No one around me, including myself, had any idea that my life after my 50th birthday would be dedicated to my cottage, dogs and hunting. Due to the character of my job, I have spent majority of my time after my 18th birthday travelling, in recording studios or in concert halls. I didn´t have much free time and if there was any, I spent it mainly playing tennis, which was my biggest hobby at the time. Later on I added 3 more sports activities (ping pong, squash and badminton). However, as time passed, my physical strength went down and so did my performance. One day a new idea came to my mind – I should get a dog...since we have the cottage anyway.
But well, what kind of dog?
Back then, I knew that there existed breeds like German Shepherd, Collie, Dachshund or Great Dane. That was about all I knew about dogs. So I asked our neighbour, a friend from the village, for advice about which breed would be good for us. I wanted a companion dog, active, which can run with a bicycle, and of course, one in which I like the way it looks. That was all I was expecting from the dog. I got couple tips, one of them being a Weimaraner. After a family discussion, the decision was clear – Weimaraner was the winner.
The next piece of advice we got was that a female would be a better choice for us. We therefore started to look for one. At that time, there were only 2 available in the Czech Republic. One in the Zlín region and the other one in the region where my wife´s mother lives. We made our decision and in September 2014 we travelled to Kunčice pod Ondřejníkem to pick up our puppy from the breeder Eva Humpolcová.
We brought home our 2-month old grey baby, which changed our lives instantly and fully. We first made attempts to train her for basic obedience. It was a learning curve for both the dog and I. One day, we were walking outside, Sára stopped suddenly and was staring at a bush, with her front leg lifted. Later on I learned that she pointed a game. After this we started our journey – training, shows, tests. Eventually I signed up for a hunting course, and I successfully passed the exams and I got my Hunting and Gun Licenses. And now, hunting training and hunting with my Sára is my big hobby.
Why is our kennel named „Z Koudelíku“? I am not a huge fan of complicated, exotic names, which are often even hard to pronounce. I have chosen the name of my kennel after a meadow that is located behind our cottage in Rasochy. The meadow has always been called Koudelík, hence the name of my kennel – Z Koudelíku (From Koudelík).
