I think that the only way in which I could express my feelings at beholding an animal of such magnificence would be through music: it had a very light-coloured coat, a very thick mane (probably because it was December) and amber-coloured eyes that looked as though they could see deep into one’s soul and capture one’s essence. We were completely awe-struck and decided to look up information on that amazing creature once we got home. Unfortunately, we did not have access to the Internet back in those days and did not know where to look, and so all that we were left with was the memory of that magnificent Czechoslovakian wolfdog. Several years went by and the wolfdog was pushed to the back of our minds. Over the years since then, we had various breeds of dogs J. My sister got engaged and then married. One day, in a conversation, she said “when my husband and I grow old and retire, we shall get ourselves a Czechoslovakian wolfdog…” The memory of that day in town suddenly rushed back to me: that magnificent Czechoslovakian wolfdog!
Meanwhile, technology had advanced J and so I immediately went on the Internet to see what I could find. Unfortunately, I did not find much information: what little I did find was vague, describing the dog as semi-wild, difficult to handle, disobedient, stubborn, aggressive towards same-sex dogs etc.: basically, not a full-blown man-eater, but not far off. I set aside the idea of getting a wolfdog puppy: I was still studying at the time and therefore did not have the time to look after a small “man-eater”, but by then I had fallen under the spell of that magnificent breed. The truth is that, being a headstrong person myself, I have always been attracted to headstrong dogs. And so I continued to research the Czechoslovakian wolfdog: back then, there was little talk of dog exhibitions and there were very few specimens around, but I watched documentaries and read books and, when I stumbled upon the odd specimen, I would bombard the owners with so many questions that they would purposely avoid bumping into me a second time. Nowadays, thankfully, there are many more specimens around. I always advise this sort of research to anyone intending on approaching the breed for the first time.
In short, more than ten years went by. Although still a long way away from retiring, my sister—after meeting the Czechoslovakian wolfdog several times in the flesh, not only after our initial fleeting encounter—decided that she would never get one. My family and siblings still hold a deep love and respect for these magnificent dogs, but the only crazy person who has decided to embark on this incredible experience is me. I got engaged to my saintly fiancé and now husband Davide (whom I can never thank enough for his endless patience), and, together, after gathering as much information as we could on the Czechoslovakian wolfdog, we built our own wolfdog-proof house. After a negative and rather traumatic experience with a female Czechoslovakian wolfdog, we welcomed into our home my first male Czechoslovakian wolfdog, Nyal, in February 2009.
My two tornadoes will tell the rest of the story.
Meanwhile, technology had advanced J and so I immediately went on the Internet to see what I could find. Unfortunately, I did not find much information: what little I did find was vague, describing the dog as semi-wild, difficult to handle, disobedient, stubborn, aggressive towards same-sex dogs etc.: basically, not a full-blown man-eater, but not far off. I set aside the idea of getting a wolfdog puppy: I was still studying at the time and therefore did not have the time to look after a small “man-eater”, but by then I had fallen under the spell of that magnificent breed. The truth is that, being a headstrong person myself, I have always been attracted to headstrong dogs. And so I continued to research the Czechoslovakian wolfdog: back then, there was little talk of dog exhibitions and there were very few specimens around, but I watched documentaries and read books and, when I stumbled upon the odd specimen, I would bombard the owners with so many questions that they would purposely avoid bumping into me a second time. Nowadays, thankfully, there are many more specimens around. I always advise this sort of research to anyone intending on approaching the breed for the first time.
In short, more than ten years went by. Although still a long way away from retiring, my sister—after meeting the Czechoslovakian wolfdog several times in the flesh, not only after our initial fleeting encounter—decided that she would never get one. My family and siblings still hold a deep love and respect for these magnificent dogs, but the only crazy person who has decided to embark on this incredible experience is me. I got engaged to my saintly fiancé and now husband Davide (whom I can never thank enough for his endless patience), and, together, after gathering as much information as we could on the Czechoslovakian wolfdog, we built our own wolfdog-proof house. After a negative and rather traumatic experience with a female Czechoslovakian wolfdog, we welcomed into our home my first male Czechoslovakian wolfdog, Nyal, in February 2009.
My two tornadoes will tell the rest of the story.
| Sono Martina, sono nata e cresciuta in Svizzera, per la precisione in Canton Ticino. Sono entrata nel mondo del cane lupo cecoslovacco nel 2008. Ma il mio primo incontro con questa razza, risale a molto tempo prima, quando ero più piccola. Purtroppo allora non trovai moltissime informazioni a riguardo, le poche cose che avevo scoperto erano tutt'altro che incoraggianti. La razza era descritta come: selvatica, aggressiva, difficilmente gestibile, testarda, litigiosa con i suoi cospecifici, poco incline all'obbedire al padrone. Accantonai quindi per il momento l'idea di prendere un cucciolo, studiavo ancora e mi sarebbe stati impossibile seguire un cane così impegnativo. Ma ormai la frittata era fatta e a mia insaputa ero scivolata nella spirale del fascino di questo cane. Così mi informai, lessi molto, cercai di vederne molti e di raccogliere più informazioni possibili riguardo alla tipologia di cane. Dopo tanti ripensamenti, decisi che era giunto il momento di provare a viverlo sulla mia pelle. Conobbi Cinzia che a quel tempo era detentrice dell'affisso Tana del Lupo e cominciò così una sincera e profonda amicizia che dura ancora oggi. Dopo un'esperienza negativa con una femmina, nel febbraio 2009 accolsi a casa il capostipite del mio branco: Akash-Nyal dell'affisso Tana del Lupo. Qualche mese dopo il mio branco si allargò ulteriormente e accolsi con gioia l'arrivo dell'Afrika nera: Best-Afrika sempre dall'affisso Tana del Lupo. Nel frattempo incominciai ad informarmi e avviai le pratiche per ottenere un affisso mio. In Svizzera se si vuole diventare allevatori bisogna seguire un determinato iter e sottostare a severi controlli del club di razza e della SKG/SCS (Società Cinologia Svizzera). Ma non avevo fretta, nel frattempo cercai di capire come mi sarebbe piaciuto allevare i miei cuccioli, su cosa intendevo concentrarmi maggiormente per distinguermi dalla massa dei tanti allevatori. Nel frattempo con Nyal affrontai i primi corsi OPAn obbligatori mentre con Afrika affrontai e superai i test cantonali per razze soggette a restrizioni, insieme ottenemmo con il massimo del punteggio il Brevetto per Proprietari di cani (BPC) riconosciuto a livello nazionale. Contemporaneamente cominciavo a solcare qualche ring di esposizioni di bellezza, e dopo qualche anno arrivano i primi risultati concludendo i primi campionati. Ottenni finalmente il mio affisso e con Afrika, mi apprestai a superare l’”Ankörung” una sorta di bonitazione svizzera per verificare se il cane è idoneo alla riproduzione. Nel frattempo frequentai il corso per diventare istruttrice cinofila. Partecipai a diversi Workshop per allevatori, sul cane lupo cecoslovacco tenuti da vari esperti del campo, incontrai e seguii due Workshop di Shaun Ellis, ma l’incontro più importante che ha dato una svolta importante nella mia ideologia cinofila è stato l’uomo lupo più vecchio del mondo Herrn Werner Freund. Feci visita a Werner ben tre volte e ne uscii cambiata con degli insegnamenti che ancora oggi porto con me. Oggi posso dire che ho ancora moltissimo da imparare, spero di conservare sempre la voglia e l’entusiasmo di imparare sempre, di non adagiarmi mai e di non dare mai nulla per scontato. Ogni giorno i miei cani mi mettono di fronte a nuove sfide che cerchiamo di affrontare insieme. Ho imparato ad osservarli e a conoscerli per poterli comprendere meglio al fine di viverli serenamente. Si fece sempre più strada in me la voglia di selezionare delle cucciolate con un carattere simile ad Afrika, coraggioso, molto aperto, socievole ed equilibrato. |
