15/08/2026
Meet ‘Tunamara Mister Musicman’ 🎶🤎
Introducing the newest little addition to Zemzari…
His call name is still being decided because apparently naming this puppy is harder than actually acquiring him 😂
This handsome boy is 5 months old and arrived from South Australia to sunny Queensland yesterday. When Chris Scott posted him, I couldn’t resist his pedigree. He carrie some lovely old-school lines that I’ve always been drawn to, and I thought it was worth bringing him home and seeing what he could become.
Of course… then there’s the colour… 👀😂
He has already opened a whole can of worms! Some see chocolate, others see a red/fawn with liver pigment, and there have been plenty of different opinions about whether he should ever be shown or bred.
Under the Australian Italian Greyhound standard, his colour isn’t listed as a separate registrable colour, and the standard calls for a dark nose, so his lighter pigment is certainly something that could be considered a fault. The standard also allows faults to be considered according to their degree, so ultimately I think it will be interesting to see how different judges view him as a whole dog.
I’ve spoken with a number of breeders and judges and have received a range of thoughtful opinions. Some have said they personally wouldn’t show or breed a dog with his pigment, while some judges have said they may mark him down for it but would still assess the whole dog - structure, movement and overall quality - and potentially award him if they felt he deserved it. Others may choose to withhold an award. And honestly, I completely understand all of those perspectives. 😂
Naturally, everyone wants to know - WHAT IS HE?! 🤎
I’ll be colour and genetically testing him to see what we can actually learn. I’ve already found another breeder who had a chocolate-looking (but not tested) Iggy appear in their program years ago, and we found a common pedigree link a few generations back. I’ve also been told cream occurs in his pedigree on both sides, so there are plenty of theories floating around about why he is the colour that he is.
For now, though, I’m not making any big decisions. He’s only five months old and has plenty of maturing to do. I’ll health test him, genetically test him, colour test him, watch his structure and movement develop and, most importantly, see what the whole dog becomes. Only then can any real decisions be made about his showing or breeding future. For now, he’s just a very cute couch cuddle buddy! 🤎
And to those who LOVE his colouring… I’m sorry to disappoint 😂 Even if he ticks all my the boxes, I would never intentionally try to recreate his unusual colour. If he ultimately proves worthy of a place in my breeding program, I’d be looking to pair him with dogs carrying strong black pigment rather than trying to reproduce his colouring.
Some have told me they’d never consider keeping, showing or breeding a dog like him, and I completely understand why. We all have different breeding goals, priorities and interpretations of what is right for our programs. But his pedigree caught my attention first, and I wanted to give this little guy a chance.
A huge thank you to Christine Scott for entrusting him to me. I know he is a very special and sentimental boy to you, and I promise he will be very loved here 🤎
Welcome to Queensland, little man. Now… somebody please help me name him 😂
