A Bit About Us We are located in a small town in Northern Minnesota, between Hibbing and Grand Rapids. I received my 2 year A.A. degree at a local Community College and then went on to obtain my B.S. degree from Bemidji State University. After college, I spent some time living in Alaska and then Washington State. Growing up there was always a dog or two at our house, but I was gifted my first dog when I was five. A Labrador Retriever mix named Lady Jane. It was my responsibility to feed, exercise, and train her every day. I loved it! Every spare moment I had was spent outside teaching her commands, tricks, and setting up mazes (barn yard agility) for her to do. That’s when dogs started to consume my life. She lived 2 weeks shy of her 18th birthday and that was still not enough time with her. I loved training and spending time with dogs. In elementary school I even convinced my parents to start letting my spend weekends helping a musher who lived close by with their sled dogs. That’s when I discovered my love for smart and stubborn breeds, a love I still hold to this day. One day soon, I hope to have a small hobby farm up and running. However, for now I’m content with my dogs. Together we do weight pull, agility, rally obedience, obedience, scent work, trick dog, joring, barn hunt, and conformation. We also love taking different classes with our favorite local trainer at Paw-sitive Way Dog Training. For fun we go swimming, have play dates with our friends, and spend lots of time running in the field/woods on and around our property. Really we just love spending time together and keeping busy. 
Why The Name Vegvisir?
It took me a while to choose a kennel name. I tried out many different ones, but none felt right. Then I realized my kennel name had been hanging on my wall this whole time. Vegvisir (VEGG-vee-seer) is the name given to an Old Norse compass. It is a symbol of protection and guidance. It was said that anyone who carried the symbol would never be lost…even if the way was unknown to them. This is what I want to give to my dogs and what my dogs give me…protection and guidance. |
Why Czechoslovacian Vlčák (CsV)?
Well, I actually found the breed by accident. I was doing a genealogy paper on my family for a class in high school. I did a search for “Czechoslovakia” and up popped pictures of these beautiful dogs. On and off over the years I kept going back to this breed. I loved their history and the versatility of the breed. It seemed there was nothing they couldn’t do. I always said one day, one day I would own one. When I finally found myself with a stable career and a house with land...I found myself researching the breed again. I read as much as I could. There were no CsVs near me, so I wasn’t able to meet one in person. So, I read a lot and asked to hear the worst of the worst about the breed. After that, well…I was convinced this was the breed for me.
In my search for a breeder, After spending a few years looking, I found Sonata Carpathica, located in Slovakia. From my first email from them, I knew I had found the kennel I wanted to work with and roughly, 6 months later (over 10 years after first finding the breed) I had my first CsV in my arms. I still stay in close contact with Maria and Lukas. They are our extended family and my mentors with the breed.
Living with a CsV
I’m not going to spend time talking about the breed standards or history of the breed as there are several great sources online to read about that. The FCI, AKC, UKC, and CSVCA are great places to start your reading. There are also a few great Facebook groups that are worth checking out for stories about living with a CsV. (The funny side of CSV and the dark side of CSV) I’ll just tell you a bit about my experience with my girl.
I have to say that CsVs are one of the smartest breeds I’ve met. For example I told her “no” when she jumped up on the counter and knocked a cup of juice over to drink it. So she taught herself how to pick the cup up, run across the house, set the cup down, and drink the juice…all without spilling a drop. She also taught herself how to do this with a plate full of food. If you tell her no, you just see the wheels in her head start turning to think her way around the “no.” She knows all of her basic commands, but it’s a matter of her deciding she wants to do them. She is definitely a stubborn free thinker, but that’s what I love most about her. She loves to learn new things and if she loves what she is doing, she will work until you make her stop. Then you just have to be ready for the fit she’ll throw at being told that’s enough for today.
She has never been overly destructive. She does love to get into the garbage, counter surf, and she has a small obsession with plastic bottles. Most days it’s like having a toddler. Constant supervision needed and quiet is bad. If food is involved...she won’t stop until she finds a way to get it. As a pup she was the quietest dog I’d ever met but at two and a half she is starting to find her voice. She loves to whine, howl, chipper, and if she’s mad enough...her screech makes banshees envious. As a pup she couldn’t hold still. Even in her sleep she was always moving. At 2 she started to mellow out a bit, but she still has a lot of energy. Now she’s just better at focusing her energy into the task at hand. She needs a lot of exercise and mental stimulation or she becomes quite the handful.
She takes quite a while to warm up to new dogs and people. She is true to breed standards of being aloof and hesitant with new things and people. She has to meet new people/dogs on her terms and it’s my job to make sure people respect that. Some people she’ll take hours to decide they can touch her and sometimes she goes and crawls into a complete stranger’s lap for a snuggle right away. Some dogs it takes a few minutes and with some it takes them seeing each other several times for her to decide they can be friends. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, but we haven’t met a person/dog she hasn’t eventually warmed up to. So she isn’t a social butterfly…but once she decides you’re part of her pack, she’ll do everything she can to make you happy and keep you safe. Her pack is small but she is very devoted to us.
This is a very brief summary of my life with a CsV. I love to talk dogs. If you want to hear more about the breed contact me and ask any questions you have.
vegvisirkennel@gmail.com
Well, I actually found the breed by accident. I was doing a genealogy paper on my family for a class in high school. I did a search for “Czechoslovakia” and up popped pictures of these beautiful dogs. On and off over the years I kept going back to this breed. I loved their history and the versatility of the breed. It seemed there was nothing they couldn’t do. I always said one day, one day I would own one. When I finally found myself with a stable career and a house with land...I found myself researching the breed again. I read as much as I could. There were no CsVs near me, so I wasn’t able to meet one in person. So, I read a lot and asked to hear the worst of the worst about the breed. After that, well…I was convinced this was the breed for me.
In my search for a breeder, After spending a few years looking, I found Sonata Carpathica, located in Slovakia. From my first email from them, I knew I had found the kennel I wanted to work with and roughly, 6 months later (over 10 years after first finding the breed) I had my first CsV in my arms. I still stay in close contact with Maria and Lukas. They are our extended family and my mentors with the breed.
Living with a CsV
I’m not going to spend time talking about the breed standards or history of the breed as there are several great sources online to read about that. The FCI, AKC, UKC, and CSVCA are great places to start your reading. There are also a few great Facebook groups that are worth checking out for stories about living with a CsV. (The funny side of CSV and the dark side of CSV) I’ll just tell you a bit about my experience with my girl.
I have to say that CsVs are one of the smartest breeds I’ve met. For example I told her “no” when she jumped up on the counter and knocked a cup of juice over to drink it. So she taught herself how to pick the cup up, run across the house, set the cup down, and drink the juice…all without spilling a drop. She also taught herself how to do this with a plate full of food. If you tell her no, you just see the wheels in her head start turning to think her way around the “no.” She knows all of her basic commands, but it’s a matter of her deciding she wants to do them. She is definitely a stubborn free thinker, but that’s what I love most about her. She loves to learn new things and if she loves what she is doing, she will work until you make her stop. Then you just have to be ready for the fit she’ll throw at being told that’s enough for today.
She has never been overly destructive. She does love to get into the garbage, counter surf, and she has a small obsession with plastic bottles. Most days it’s like having a toddler. Constant supervision needed and quiet is bad. If food is involved...she won’t stop until she finds a way to get it. As a pup she was the quietest dog I’d ever met but at two and a half she is starting to find her voice. She loves to whine, howl, chipper, and if she’s mad enough...her screech makes banshees envious. As a pup she couldn’t hold still. Even in her sleep she was always moving. At 2 she started to mellow out a bit, but she still has a lot of energy. Now she’s just better at focusing her energy into the task at hand. She needs a lot of exercise and mental stimulation or she becomes quite the handful.
She takes quite a while to warm up to new dogs and people. She is true to breed standards of being aloof and hesitant with new things and people. She has to meet new people/dogs on her terms and it’s my job to make sure people respect that. Some people she’ll take hours to decide they can touch her and sometimes she goes and crawls into a complete stranger’s lap for a snuggle right away. Some dogs it takes a few minutes and with some it takes them seeing each other several times for her to decide they can be friends. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, but we haven’t met a person/dog she hasn’t eventually warmed up to. So she isn’t a social butterfly…but once she decides you’re part of her pack, she’ll do everything she can to make you happy and keep you safe. Her pack is small but she is very devoted to us.
This is a very brief summary of my life with a CsV. I love to talk dogs. If you want to hear more about the breed contact me and ask any questions you have.
vegvisirkennel@gmail.com
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