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In the Beginning, There Was Tiki Bowmaker Pulis was established in 1976 with the acquisition of an 8-week old bold, brassy ball of black fluff who was christened "Tiki." Her official name was Bowmaker’s Hetyke, meaning "perky" or "saucy" in Hungarian, which fitted her perfectly. Prior to that, we had raised St. Bernards but found the difficulties of owning and showing such large dogs to be more than we had bargained for. Tiki lived up to her name, quickly took charge of the household, and had everyone completely charmed. Unfortunately, she was literally IN CHARGE, and soon became too obnoxious for us to handle. Like many pulis, she quickly realized that she could boss us around and we would laugh at how "cute" she was and not correct her. That is a certain way to raise a brat and that’s just what we wound up with. Thankfully, some of my more experienced "doggie" friends tactfully suggested that maybe obedience training was needed before we even thought about making a showdog out of her. Tiki and I promptly enrolled in a beginners’ obedience class and she was amazing. She learned every new exercise when it was introduced in class and it wasn’t necessary to practice during the week. She would merely perform the exercise in class, wink at me as if to say, "I’ve got it," and that was that. We graduated first in our class ten weeks later, went to four obedience trials and got our CD with scores of 197, 188 and 187 out of a possible 200 points. Of course, she did it HER way. She NQ’d her first trial because she broke the sit-stay on a very hot Florida day in the sun when a friend walked up to ringside with a Snow-Cone. She got up, walked over to the fence and sat in front of him begging for a refreshing taste of the icy treat. I have had many pulis since then (all of them, her descendants), but there will never be another Tiki. She changed my life and I could never repay her for the hours, days, weeks and years of joy and excitement she and her offspring have given me. Tiki personified the reason that Hungarians say: "It’s not a Dog, it’s a Puli !!"
And Then Came Hermie In 1982, my sister was fortunate enough to acquire a puli who fit into our breeding plans. He became Ch. Cumberland's Hermsworth, affectionately known as Hermie. A breeding between Hermie and Tiki produced four puppies. We kept a female, Ruby, and sent one male to Downhome Kennels in Memphis to become their foundation stud, AM/CAN CH. Bowmaker Blackbery Barnabus CD (Barney). We were glad to have Barney nearby, as we had plans for him in our own breeding program over the years. Ruby finished her championship and is known officially as CH. Bowmaker Rubik's Cube. Both Ruby and Barney were OFA Excellent and left their legacy of soundness and good temperament at Bowmaker Kennels. Ruby was bred four times and is in the pedigrees of all our present dogs. She consistently produced quality, soundness and excellent dispositions. Tiki Hermie Ruby Barney Ruby produced two outstanding boys that became anchors in our breeding program. Bred to Ch. Pebbletree's Jatekos Primas, HIC, she produced Ch. Bowmaker Hairy Houdini (Hairy). To see some of his puppies, click on his name. A breeding between Ruby and Ch. Wallbanger's Rowlf produced our first silver-gray puli, Ch. Bowmaker Flags A'Flying, HIC (Banner). Click on his name to see pictures of some of his kids. By breeding back and forth between Banner and Hairy's offspring, we successfully mixed the best of the early American lines found in the Wallbanger dogs with the Hungarian import background of the Pebbletree pulis. |
