Armando Doda from the village of Armath in Durrës, who became passionate about hunting when he was young. He carefully watched the steps of his family to ambush the prey.
When it comes to hunting, passion alone is not enough. By your side you should have a breed dog with some characteristics, such as long distance running.
The 32-year-old has been training hunting dogs for years, which he then sells to clients abroad.
“We take small puppies, train them and deliver them to their owners for a fee. Mostly those who contact us are Italians”. – says Armando Doda.
The two dogs he has by his side are of the “English Setter” breed. It is one of the most beautiful breeds of hunting dogs, with special physical characteristics and an expressive look and friendly character.
This elegant old breed comes from England. It was originally used as a pet.
Their keen sense of smell for hunting was then noticed and trained to be among the best hunting dogs. They are very energetic and require a lot of physical activity. Their lifespan ranges from 10 to 14 years. In rare cases it goes up to 20 years.
Training this breed is not easy due to its high intelligence. It takes patience to educate them. Armando has it, he even does it with passion.
“It is hard work that requires dedication and patience to train the hounds that we receive from the age of 9 months.” – says Armando.
Armando Doda spends most of his day training hunting dogs.
On rainy or snowy days, Armando finds him in the mountains of Kruja. It is interesting how English setters track prey.
Hunting in Albania has its own history, not very well documented. The Italian archive Luce has photos of the hunting hotel in Ishull-Lezhë, built at the end of 1930.
The photos belong to 1942. The area around the hotel was a hunting reserve. It was inhabited by hunters from the Zog period, during the Italian occupation, but also by hunting enthusiasts.
This area was frequented even after the war. Enver Hoxha himself was passionate about this sport, as well as Mehmet Shehu and other high officials of the time.
Today there are many who have locked this passion. Armandi is part of the associations for legal hunting, but since 2014 he has not practiced since the moratorium on hunting was established in Albania. According to him, the ban has done nothing but encourage illegal hunting.
“Illegal hunters kill without criteria and without rules”. – says Armando.
Despite the continued demands of hunters, the government has decided to postpone the moratorium on hunting until the end of 2025 in order to preserve wild animals and birds in the forests.
Today, Armand climbs the mountains with his two English hounds. Hunting for him not just a sport or passion, but a way of life without which he feels incomplete.