving in a circular fashion to cover the ground and not miss what anyone else might get up. She has had lots of opportunity to meet other dogs and people on her outings and I feel she presents a very balanced character. She is typically reserved and aloof, taking mild interest in new people. Way more interested in new dogs. Not acting scared of new people, and not going up to people to offer herself for petting either. Just rather blase about it all and more concerned with her interests than meeting new people. She goes for walks in the village here and is fine with all the comings and goings of town. In her home, she will certainly bark at the arrival of a visitor but will calm down and tolerate them to linger in our home. She will come over and smell them and depending she may just want to go lay down elsewhere or may lay in the room with the visitor. Usually if she can have a few times to meet someone, she will gradually relax more about having them in her home. On an outing, outside of home, she is less concerned with new people and barely notices them. She adjusts easily to new circumstances, taking her different places and around new things. She trusts her people very deeply, having absolute faith in those of us who have gotten to know her. I also feel she is very empathetic. She can see when someone may have a rough day and she comes over, very deliberately, to lay next to you and offer lovings, so as to help you feel better.    Her bloodlines include Hatshepsut, a desert-bred from Tin Akoff in Burkina Faso - Hatshepsut was a daughter of Taikousou. (This African Idi can be found on both sides of the pedigree of this Arakao x Tadawelt breeding.) (Hatshepsut was an important desert-bred in David Moore/Daoud Abdullah Abdullah's breeding program) Another very prominent desert-bred in Tadawelt's pedigree is Taytok, a desert-bred from Mali. Taytok was owned by Gabriele Meissen of Tombouktou's Azawakh. Taytok was racing and conformation champion there in Germany.
http://www.tombouktous-azawakhs.de/eTaytok.html
For this litter, Tadawelt has been bred to her longtime 'boyfriend' - Arakao. (She has always been very fond of him!)He, himself is a desert-bred from Tin Akoff in Burkina Faso. He was  brought back on the 2007 ABIS expedition. Not very long ago, within the last 6 months, I learned that all the dogs in that region of Tin Akoff died due to outbreak of disease. They did not have access to vaccines as we do here to keep them safe from such occurance. To me, learning that this area was essentialy wiped out meant a great loss to the Azawakh community. I feel that this breeding consolidates some of the genetics of that region, allowing them to continue and be available to the greater Azawakh community.
It is also a complete out-cross, with 0% inbreeding, bringing together new desert-bred lines that have never been combined before.  Tadawelt has always been a very healthy individual, showing no incidence of  any inherited diseases. She does not have epilepsy and has never shown any signs of it. She is at present 7 yrs old, turning 8 in October. Arakao, who turned 6 in Jan has also, so far been very healthy.  I hope to see their combined genetics prosper and keep alive a small piece of TinAkoff as well as provide greater genetic diversity for the Azawakh breed overall. I hope these puppies will see bountiful lives in loving, generous homes.

Well, I want to make the official announcement that the Tadawelt and Arakao breeding was definitely a success and Tadawelt is most certainly 'expecting'.... Her belly seems to swell with each passing day!   I expect her to deliver in a couple of weeks.  I am taking inquiries to puppy placements starting now, so if you are interested, please feel free to e-mail me:    marahye@mac.com   or contact me via facebook and we can discuss further details in private.

I expect the litter to be all a shade of "red" that ranges from tan to orangey, all with white markings on feet and tail.  Arakao, the father of the litter has more extensive white markings on his front legs, Tadawelt less extensive. Arakao is a desert bred from the 2007 ABIS expedition. He came on board our travels when we reached Tin Akoff in Burkina Faso. He is a descendant of Ayad's dogs on his fathers side (including Taikousou, his grandmother or greatgrandmother and Azul,her grandson.Azul was said to be Arakao's father).Arakao's mother is Caramel, whom Dr.Werner Roeder picked up on a previous expedition, but due to EU regulations at the time, he was unable to bring her back with him.
He left her at Ayads home in Tin Akoff, and there she still was when our 2007 expedition came through.

Arakao has always been the kind of dog that never received any extra special attention and yet somehow came out to be totally dependable, perfectly reliable and completely undemanding. He is the kind you almost take for granted because he doesn't cause any trouble. He takes cues from the people around him easily and adapts to each new situation with ease. He is down right outgoing and extremely friendly!!!!  It wasn't me that did it, that's just how he is.  He loves being a town dog. He goes out within the small village of Madrid here and enjoys saying hello to shop keepers and tourists.
New people come over to the house here and he loves hanging out, getting all kings of petting and attention. I have never done any hard work to get him to be like this so I feel it is genetic, his friendliness. I am confident his puppies will also have these wonderful traits.