Wolfdogs in West Europe-shy, bad socialised & unpredicta

[Mirkawolf]

Hello everybody,

i can´t help but feel that i could have a word or two to say to this newly opened theme. First to those who do not know me, something about me. I ´ve been living with wolfdogs for more than severn years, been training with them and later I started to breed them, too. I´ve been to several dog shows with my Cira, we passed two obedience tests (ZOP, ZZO) and we trained regularly at least twice a week at different dog training clubs. I´ve been going to bonitations and youth presentation, also all my puppy owners (though from different countries) came to Czech republic to present the dogs at youth presentation. So possibly i can say I know a little bit about the breed and how the dogs look like in Czech republic.

I moved to Belgium in April 2004 and I was wondering about wolfdogs here. But what I saw didn´t please me much. 90% of CSW´s i´ve met here were shy dogs, which their owners kept constantly on leash or better closed in a cage. Most of them also were not looking so great according to the standard, the biggest problems of wolfdogs in Belgium are big ears, dark eyes, long tails and i could continue. Also the dogs here are very slender with almost no muscles (how they could have them, walking only on the leash or being closed in a cage). Hard to recognise males from females, there is completely no difference in the shape of head or look of the dog.. Also, most of the dogs are quite small.

The worst problem of CSW´s here in Belgium though is the character. Wolfdogs here are shy, badly socialised and unpredictable. They usually have no training and thus their owners are scared to let them off leash. I think there is a lot work at the Belgian breeders (or Dutch) to improve these problems. But again, i´ve heard horrible rumours among owners here, about how to deal with CSW´s.

I´ve heard such crap like for example:

- CSW´s cannot be trained, it is impossible..
- CSW´s are shy, it is normal, it´s the wolf in them..
- if CSW is not shy, it cannot be CSW, because all CSW´s are shy..

The most crazy thing is, that most wolfdog owners here do not know about each other, they get no advices from their breeders and usually no help, too. This way, not having suitable informations, they do not know what to do with their wolfdog, how to train it and socialise it, and another shy and problematic wolfdog is here.

I can say that i strongly believe, that most of Belgian wolfdogs would not pass the Czech or Slovak bonitation. Maybe they would not fail in the size or look, but i say they would not pass the character test. (Also i cannot imagine how the wolfdogs would be measured, when i tried to take pictures at the meeting in Schoten, most of the wolfdogs were not able to stay at one place for few seconds).

I guess that most of breeders or owners here in Belgium or Holland won´t like me for this, but truth is always not pleasant to hear. However, it doesn´t have to be so bad with the wolfdogs here in Belgium forewer. There is many things to do about it, and I can suggest some.

First, the breeders must keep in touch with their puppy owners, that´s a basic. They must be able to advice, if their puppy owner has a problem. Also the breeders should be able to recommend the new puppy owner a good training place or to explain him at least a little bit about the socialisation of the dog. It is a must. Who is serious breeder, does this.

The wolfdog owners here in Belgium should also unite and share their experiences, advices and thoughts. It is the best way to find solutions for problems and help each other. We have wolfdogs because we love them and what we want are happy and educated wolfdogs, with which we can go on walk or trip without being scared all the time, what the dog can do.

Meeting in Schoten was a start, as Patrick said. I agree, though i expected more activities at the meeting, such as collective obedience training, agility or some little competition. Instead of that, after a walk (on the leash only) the only program was to sit and talk .. But hey, it is a start and I am sure next time it will be better. But one meeting per year is nothing, especially when the wolfdogs need to do something!

I am opened to any discussions on this theme. If anyone in Belgium wants to meet me and discuss about wolfdog socialising, training, behaviour or other things, I am always ready to help. I am used from Czech republic that we people with wolfdogs were meeting often for walks, trips, competitons and other fun things and i miss it here. So I will be only pleased to see some wolfdogs or talk about them.

Mirka