Introduction
My name is Zoltan Baffia, I'm working as an informatic engineer in civil at Budapest, but I spend most of my free time with our dogs and our doggie friends.
As we have always had dogs in our family, I had a passion for dogs since I was a little child. The first show I attended at the age of 8 was a small one, in a nearby town as visitor with my parents. Our first bernese, Roy was a first pick of the litter and joined us in the spring of 1995. He was growing well, got stronger and more definite day by day, so we took him to dog school. It was him who brought us closer to dog shows, as well. His biggest success was in 2002 in veteran class when at the Kecskemét CACIB Show we could stand on the top of the podium. In the meanwhile Roy became a popular stud dog and got to be the father of the first Szárazpataki litter which was born in August 2000.
So many people ask me where the Szárazpataki name originates from that I would like to explain it now. The Bernese Mountain Dogs were called "Dürrbachler" in Switzerland in the early 1900's. "Dürrbachler" means "Szárazpataki" in Hungarian - this is where our kennel name originates from.
A lot of time has passed and we gained more and more experience on dog shows, so 2003 was a turning point in the life of our kennel. To take a step ahead, we decided to involve the Scandinavian type in our breeding that we liked so much. This was done through bringing Bernario Verena (Helmi) home in December 2003 from the well-known Bernario kennel, from Finland. Though Helmi is now a veteran, we are still very grateful to her breeder, Tuomo Tulokas who gave us this wonderful bitch and also provided us with more than helpful instructions and advices. As a result of the continuous contact, a strong and useful cooperation was set up between the two kennels. We are very proud of the fact that currently two Szárazpataki BMDs live in the Bernario kennel and Szárazpataki Északi Fény (Elin) could also live there for 7 months and could continue her show carrier in the hands of Tiia Lahtinen.
Great joy came into our kennel's life with the arrival of the five-year-old champion Finnish male, Janipan Hero Of The Day in August 2004. Hero was our guest for 8 months and gained many prestigious titles in our hands in Hungary and also in the neigbouring countries. We were especially proud that from the combination of Helmi and Hero the Szárazpataki E-litter was born in the beginning of 2006, as all dogs of this litter are very successful in famous dog shows, as well. From them the only bitch, Elin lives with us. Besides her great success at the shows, she also proved that our breeding program is on the right way.
Our G-litter was born from an Italian mating and although the dogs are only four and a half years old, they already have champion titles from 8 countries. It was also a great result that Gucci received the title of Reserve Best in Show at the Nitra (Slovakia) CACIB Show in December 2009 from among more than 2000 dogs (!).
In the spring of 2008 our H-litter was born from the combination of Elin and Hamilton Degli Antichi Mulini. We are so proud to handle Heaven Sent You (Kyra) to her World Winner title in Herning (Denmark) in 2010. This great success ensured us that our breeding program is really on the right way, because Kyra's mother, Elin was also born in our kennel.
The autumn of 2011 is also of great importance because after so many years of active involvement in activities in relation to dog shows, club work and breeding, and after attending a long, complex and thorough course I managed to take a successful exam and became an FCI-approved judge for Bernese Mountain Dogs. In the 2012 season I will be extending my judging license to some other breeds, as well.
At the moment we are just waiting for our O-litter to be born, but we have serious plans for both the near future and the further future, too.
Many people think that the name Szárazpataki is related to myself only, because they meet me at most of the dog shows and all information in connection with the Szárazpataki BDMs are in my hands. The truth is that the name Szárazpataki covers a big and fantastic team whose all members are enthusiastically working on the common success, on the improvement of the breed and it is only motivated by the selfless loving of dogs. I have to stress out my parents and my partner who provide me with an essential help when the puppies are growing up and have to be taken care of. But I could mention many friends, breeders and owners who contributed to the success of the Szárazpataki kennel - let it be a mating, a dog show or a long trip. I am very proud of all these people's friendship and owe them thanks for all their support. I am glad that due to this fantastic hobby I got to know these wonderful people from all around the world.
As our dogs are family members, the breeding is a family activity, too, that's why the litters are mainly born in Telekgerendás. My mother is a pensioner, so all her time is dedicated to the puppies. Ica néni, my mother, is known as the kindergarten teacher of our puppies and she helps the bitches a lot when the puppies have to be taken care of. Of course, she always wants to keep a puppy from all litters: one for being so loud and singing all night, one for its color, one for being her favourite - and her favourite is always the one who is moving to the new owners. :)
Our goal is to breed healthy, well-socialized, representative puppies in our kennel so that they could make their new family as happy as us. We always monitor the development of our kennel's puppies and we provide all support to the owners in relation to growing them up well and representing them at dog shows. We believe that experiences are important, but it is the cooperation that can really take us ahead. This is why we take it so seriously to keep in touch with the owners: to be able to answer their questions, and by their feedback we could even more accurately draw up our breeding plans. We think that it is also of great significance to maintain a good relationship with domestic and foreign breeders who prefer the same type of dogs and use them in their breeding program, because with a mutual cooperation we can do all to maintain this breed, to preserve the good nature of Bernese, to improve their weaknesses and to breed healthy and beautiful Bernese Mountain Dogs.
January, 2012.Zoltan Baffia