Chodsky Pes
75
A Czech Puppy in America
The is the first in a series of articles about Una, a Chodsky Pes puppy brought from the Czech Republic to live in the US.
Both in terms of physical growth as well as personality development, this series will follow Una through her puppy years, utilizing photographs as well as videos.
Lets begin at the beginning.
The Breed: Chodsky Pes, (Chodenhund) aka Bohemian Shepherd is a breed rarely found outside of the Czech Republic. There are currently no breeders listed in the US, nor is the breed recognized by the AKC. Lets get all 'term paperish' on the topic and (while hopefully remaining faithful to the doctrine of fair use), cite some basic information about this attractive breed of dog.
Information on the breed courtesy of our friends at Wikipedia:
"Chodsky pes is a medium-sized breed. They are 19 to 22 inches in height and weigh about 35-55 lbs. The coat is long and thick with a dense undercoat, colour is black and tan. The ears are erect, small, high-set and pointed".( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Shepherd )
Ok, you have the dogiological work-up, the stats and the info on this breed. Is that why you are still reading? Nah, I didn't think so, either. The reason for the Hub is the "why" not the "what".
To understand the reason for our choice of this particular breed of dog, some family/dog background is in order.
As a family, we have always had a dog, a German Shepherd, to be precise. Our first GSD was named Ola, and her photo graces the 'covers' of a number of the Hubs I have written. A perfect dog, Ola embodied what I would cite as the qualities that make GSDs such an excellent breed, very intelligent, good natured, protective and loyal.
By way of illustration: when Ola became sick the week before she died, I had to carry her to the car to take her on number of trips to the Vet (Tufts Grafton MA). On one such occasion I bent over to pick her up and everything went wrong. I was bent over at an angle that did not allow me to adjust how I was holding Ola and Ola (unbeknownst to me) was in a posture that made it painful to be lifted. As I proceeded to try and lift her, not knowing that I was causing her pain, Ola got my hand in her mouth and 'bit me' 3 times. The three 'bites' were in increasing amounts of pressure, the canine equivalent of "ow". "OW"...."OUCH!". The force never came close to actually hurting me, but what struck me was my dog's clearly deliberate effort to communicate. There was no doubt that each 'bite' was carefully considered.
That is the backstory on how we came to choose a Chodsky Pes.
( There is a second GSD in the family history, Bella who died in the Fall of 2010. ) As my wife, Phyllis and I began the process of deciding to find our next dog began, I took the position that German Shepherd dogs were the only breed with the kind of personality that made the effort worthwhile. My wife, Phyllis had other ideas. She had just gone through a year of lifting Bella for trips to the vet and being a more practical person suggested 'a smaller dog'. Her reasoning was simply that we were not getting younger and the idea of lifting an 85lb dog was not something she was looking forward to, her concern was more that she would not be able to lift the dog when necessary, rather than not wanting to lift a large dog. Into the car, out of the car etc.
So the search began for a breed of dog with the intelligence and protectiveness and sociability of a German Shepherd, but one that would weigh less than 60lbs fully grown. Fortunately we have the internet and eventually I came across the Chodsky Pes (Chodenhund).
The 'look' in the eyes of this (breed of) dog was the thing that told me that I had found our next canine family member. It was clearly a dog that knew about humans and, by and large, thought well of our species.
Slight problem. No breeders in the US. Apparently no breeders outside of the Czech Republic. No matter, this is the 21st Century. We have an internet and we have translation apps and we have youtube. Damn! is this the future or what?
So we welcomed our dog and newest family member to the house on 02/15/2011.
This has been the first time that a part of the process of helping a puppy get used to a new home included dealing with jet lag! A 6 or 7 hour difference in time zones showed during the first week Una has been in her new home. Not unlike a human.
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She is quite a good looking dog/puppy. Very, very alert. Understand I have only these pictures upon which to go on but could you have a scottian dog on your hands?:)
Curious to know.
She's an absolutely gorgeous girl. I have to agree with mjm. The first thing i noticed besides her beautiful face of course were those paws! will she keep all of that fur around her ears and face? very distinguishing. you must be so excited:)
I am looking for a bohemian shepherd for the same reasons . I love german shepherds but my wife dont want a dog of that size. I live in Michigan and would luv a to locate a pup. Where did find her and how much?
1000 Euros (did not include transportation).
The breeder is Jana Kunicka and she is located in the Czech Republic.
Jet-a-Pet are the people to go to for transport.
http://www.jetapet-international.com/
Practice using google translator as Jana does not speak English. (She is a very nice person and clearly cares about her dogs.)
Here is a youtube link for Una's 1st trip to the beach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTGK5UEPOVA
Email if you have any other questions, be happy to help and say 'Ahoj' to Jana from us.
Congratulations to you! Una is a very lucky dog and so are you. I am looking forward to reading more about her. Will you or your wife give her the birthday present?
My wife has been the gift buyer, has enrolled her in a puppy daycare ( 1 day a week to play with other dogs during the day)...I get to come home (during the other days for lunch) so Una is getting a good amount of variety in her days.
Will do the second of the series, (tentative title: (First) Day at the Beach).
Good hub and thanks for sharing.
Yeah...this one was fun, 'cause a lot of photos! lol but the topic is fun and if puppies are not the most photogenic lifeforms, I do not know what is.
What a gorgeous dog! So glad I stopped by to see as I have never before heard of this breed.
Very beautiful the Chodsky Pes. I did not know this breed of dog. He's sweet face and seems to be really attached to their owners. Beautiful. Thanks for the hub.
JAS: thank you...they are a most attractive dog and very intelligent, which, coming from a "German Shepherds are the best of all dogs" person, that is a huge compliment.
These dogs are still limited to the Czech Republic, in terms of breeders but through the wonders of the internet...
Barth...yeah...like Ola and Bella Una will be the canine member of our pack-of-three
Thanks for stopping by...will try to continue with the updates as Una grows up...
We from Holland wish you all the best with your choice for a Chodsky pes (CP) We own a female of 3 years old and a male of 20 months old. Shanti the female has no pedigree. Radek the male is with pedigree and comes from a very good bloodline. His halfsister is national youthchampion of Czech Rep. for two years in a row. The dogs a very sharp of intelligence and lovely familie dogs. They love children. We hope that Radek is going to be the first outside the Czech Rep. breeding CP after his exam in Czech in mai 2011. All the best Willem and Margreet, Bruchterveld Holland.
Thank you for the Comment.
Una has been with us only about a month, but is proving to be both quite intelligent and very social, (especially once she recovered from her jet lag, lol)!
I wish you the best of fortune breeding these dogs, I believe that they will prove to be a breed that will be very much in demand, once people learn about them.
Its funny when people ask about Una, we tell them, 'she is a chodsky pes' but that usually entails a very long story, so if time is short, we say, 'she is a Bohemian Shepherd' and people seem to think they know the breed. But everyone remarks on how friendly she is!
I am sure you will have many requests for puppies. If you ever need a transport service, I recommend the Jet-a-Pet people (Lisa Strode) they are very knowledgeable and very willing to help with all the details of flying a puppy halfway around the world.
Hello.
Congratulations on a wise choice!
(Coming from someone who retrieved his
Chodsky from the CR just over a year ago...)
I hope I'm not offending anyone if I'm recommending my own site. When I was in the process of getting my Kalista, I really missed a site with information in english. I searched and searched and found little tidbits on various forums and guestbooks like this. In case someone is reading this, searching for (non-Czech) information, I hope my site can be of value. I'm quite certain it is the largest site (though very simply made) in a non-Czech language (Swedish and english) dedicated to the breed. Anyone wanting advise or have any questions about getting a Chodsky can e-mail me and I'll do what I can.
Again, many congratulations on a wonderful dog!
No, Mats I am not offended. I am happy to be in the company of people who are able to accomplish what they want without having to have it done for them!
Like Willem Wannyn in the Comment above, I feel good about being in the company of dog-lovers who do not let a little matter of language and cultural barriers to get between us and these dogs.
While I will never stop loving the German Shepherd (as a breed), so much has been done to them as a breed, especially by the AKC with their awful vision of a dog that is meant to look good even at the cost of having a natural life.
But Chodsky Pes! I am beginning to believe what I am reading how perhaps they are the forerunner of the German Shepherd.
In any event, I am not a breeder of dogs but I will be happy to allow you and Willem to present any information in my Hubs on the subject that may be helpful to other people looking for these dogs.
I believe there are no breeders this side of the Atlantic.
I am totally sure that there is a huge demand for such dogs.
As I did with Willem, I will recommend the Transport Company that I used, (if you do not have one already), Lisa Strode at Jet-a-Pet is very, very good at what she does.
Thanks for the Comment.
I think I will do another Hub on this topic (of course, lol).
Do you mind if I copy your site link into the Hub? I will reference both you and Willem.
(Hey Willem! If you have any additional contact information on what you are doing with Chodsky Pes, send it to me and I will be happy to put it in the next Post.)
Thanks again Mats
hi Clark
nice to see another CP imported to the US, one went from Germany to there last year.
I imported 2 to the UK in 2009, good luck with Una
Pam
Thanks Pam, can't imagine that they will not become totally in-demand, but then I am a bit biased! lol
Una has one of the sweetest faces I have ever seen... and I thoroughly enjoyed this... will look forward to checking out your updates.
Voted UP & BEAUTIFUL... thanks!
I think Una will become a very beautiful example of this wonderful CP breed.
Like Pam we also get one from the CR in 2009.
For about 2 years I was frequently in the CR for the startup of a new factory so i've seen this breed a few times.
So when we made a family decision to get a dog, for me the breed was an easy choise!
And we are still very happy with our Ayka, she even has her own website : www.chodsky-pes.be
Good luck with lovely Una!
Thank you. I love your site, what an excellent idea your website is, this internet is so cool.
I like the idea (that) you went to the CR to get Ayka in person; would have liked to have done that ourselves, but logistically was not happening.
(Una has almost as many frequent flyer miles as I do! lol)
Will follow your website, if you ever decide to do a "International Friends (of Ayka)" let me know be glad to send photos.
Good to hear from you.
I had no idea this is what they were called. Great hub, voted UP :)
tt Turning out to be a most impressive combination of qualities (in a dog). The intelligence of the GSD, perhaps a little less of the 'forcefulness' of the larger breed, but is clearly a self-confident, self-possessed dog.
OMG Una is gorgeous! and if you told me she was from the Czech and was a Chodsky Pes ( Chodenhund ) I would have you trapped for hours. That is the Clark in me well no.. wait yes...
...yes lol (as a people we do like to know stuff)
The communicating through the google translator app was fun too!
Thanks for sharing this one also and again I am glad that I came accross you on here.
Here's to many more hubs to share.
Take care.
Eiddwen.
Thanks for sharing this one also and again I am glad that I came accross you on here.
Here's to many more hubs to share.
Take care.
Eiddwen.
Una is a beautiful dog and thanks for sharing your story. Nice to 'meet' you. Voted up, such a nice hub.
Chodsky pes (Bohemian shepherd) is an excellent breed for all active people.
Look at our pages, photos and videos.
www.regenia-bohemia.com
mjm22030 14 months ago
I met Una last Saturday - she is such a cutie but size wise i'm not sure - she's got some paws on her:) It will be interesting to watch her development, having known Ola and Bella. But she's got good parents!!!!