
Why the Czechoslovacian Vlčák (CSV)?
Well, I 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 coming back to this breed. I loved their history and the versatility of the breed. It seemed there was nothing they could not do. Their high energy level, aloofness, and mischievous tendencies fit perfectly with my lifestyle.
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 was not 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 Maria, 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 they are wonderful mentors for the breed.
Well, I 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 coming back to this breed. I loved their history and the versatility of the breed. It seemed there was nothing they could not do. Their high energy level, aloofness, and mischievous tendencies fit perfectly with my lifestyle.
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 was not 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 Maria, 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 they are wonderful mentors for the breed.
Living with a CSV
I am not going to spend a bunch of time talking about the breed standards or history of the breed as there are several great sources online to read about them. The FCI, AKC, UKC, and CSVCA are great places to start your research. 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) Links to these pages can be found under “Helpful Links.”
I will just take a moment to tell you my personal experience with my CSVs while answering some often-asked questions.
I am not going to spend a bunch of time talking about the breed standards or history of the breed as there are several great sources online to read about them. The FCI, AKC, UKC, and CSVCA are great places to start your research. 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) Links to these pages can be found under “Helpful Links.”
I will just take a moment to tell you my personal experience with my CSVs while answering some often-asked questions.
When you chose to bring a CSV into you home you are choosing to make them the center of your world. This is a breed that by standard is aloof, but they do not do well being left to their own devices. They have a deep need to be a part of a family. This leaves the breed with a tendency to suffer from separation anxiety. They are also prone to dog aggression with same sex being the most prevalent. Some dogs do ok with dog parks and the likes, but that is not the norm for the breed as a whole. They tend to have their own “packs” and are not overly welcoming of outside dogs trying to enter their space. Per the breed standard they can be hesitant of new people but should not be fearful. Human aggression should never be present in this breed. For some people this is hard. People who are used to living with social butterfly dogs can find the more primitive nature of the CSV hard to adjust to. For me it was the norm. I have a strong belief that if I do not like anyone and everyone…why should my dog have to? I always leave it up to my dogs if they want to interact with a person or dog. I know my dog’s limits, likes/dislikes, and I respect and enforce them when around others. |
I often get asked, "Is this breed good with small animals?" This is by far the most asked question. My answer, like with any breed, is…yes and no. Dogs are predatory animals. However, if they are raised with small animals and taught boundaries at a young age, then yes, they can do great with them. If they are not exposed young and often…then they can be taught boundaries/leave it, but I would not trust them alone with small animals. This breed does have a high prey drive and sometimes small animals are good at making themselves tempting prey without meaning to. The example that springs to my mind is Kaida. She did not meet her first cat until she was over two years of age. Cats are things to be chased and caught. We worked on it and now cats can come up and wind around her legs…however, she is not a dog that can be left unsupervised with them. If we are all laying in the living room, she will ignore the cat until it makes a sudden or quick movement. One “leave it” command is all it takes. Now this same dog does fine around goats, chickens, newborn calves. She was exposed to these young and often. Stormy was raised with a cat and does fine with them. He was raised around many different farm animals and does fine with them as well. This breed needs to be exposed young and often to all things that you want them to be ok with when they are adults. |
The other question I often get is, “How much exercise to they need daily?” That greatly depends on the dog. Some will do fine with a nice long walk, play time in the yard, and some mental stimulation games. Others may need more. I have worked very hard to create a good on and off switch for my dogs. We train in a variety of sports 5 times a week and the other 2 days are fun free training days. On top of training we do bikejoring when it is cool enough, walks, play time in the yard/field, hiking trips, and regular playdates with our doggy friends. We also do daily (sometimes multiple times a day) mental stimulation exercises both indoors and outdoors. People often forget that mental stimulations is just as important to your dog as physical exercise. I am a huge advocate for showing and competing with dogs. It provides both physical and mental stimulation. It also helps upkeep your dog’s socialization skills. |
This leads into another frequently asked question, “What is it like to train one of these dogs.” They can and will challenge you. Even for an experienced trainer, they will keep you humble. They will think around the command, question your commands, and blatantly ignore you if they do not want to do something. They do not have that drive to please that some other working breeds have. They are constantly asking, "What's in it for me?" Some have little to no toy or food drive. They tend to not like repetition or being asked to do things that they do not see a purpose for. They are a breed you must work with or you will constantly be working against them. You must slow down and find out how they learn, think, and respond. Then you tailor your training method to fit them. They do not do well with negative feed back and will shut down if pushed to hard. Training must be fun for them. Here, is just a bit about our lives. If there is a question you would like to see answered here, drop us an email and let us know. If you have the question...someone else does as well. [email protected] |