Is the Czechoslovakian wolfdog breed for me?

[IAmLisaP]

Well What I think I need to do is meet some wolfdogs and see them for my self. If I end up with one and he/she turns out to not be a good working dog, its not going to make me dislike the dog. I got my gsd for working purposes. she turned out to not have enough confidence there for not being a good working dog, this did not change the way i feel about her. I love her, she is my girl and i wouldn't give her up for anything . When it comes to training for detection work. The dog needs have no fear of small spaces, dark areas, obstacles etc. and of course high pray/ball drive. Does this sound like a wolfdog?

[Rona]

Originally Posted by IAmLisaP

The dog needs have no fear of small spaces, dark areas, obstacles etc.

I suppose this varies from one dog to another.

Originally Posted by IAmLisaP

high pray/ball drive.Does this sound like a wolfdog?

High ball drive rather not. But there are exceptions

[Vaiva]

Originally Posted by Rona

High pray/ball drive rather not. But there are exceptions

High food drive
Today I wanted to remind Brukne some ring training, but understood I have no treats at all. You know, frozen sprats work just fine for her too

[jefta]

Rona, opinion that Lorka is first no shy csv come also to me even that I live 300-400 km from you and we spend time with difrent type od doglovers


my beagle hate csv but she loves going on csv meetings-there is so much food which they dont want to eat

[Vaiva]

Originally Posted by jefta

Rona, opinion that Lorka is first no shy csv come also to me even that I live 300-400 km from you and we spend time with difrent type od doglovers

Hmm, ok, what do we call "shy"?

[Shadowlands]

Originally Posted by jefta

my beagle hate csv but she loves going on csv meetings-there is so much food which they dont want to eat

Your signature pictures don't look like this is true...

and if Shadow were around, there would be NO food lying for your beagle, she is a canine vacuum cleaner

[tupacs2legs]

Originally Posted by jefta

Rona, opinion that Lorka is first no shy csv come also to me even that I live 300-400 km from you and we spend time with difrent type od doglovers


my beagle hate csv but she loves going on csv meetings-there is so much food which they dont want to eat

[Rona]

Originally Posted by jefta

Rona, opinion that Lorka is first no shy csv come also to me even that I live 300-400 km from you and we spend time with difrent type od doglovers

I understand this is a joke? I may assure you that out of 11 CSVs that live in or close to Krakow, which I occasionally meet on various occassions including trainings!, one is (or rather used to be) a bit shy, and one is very shy. It's a beautiful dog and very much loved by his "pack", but the owner hardly socialized him, so the dog's shyness hasn't surprised anybody.

Originally Posted by jefta

my beagle hate csv but she loves going on csv meetings-there is so much food which they dont want to eat

I'm afraid I don't follow... what do you find strange or unusual with CSVs not eating more than they need?

[saschia]

Originally Posted by Rona

I'm afraid I don't follow... what do you find strange or unusual with CSVs not eating more than they need?

Well, I would find that highly unusual, but from the completely opposite experience. Both my wolfdogs ate as much as was available. Both are/were food thieves. All my pups (the healthy ones) would almost inhale their food just to be sure that they don't miss any. I know only few wolfdogs that would not eat much and most of them would start eating as soon as in company of other wolfdogs as they knew that nothing would be left if they hesitated.

The only wolfdogs I know that are not eating and are not persuaded by competition are dwarfs, and there it is part of their disease... For some young ones it may be a distraction from much more interesting things like chewing and fighting/playing.

I would say that high pray/food drive is a typical trait in wolfdogs. But you have to know how to utilize it.

The no fear of tiny places and dark and whatever is more difficult - you need to pick the right pup (inquisitive etc.) and then you need to socialize it a lot and make a good partnership and then you need to be lucky so that it does not have a bad experience... And because it is very active you need to bring it up properly, teach it to behave and obey. But than you'll have a wolfdog that is not afraid and trusts you enough that it would endure such unpleasant things.

I'd say wolfdogs are not for people who take the dog as a means to achieve something. If you want to get to a top of a big mountain, and you take a wolfdog, you may reach the top and see the beautiful sight, but you may also get to the top of the tree line and see that there is just too much fog and bad weather, and you just cannot go further, but you still have a great companion with you. So wolfdog is a way, and if that is what is important for you, go and get one. If the goal is more important, then wolfdog is not for you. You can take a wolfdog on a lift with you, but the wolfdog will not be the lift to the top.

[Rona]

Originally Posted by saschia

I know only few wolfdogs that would not eat much and most of them would start eating as soon as in company of other wolfdogs as they knew that nothing would be left if they hesitated. (...) I would say that high pray/food drive is a typical trait in wolfdogs. But you have to know how to utilize it.

Tina always ate all she was given, but Lorka leaves food when she's not hungry. When I want her to perform well at dog school she gets ... late dinner.

Originally Posted by saschia

I'd say wolfdogs are not for people who take the dog as a means to achieve something. If you want to get to a top of a big mountain, and you take a wolfdog, you may reach the top and see the beautiful sight, but you may also get to the top of the tree line and see that there is just too much fog and bad weather, and you just cannot go further, but you still have a great companion with you. So wolfdog is a way, and if that is what is important for you, go and get one. If the goal is more important, then wolfdog is not for you. You can take a wolfdog on a lift with you, but the wolfdog will not be the lift to the top.

Very wise words, Sashia. I agree 100%.

The most important thing when getting a wolfdog is to keep patient and humble. I really appreciate the approach of our present trainer. She says that teaching the owner how to work on the good relationship with a dog is far more important than training a dog for exams. If the relationship is correct, the exams (whatever one understands under this term) will be easy.

Finally, I found the answer - I stopped buying ready made 'dog treats' and simply started to dry my own meats.....

Jing, I'll send you a recipe for training treats I got from Margo. They work like magic

[Fede86]

Originally Posted by saschia

The only wolfdogs I know that are not eating and are not persuaded by competition are dwarfs, and there it is part of their disease...

Well, mine has little interest in food. He doesn't have competition since I don't have other dogs, but he only has the bowl for 15 minutes top, and if he doesn't eat he will see the bowl again the next day, with half its habitual content. And if he does not eat again he will see it the day after, with a quarter of its content, and so on. I also feed him only kibbles (I only use meat during training) an I don’t add anything to make it more tasty if he refuses the food in the bowl, and he knows it. But he often eats just enough to satisfy his hunger and leave the rest, or he won't eat at all if he is not hungry. He’s not even particularly interested in the meat I use during training sessions. Sometimes he accept it, other times he munches on it slowly, somewhat reluctantly, sometimes he just plainly refuses it and spits it out. And I can assure he is pretty healthy, he has always been like that with food.

On the contrary he has a high prey drive on balls and tugs, but I worked a lot on him to get him interested in playing with them since he was a pup. So I often use toys to reward him during training.

[jefta]

Sashia I will be very happy for same movie with csv working on prey drive.


Rona I dont see nothing unusual but I see problem with training/motivation.

[saschia]

jefta, i don't have any videos so no help from me. But my first wolfdog was the first wolfdog ever to do agility (in 1993-4), and she was working purely for treats.

[yukidomari]

Originally Posted by jefta

my beagle hate csv but she loves going on csv meetings-there is so much food which they dont want to eat

I admit that I have a hard time finding training treats for Ghost - he is not interested.. Mostly because, he is spoilt on his regular raw food. Things like 'doggy treats' don't interest him more than his regular dinner (which is not convenient to train with)...

Finally, I found the answer - I stopped buying ready made 'dog treats' and simply started to dry my own meats.....