Czechoslovakian Vlciaks are the most primitive breed of dog on the planet. They are unlike any other breed of dog previous experience with other large canines will not give you a heads up when handling a vlcak. 

 Primitive canines, Those with a close lineage to the wild ancestor' are inclined to be more reactive, sensitive, highly selective, social climbers, Very intelligent, Self thinkers, have superior eyesight, hearing, and olfactory senses. and mental capacities that continue to evolve throughout the life span of the canine. 

 

   Vlciaks do not always see you the human as a superior being, once they reach maturity.   You will need to earn the respect of the Vlciak to retain top position. As a self thinkers, some days they are very motivated to listen and obey commands on other days they will seem as if they have not learned or know any commands, They dislike repetitious type exercises so obedience can be hard to come by depending on the dog and the day.  

They will decide when and if it is a good time to do an activity and when they are finished doing an activity most often it is not when you are ready.  Because most have very little to no drive most will not find the typical doggy games like playing fetch to be entertaining once they reach adulthood. 

 

     Vlciaks like all animals are unique each with it's own personality, temperament, and quirks. Vlciaks will not grow to suit the way you live. You will have to grow to suit your vlciak.  

      Vlciaks are very loyal Velcro dogs, affectionate, love to be " right middle" of whatever you are doing and not in the nice I will lay beside you while you do an activity, they want to help 'You Do"  the activity.

They thrive on consistency and structure dislike and do not do well with change. Even small seemingly insignificant changes can cause the vlciak to feel insecure at times. An insecure is a vlciak that acts out most often in not very pleasing ways.

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      Many are aloof with strangers. Some will be friendly and want to greet strangers then seem to grow bored with the new human after a short time and retreat.   Some do not care to meet new people at all and will avoid them at all costs. Some will use a discerning approach and will pick and choose whom they wish to give a short greeting to, and then there are the few that seem to like most people and enjoy being in the company of humans well into adulthood. Females are most often this type.  

Most vlciaks but not all start out as friendly towards people then progress to more aloof as they grow older and more discerning.

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      Vlciaks love to be with the human pack and hate to be separated from them Separation anxiety is common within the breed. 'This can be very severe, we highly recommend positive crate training, and or a very secure jail like kennel not a big box store kennel for use when needed. 

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     Vlciaks are Very energetic and have limitless reserves of energy which is very apparent during puppyhood. Typical young puppyhood is akin to having a Tasmanian devil they love and thrive on rough and tumble play they tear apart toys and beds furniture and any other thing they wish.  they enjoy showing how much they love you by mouthing you, 'A polite way of saying they bite' not to be aggressive nor should this be considered aggressive.', this mouthing is very common in most primitive canines.  They typically do more mouthing if they feel insecure, so after you have been away from home for more then a short time you can expect it to be worse for the next hour or two. This means that you will frequently have bite marks, scrape marks and or scabs from the mouthing this is not something that can be trained out it can be modified in some vlciaks in others it is just something you will have to endure some grow out of it within the first year in others it lingers on for years in females it frequently turns into excessive licking/ kissing.

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     Raising a vlciak puppy is, for the most part, a part a full-time occupation. They require extensive trips out to different types of venues and exposure to every possible scenario you expect that your vlciak may endure during its lifetime. It is advisable for them to meet different people several times a week. These visits need to continue until the vlciak reaches maturity around 3 years of age

Young vlciaks should have daily exposure to playtime, walk time with mental exercises with the human.   You will need to do all three to sufficiently wear out a young vlciak. If the vlciak does not receive enough physical and mental stimulation they will find their own outlet which most often comes out in destructive, nonpositive ways, 

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     Vlciaks can go thru very trying adolescents,  they may challenge you. it is common for an intelligent canine to want to push to see what they can get away with. It is common for an adolescent vlcak test to test pack dynamics if you have more than one canine of the same sex to see if there are weaknesses, 

With continued persistent training they grow out of this faze which may last 1 to 2 years.  This is the period that many Vlciaks are given up. people are not prepared nor do they understand this is normal behavior, their normally sweet friendly canine now at times has an attitude, very similar to a human teenager.  with the correct training, this is nothing to fear, you can work through it.

If you are not prepared to handle a potentially difficult rebellious vlcak teenager then you should not consider them as a potential pet.  

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     We feel vlciaks are not a good placement for homes with young children, due to the mouthing and rough play. and their tendency to be overprotective of young family/pack members so not always good with other children visiting. 

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    Vlciaks can be dog aggressive most commonly same-sex dog aggressive.

Therefore we do not recommend them for households with same-sex canines. Picking the right puppy is important but doesn't guarantee the dogs will tolerate each other because issues don't typically arise until the CSV reaches maturity, this can happen as young as a year and a half or as late as 5 .  Dogs that were previously best friends may not tolerate each other.   Keeping them separate often creates other issues because the vlcak does not want to be away from the pack and often act out because it is now separated from pack activities. They want to be with the pack. Great care must be taken to insure the dogs at this time do not feel isolated. Another full-time activity. 

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    Most are not dog park dogs once mature, Dog parks may or may not be a good way to socialize young vlcaks to strange dogs but not all vlciaks like to interact with strange dogs.  They may be OK and enjoy playing at a dog park while young but as the vlciak ages, and is more discerning this becomes increasingly uncommon and we feel dangerous, as the vlcak will oftentimes take heavier blame for any conflicts.

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     Because vlciaks communicate with a primitive canine language they are often misunderstood and or vise Versa by other canines.    It is a common misconception that Huskies and malamutes communicate in a similar manner, they do not. Vlciaks communicate in a much more primitive manner and respond to very subtle clues that go unnoticed by most canines, they can do well with if raised with another canine of the opposite sex and in some situations a dog of the same sex, You will need to be diligent and work with your breeder in picking the right puppy to fit into your home even that is no guarantee. 

 

     In our opinion, Vlciaks do not make good service animals. Vlciaks being a primitive canine will look to the pack leader for guidance, You are their rock their leader.   Since Vlciaks have finely tuned hearing eyesight and sense of smell they often react to stimuli that other canines do not. Expecting them to be the well-trained animal required of a service animal is a tall order for a vlciak. It would be a better statement for the human to be the service entity.    Although we do believe that there might a vlciak that would be and or is a great service dog. We feel that the majority of the dogs in the breed do not meet nor would they be interested in doing that type of work. So we will not place a puppy as a service animal nor would we recommend a Vlciak as a service animal.  Many breeds are much better suited to be of service to the human.

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    We believe the vlciak is not a good fit for most homes.  For those that have the time and patience to grow to understand and love their unique, primitive, intelligent, and very often strange quirks you will be rewarded with the best canine you have ever had. 

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