Meeting of North American Wolfdogs?

[GalomyOak]

I absolutely agree that this breed should be protected, which is part of why I think a breed club would be a good idea. For potential future owners, a US breed club would likely be the first stop in their search- and would be a chance for experienced CsV owners to educate, and either help a potential owner that is a good match for the breed, or politely help to dissuade someone that is interested for the wrong reasons - before they purchase a dog. Also in forming a breed club, I think we would be protecting ourselves in the horrible event that some dog warden might try see to them as a hybrid - by being part of a club for a dog breed. It would be a great place to maintain records of our dog's clean record of behavior (no biting, or attacking), and of their future accomplishments.

We licensed our dog last week in our county with her breed name "Ceskoslovensky Vlcak", and also presented her to our vet with the same breed name (our vet is very involved in the local AKC/UKC agility string), with no problems. In our state, it is legal to own a hybrid - the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has left it up to localities to control hybrids, and within our county, it is legal to own a hybrid with a permit, which of course has it's own stipulations for enclosures, and liability insurance. But of course, our dog is not a hybrid, and we never emphasize her wolf heritage to people that are encountering the breed for the first time. First impressions seem to go much better when people realize that it is a dog they are meeting - after lots of dog kisses and belly rubs, we are happy to answer questions. Anthea was quite the charmer at the vet's office for her examination, behaving perfectly - not shy, not aggressive, and appropriately interested in the happenings of the clinic. She was also her very obedient self - for treats, of course! I wish we could say the same for our GSD who also tagged along with us- she is not a fan of vet clinic visits.

[johnslawek]

A meeting of owners and their dogs sounds great, and if the logistics could be worked out it would be terrific. As all are aware, the eastern USA is geographically much larger than western Europe with Maine to Virginia alone being 900 miles away. That ride would be daunting with several wolfdogs along for the trip. Somewhere around northeastern Pennsylvania would seem fairer for all. But, if you desire to come to Wintergreen, Virginia, that could be arranged as dogs are permitted. Keep in touch and let me know if a meeting anywhere is set. With enough advance notice I would attend with Frida Crying Wolf.
John Slawek

[GalomyOak]

Are there any times during the summer that would work (or not work) for everyone? I'm a teacher, so I have lots of free time.

[roo]

Sounds like we need to set a date (summer?) and place (wintergreen, kansas, other?) and start getting specific feedback on potential participants/comittments. As mentioned, the meeting would be a great time to discuss setting up a North American CZW breed organization. Starting small is okay - it is at least a start, and you have to start somewhere! Any takers willing to step up and propose a specific date and location, solicit the feedback, and then begin organization? I'm willing to assist/help/lead/follow...

I'm really looking forward to meeting others in the U.S. that are as fortunate as I am to have a CZW as part of my family/pack!! This truly is a unique and (albeit sometimes challenging) very rewarding and worthwhile breed!

[GalomyOak]

In choosing a state, we may want to be wary of the state's, and locality's legislation regarding wolfdogs - I imagine we may attract some attention as a group - we want only positive attention!

Earlier, I know we had interest from California and Colorado - is that interest still there? If we decide to meet in Virginia, it gets pretty hot in July, and June and August are pretty toasty too, although perhaps it is cooler in the mountains? We live near the Chesapeake Bay, on the "rivah" as we call it down here - it is rather humid in the summers, which we love, but it's not for everyone.

Would the week of, or one of the weekends around, June 23rd, work or not work for anyone?

[roo]

Yes, the week of, or one of the weekends around, June 23rd is fine for me as long as we set it within the next month or so and then I can begin to plan around it. Anyone else??

Trust me, it can't get much more humid and muggy than a balmy summer day in Louisiana. Anywhere north from here would be an improvement...

Owner: Robert Routon
Dog: Bora od Starkej (Cescie Bell), 15 months old

[Kat]

Hey guys! The week of June 23rd would be fine for us. My only concern with where we hold it is the distance. Elek doesn't particulary like car rides so we have to give him dramamine. I would not want more than a 10 hour drive and being that we won't be able to take him on a plane, driving is the best option for us. Let's get a list of "confirmed" people that want to do this and then we could possibly work out a state? Depending if our house is sold here in NY by June, we will be in North Carolina at that time.

[GalomyOak]

If we were to meet in Virginia...

John, are there pet friendly accomodations in/near Wintergreen? We used to stay in the Super 8 (it was very clean at the time, but not in an area where dogs could be allowed off leash) in Nelson county (about 25-30 minutes from the resort, as I recall) when I was in college with our dogs and we went snowboarding, but that was quite a few years ago. For that matter, what type of lodging are we interested in?

I found an interesting link while I was browsing for some cabins near Luray, quite a few are pet friendly, and several it seems are in clusters, if reserved early enough, which we would need for a sizeable group. Here's a link:

http://www.allstarlodging.com/home/cabins

Of course, we are still open to traveling elsewhere.

[johnslawek]

Luray is fine with me, as Wintergreen is expensive. And I think an unnecessary expense for a meeting of Vlcaks and owners. The past experience of gatherings in Europe would be helpful to know as guidance for setting an agenda. If a former meeting agenda were forwarded from someone it would be appreciated. It seems a long trip for many to simply enjoy lunch.

[roo]

Seems like we are zeroing in on Virginia as a good central "eastern" location for the Vlcak owners that we are aware of (sorry California and Colorado). Virginia would be a several day drive for me as well from Louisiana, but I don't mind and plan to turn this into a "family" summer vacation if we can pull this together and make it happen. Luray, wintergreen, it doesn't matter to me. I will rely on others from or more familiar with Virginia to help make these calls and provide info.

I also know that there is a brother (Brix) from the litter of my Cescie Bell lives in Washington State, but I've lost email contact with the owner. I'm pretty sure that there are others spread out through the U.S. that we aren't aware of on this board or this thread.

We know it won't be feasible for all Vlcak owners to make this meeting, but if we can get some sort of breed club established then it would make it much easier to have a record of U.S. owners that choose to register. Maybe another good step would be to try and get everyone to register their Vlcak with the AKC Foundation Stock Service (something I have not done yet)? I don't know as I'm completely new to all this AKC or breed club stuff.

I really like the idea of trying to get some information or agendas from European CZW clubs to use as a guide. Anyone with any knowledge of the way other U.S. breed clubs are set up or run would be extremely beneficial as well. A CZW breed club could do wonders to protect this breed's reputation, be a U.S. informational resource for prospective owners, help all of the participants with soultions to any unique issues from diet to legal to behavior, and help legitimize this breed in the U.S..

Most of all, I'm really looking forward to meeting other Vlcak's and their owners! Consider me confirmed for a VA meeting this summer.

If I can help organize or in any other way, please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected]. Thanks!

Robert

[Kat]

I do not want to exclude any owners in the US to Virginia. Like I commented before, I think that we should get a "confirmed" list of ALL owners in the US before we nail down a final location. Of course Virgina would be fine for us, but of course, we would be willing to travel. Again, unfortunatly Elek doesn't do well with car rides, so I would like to keep the distance to reasonable. I would be more than happy to get an agenda together for us for all to review and comment. If someone can get me a list of all states in the US that would like to attend, I can do some research in finiding a resort that would best sout all of our needs. Wildenmorgan, I think that your idea for a cabin is excellent. Something to that effect would work as we could let our dogs off leash and not have to abide to "Super 8" rules and regulations. I know that here in NY, we have "resorts" that have single cabins per family among many acres of land. They have about 8-10 single cabins per family and if we could find something like that, I think that would fit pretty good. Is there any way that we can find out how many US owners are out there and we can send out an e-mail to see if they are interested? Once we get the numbers and locations zeroed down, we'll pick the location.

[Kat]

As I am trying to research a fair location for the meet, I want to make sure that I have everyone's location. If you do not see your location listed here, can you please let me know what I left out?

Thanks

Virginia
New York
Colorado
Maine
California
Louisiana
Washington

[Kat]

After doing much research based upon the states that I have, I think I may have come up with the most ideal spot to meet. Of course, everyone in the US are welcome to attend, I know this might not be suitable for all so I would like to apologize first.

Alexandira, Virginia seems like the most dog friendly location for the people on the east coast. I wish that I could accomodate everyone on the west coast, but that would mean heavy travel for everyone. I found this website that offers hotels, attractions, restaurants and dog parks that would make for a great weekend getaway for us and our dogs.

http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/tr...Virginia.shtml

I understand that we were aiming for the week of the 23th of June. Is that still good for everyone? If not, we can work out a different date. How about doing this on a Saturday and Sunday? If you can please e-mail me with a confirmation, I can work out an agenda. [email protected]


Thanks again,
Kalan

[GalomyOak]

Hey,

I guess I would be ok with Alexandria, although I guess everyone's dog's need to be ok with extreme city (Alexandria is essentially Washington, D.C) - using the bathroom on concrete, cars, lights, etc. Parking can be difficult there (primarily people use the subway to get around, which is off limits to furries, except for service dogs), and I guess everyone's dogs would need to be extremely dog social if we are to hang out primarily in dog parks. We also need to check hotels to make certain there are no regulations regarding dog sizes/breeds before we all arrive with a bunch of wolfish dogs. That can be a very common problem traveling with dogs. Saturday and Sunday sound good.

Marcy

[Kat]

Alexandria was a suggestion as I came across that website that had so many dog friendly places. Is there any place that you may suggest in Virginia? I wasn't too sure about the whole sharing a cabin thing. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[GalomyOak]

I'm open to most any accomodation - our dog travels well, and so far, enjoys most any place city or rural. She is a little wary of other dogs - not aggressive, but I'd rather know I was around people that knew how to control their dogs, and dogs that didn't mind wolfdog "play" - one can never tell what they will encounter in a dog park, anything from out of control pitbulls to timid toy poodles.

In Virginia, there are 5 general regions. The southeast (where I live), is very close to many beaches, there are some rural areas, but in those areas, there aren't many attractions, or accomodations. Northern VA (Alexandria) is urban sprawl through a good portion, there are plenty of attractions, and accomodations, driving is a headache, and offleash areas would probably be somewhat limited to dog parks. Central Virginia (around Richmond) is limited in attractions, there are plenty of hotels, and with research, could probably find offleash areas. The southwest part of Virginia is fairly rural, I'm not too sure about much else, because I've only ventured out that far once. Northwest Virginia (Wintergreen, Luray) has lots of mountains, lots of national parks, plenty of cabins, and some attractions - I'm not sure in terms of restaurants and hotels/motels.

A few questions: How will people travel (plane or car)? Would people prefer a rural or urban setting? What kind of accomodations would people prefer (hotel, motel, cabin, tent)? Again, we are very open, we will probably drive.

I'm really excited about this!

Marcy

[roo]

I would guess that most people who are going to be able to come will do so by car - as you know it can be quite challenging to travel with large dog(s) on our American domestic airlines as most just don't do it anymore. Don't get me wrong, it's possible, just more involved and limited than things were a decade ago (before 2001).

[Kat]

For us, we will be driving. I think it would be pretty difficult to fly a dog of this size.

Marcy, I love your idea of Wintergreen. I agree with you about dog parks now that I think of it. The cabins are a great idea. I was just a little concerned about renting one big cabin for everyone to stay as I'm sure our dogs will be pretty tired at the end of the night and I wouldn't want any overtired, grumpy wolfdogs all in the same room. I'm just basing this on my boy as when he gets really tired, he's a bit of a grump and wants to be left alone. My preference would to go somewhere rural where there are parks to go to. Restaurants are not a priority on my list. I can eat anywhere. I think someone mention a place in Wintergreen a long time ago where there was a resort that allowed dogs to stay. I'll have to check back in the threads.

Anyway, we are up for anything. We have two people that already live in Virginia, so that helps a lot in figuring out a place to stay.

Thanks,
Kalan

[GalomyOak]

Sounds good! John is probably the best informed about Wintergreen...any suggestions about places we might stay? Since we are just doing a weekend, I'm not too worried about cost.

So...June 21/22, or June 28/29? July 4th is the Friday after...just something to consider in planning, perhaps.

[Kat]

I checked back through the threads and found the post that cpw posted on this resort. http://www.wintergreenresort.com/

I checked briefly to see if they would allow dogs, but could not find anything. To me it looks as if they have homes atop the mountain. Again, any input or other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Marcy, any date that you suggested would be fine for us. And of course we would have to take into consideration of the July 4th holiday as rates will be much higher and more people around.

I would love to get as many wolfdog owners involved in this and any potential owner as well. Right now, it seems that we have about 4 people who can attend. Once we get the final details worked out, I would be happy to e-mail other US owners to make them aware of this meeting.

Thanks,
Kalan