To Hanka, from my interpretation of the working requirements in the initial development of the breed, they were supposed to be excellent working dogs. That was the goal.
Coming from Malinois and German highline German Shepherds, I do not expect the vlcak to BE either of these breeds, but to have some characteristics that they do - traits that make a good working dog. Training, of course, counts heavily in how a vlcak looks while working (intense eye on handler, flashy obedience, etc.) but I do think a good vlcak with a good trainer would be able to compete in the same circles and do well.
To Mikael and Ina, I greatly appreciate your input. My girlfriend and I have both fallen in love with the vlcak and don't want to change them or expect them to be a different breed, but we want to preserve and enhance working characteristics in the breed - the goal, eventually, to be known for good working vlcaks. Of course, this will be some time in the future as our current vlcaks are just infants, and who knows what the future holds...
In any breeding program, care must be taken to stay true to the breed, so that there IS no dichotomy between "pretty" vlcaks and "working" vlcaks.
There is a school of thought that holds that genes "bundle" - so, in theory, the vlcaks that look more "shepherdy" would behave like a shepherd and the "wolfier" ones would behave more like a wolf... has anyone seen this to be true?
I do know a Schutzhund helper who says the lighter a dog's eyes are the nervier it is. I do not have the same experience with eye color, as I have worked with a broad spectrum of breeds - many of whom have a range of eye color. He focuses on German, Dutch & Belgian Shepherds...
So I look forward to seeing the evolution of the vlcak toward the ideal that Karel Hartl envisioned... after all, that is the goal, right?
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