How did we begin?
The name Uyak (pronounced oo
yak) was taken
from a native village on Kodiak
Island, Alaska.
Our kennel began with a family
pet, Ch. Sena-lak's
Simka, who was owner handled
to his championship.
In the process of training dogs
and attending
dog shows as a family activity,
we discovered
that the ideal malamute existed
only in our
mind's eye. Therefore, we focused
on intensive
research and study of the breed
with the
goal of developing a breeding
program to
produce better malamutes.
Where did we start?
We made a fresh start in the
late 1960's
by acquiring our foundation bitch,
Ch. Karohonta
Conestoga . Connie was a California-bred,
pure Kodara dog bred by Cassandra
Becker
Hager and was selected because
she was very
tightly bred (on Kobuk's Dark
Beauty) and
exemplified good Malamute type,
confirmation,
balance and movement. This important
bitch,
Connie, finished her championship
entirely
owner-handled, taking both the
New York-New
Jersey AMCA Area Specialty under
legendary
breeder & judge Short (Eva
B.) Seeley
and the Mid-East AMCA Area Specialty
under
highly respected all breed judge,
Melbourne
T. Downing.
What did we do?
The Uyak line was established
through repeated
breedings of a highly select
and concentrated
gene pool which was achieved
by the discrete
crossing our Kodara stock to
specific T'Domar
studs. These studs improved coat,
feet, bone
and pigment. All of these dogs
were heavily
rooted in the Husky-Pak line
from Bob Zoller.
Since Harold had become a professional
handler,
showing Ch. T'Domar's Bismarck
to Winners
Dog at the 1968 National Specialty
and Best
of Winners that same year at
Westminster,
we were intimately familiar with
the best
qualities of these dogs.The Uyak
bloodline
was not established by a single
breeding
(Ch. T'Domar's Kulak x Ch. Karohonta
Conestoga)
but by many similar breedings
and parallel
pairings that included Ch. Uyak
Buffalo Bill
and two of his sons, Ch. Karohonta
Skymaster
and Ch.Uyak Bison Bobby as well
as our splendid
bitch, Ch. Karohonta Voodoo Muskie
(Ch. T'Domar's
Voodoo King x Ch. Karohonta Ta-Lo-Wah,
a
full sister to Ch. Karohonta
Conestoga).
Their impact can be traced in
many of today's
pedigrees through Ch. Kiwalik's
Tiger Woman,
Ch. J-Len's Artic Windjamer,
Ch. Kiwalik's
Vykon Indiana Jones, Ch. Kiwalik's
Taolan
Quilleute and many others. On
an overall
percentage basis, Ch. Uyak Buffalo
Bill,
ROM (his headshot is part of
the Uyak logo)
is probably one of the most outstanding
producers
in the history of the breed
Who has been involved?
We are proud of having spent many hours in
the early yearsbeing mentored by Short Seeley,
Bob Spawn, Bill Dawson and Cassandra Becker
Hager. Others, including Steve Nash, Bob
Montheard, Terry Sewell, George Meyers, Rich
Harrison,Marilyn Curtis, Joyce Fahlsing,
Vera Jane Lulkowski and Ken Hyatt have collaborated
on our breedings in various ways.Ben Ogburn's
expertise in Alaskan Malamute pedigrees has
also been an important resource. Most recently,
we have been working with Julie Kalamaja
(Kalamals), Jennifer Kurtz (Nike), Rich Harrison
(Kuskokwim), Bernadette Quercio (Artic Luv)
and Jim & Bonnie Martin (Snocreek). Krista
Nuovo, a noted professional handler, has
also advised us on the showing and breeding
of current dogs. We continue to be receptive
(as mentors and collaborators) to others
who want to participate in furthering this
outstandingly prepotent and unique bloodline.
Expanding the Uyak Family.
Based on a single, unhappy experience in
placing a puppy during the early 1970's in
Brazil, Uyak refused to ship dogs overseas
for more than 30 years. That policy is now
an outdated relic of the past century thanks
to Horst Kranz (Artic Luv SA ) of South Africa,
who visited our kennel a few years back and
convinced us to trust him with Uyak Icicle
Izy. Also, Dr. J.A. Watkins (Snowlion) sold
frozen semen overseas from Uyak Aleut Alex,
who she co-owned with us. Further, Terry
Sewell sent some Kiwalik dogs (carrying the
Uyak bloodline) to Europe. Consequently,
a few malamute breeders in Europe and elsewhere
have a chance to experience the prepotency
and quality of the Uyak bloodline. Recently,
Cesare Giammiro (Bear-Pak) of Italy and Kirsten
Poulsen (Mullnaeset) of Sweden have flown
to America to bring back Uyak dogs to Europe.
We are pleased to share the Uyak bloodline
globally in the 21st century because we now
have the internet, frozen semen and improved
transportation.
~ ~
Dr. Harold B. Schwartzapfel c.
2010
uyakreg@optonline.net
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