On Saturday 2nd September one of my dreams came true when I finally got to meet the Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs and the Saarloos Wolfdogs.

My partner, Mark, and I travelled across on the ferry from Dover to Calais and drove to Soest-Luhringen. Thanks to Vera for providing the directions. As soon as we arrived, the sight of so many lovely CsV dogs and the gorgeous sound of them howling greeted us. We managed to see several dogs interacting and we were struck by how very wolf-like they are in their play and also how quickly the dogs establish dominant or submissive behaviour, it was truly fascinating. The owners (and the dogs) made us to feel welcome and all too soon we had to leave for the evening. We did, however, have a nice evening meal and a good chat with our new dog loving friends with their CsV dog sitting quietly under the table. We learnt so much in the evening about the care needed by the dogs but I have to say that it only made my desire to own such a dog stronger.

Keen to get back the next day, we met our first Saarloos and were struck by how similar in looks some of them were to the CsVs. The ones with the white face masking were obviously Saarloos but from a distance the others shared many of the same looks.

It was a different personality altogether though that was shown in the show ring. The Saarloos seemed so very nervous with their tails between their legs and a look in their eyes that said "Get me out of here"! The CSV's stood proudly with head high, striding out, sometimes even with a slight air of boredom, lying down and taking it all in their stride. All of the dogs and owners did so well and in our mind, everyone who owns and shows these dogs is a winner.

The owners went out of their way to bring us into their conversations and go to the effort of speaking in English. A truly international meeting with the few that we met representing Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark and Czech Republic, I am sure there were other nations there too. We did appreciate the efforts and feel that we have made some new friends over the weekend.

Having read so much online and in books, we had a good idea of what the dogs would look like but we were reminded over and over of the wolves we have met. The nervousness of the Saarloos was more than I had expected but this was compensated for by the love that they showed to their owners, the bond seemed to be really strong. The CsVs seemed more independent until the time when they were ready for their hug and came back to the owners and sat so very close to the legs and sometimes climbing onto laps and licking of faces.

I hope you can tell that we loved our weekend, loved the people we met, loved the dogs we met and can't wait until we get the chance to meet you all and your dogs again.

Jody and Mark