The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, is also officially known as Ceskoslovenski Vlciak and non officially referred to as the Slovak Wolfdog and Czech Wolfdog. It is a relatively new dog breed that came into existence through an experimental project conducted in Czechoslovakia in 1955. The experiment was aimed at producing a new dog breed with the combination of a dog and wolf that would have desirable qualities of herding, guarding among others and also hardy and healthy as a wolf. A German Shepherd was crossed with the Carpathian Wolf and the resultant off springs gave birth to this new breed. It is a multi-utility dog with a pack mentality, temperament and trainability of the German Shepherd and strength, physical build and stamina of the Carpathian Wolf. It was used initially as border patrolling dogs but later put to use in search and rescue, Schutzhund, tracking, herding, agility, obedience and drafting. It was declared national breed of Czechoslovakia in 1982.
The dog has a minimum height of 26 inches and weighs at least 57 lbs. There is no upper limit to height or weight.
The head is symmetrical with clear sex expression. Forehead is slightly arched with a definite stop. Muzzle is narrow with straight nose bridge and oval black nose. Eyes are small and amber coloured while ears are pricked and triangular in shape. Neck is moderately long and muscled. The spine is straight, strong in movement, with a short loin. Chest is large and flat with a tucked-up belly. The back is short and slightly sloped. The tail is set on high, hanging straight down. When dog is excited, generally raised in sickle shape. Forelimbs are straight and narrow-set while hind limbs are strong, well-muscled, and feature long calves. The coat is long, thick, dense and close fitting and comes in yellow-grey to silver grey colouring with a typical white mask.
This dog is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI and AKC (FSS) which is an optional recording service for purebred dogs that are not yet eligible for AKC registration. Within the USA and the UK, breed clubs and owners are trying to have the name changed to Czechoslovakian Vlciak to distance the breed from the 'wolfdog' tag (wolfdogs tend to be mongrels whereas the CsV is a purebreed). The original project was carried out to produce a border patrol dog with increased stamina and weatherproofing as compared to the GSDs in use at the time. Whilst some show attributes towards herding, it is not that common. The breed is FCI Group 1. Now that the former Czechoslovakia is no more, Slovakia are the Breed Guardian country.