Experience
A lifetime among hounds
Knowledge built through years of showing, training, raising and simply observing dogs at home.
The kennel behind the crest
Our family
When you welcome a Bilkau hound into your home, you join a family that has spent a lifetime among these breeds – and a home full of the hounds themselves.
Meet the breeder
Countess KMT Praschma
Kim Praschma runs Bilkau from her home near Johannesburg. A longstanding figure in the South African pedigree community, she is known for her understanding of canine structure, temperament and the everyday work behind a well-adjusted hound.
Kim is a direct descendant of the House of Praschma, a historical noble family of Central Europe. The new Bilkau crest nods to that heritage, but the programme is grounded in something more practical – close observation, life in the home and responsibility for every hound placed.
Experience in the dog community
A breeder embedded in the pedigree community.
KUSA committee & training
Kim serves as a committee member of the South African Dachshund Club and brings years of practical experience in showing and training dogs.
Championship-level knowledge
Her experience in canine structure, obedience and working trials brings a practical eye to the breed standard and to the temperament needed in an everyday companion.
Backed by veterinary science
Her daughter, Dr Tamarin Praschma (BVSc MRCVS), is an internationally accredited veterinary surgeon who trained in animal nutrition and breeding at the University of Pretoria, informing our neonatal care.
A philosophy of complete socialisation
A beautiful dog must be a balanced one.
We pair close attention to the breed standard with thoughtful socialisation – because a sound companion needs confidence and good judgement as well as a recognisable outline.
- In-home whelping – born and raised in the heart of the house, monitored around the clock
- Maternal & pack integration – kept with their mother for proper correction and bite inhibition
- Environmental habituation – growing up around cats, exotic birds and other dogs for a balanced worldview
- Health guarantees – released fully microchipped, dewormed and inoculated, with guidance on continued care
Our hounds
The characters who share our home.
Bilkau is Irish Wolfhound-focused. Kim's wider life with dogs still includes old friends, other breeds and the Sunduza Bull Terrier story.
Home life
Part of the everyday
The dogs are companions before anything else – present in the house and known as individuals.
Responsibility
A route back to Bilkau
Every Bilkau hound remains part of the family, with a safe return if life around it ever changes.
Our wolfhounds
The gentle giants
Among the Wolfhounds who have shared our home: Mullen, the big softy; Adien, the loving mother; Sibeal, always happy to see you; Darth, forever getting into trouble; and Molly, our shy girl.
Our dachshunds
The spirited companions
And the Dachshunds who keep us on our toes: Onyx, the hyperactive one; Fudge, the cuddly one; Ember, the shy one; and the endlessly mischievous Nala and NooNoo.
They remain part of Kim's family story, even though this site now belongs to the Irish Wolfhound.
Our bull terriers
The Sunduza legacy
And now our Bull Terriers – courageous, comical and endlessly loving. We are proud to carry on the legendary Sunduza line, one of Southern Africa's greatest, built on half a century of careful breeding.
The Bilkau family album
Thirty moments, from first breaths to full-grown companionship.
Kim's photographs show the part of Bilkau that words cannot quite hold: the whelping box, the occupied couch, the hound at the garden gate and the people growing up alongside them.
Also from our family
Purrfect Pet Hotel
Kim also owns and runs Purrfect Pet Hotel – country-estate boarding for dogs, cats, parrots and exotic pets on the same secure Farmall estate near Randburg. The same attentive eye that knows her hounds looks after other people's animals every day.
Heritage · Quality · Companionship
Come and meet the family.
Visits are by appointment. Whether you have a question about the breed or a future litter, begin with an honest conversation.