Hello everyone,

I am curious about Czech GSD'S...I  love the way they look but don't know much about them. Are they known for certain Abilities/ Traits/Temperment? If so, What are they? Any info/feedback on Czech GSD's would be appreciated. Thanks...

So far from my girl I have observed the following.

The good (IMHO!)

Confident, independent, quick to learn things, good solid nerves, level headed in all circumstances, fun dog to work on the field.

The negative (And I don't necessarily see these as negatives, just quirks)

Bores easily which can lead to bad habits in training if she's not regularly challenged in all three phases, holds a grudge (though I've been told this is more a bitch trait than perhaps a Czech trait), aloof (she's not keen on being a house dog, she's happier outside where she can patrol her yard and watch the world than being inside on the couch or with us).

What I like about check dogs is the way they tend to bond to your family. They are very pack oriented dogs. many of them have solid on and off switch, most of them are clear headed with good level of civil agression. What I don't like about them somtimes especialy bitches heads are on a small size :) lol pin heads (at least that's what I call them). That's why I prefer to own 50 DDR and 50 Check blend, DDR bring nice big bones and huge heads :) In my opinion is hard to go with wrong check dogs. :) Ask Agar he has nice male from a top check producer, he will be able to tell you better of qualiteis of check lines. :) Most people that I know love check females and they tend to think of them highly as perfect all around dog especialy if the dog will live with a famiy (young kids etc.)

I own a Czech female. She is a great dog. She has great pack drive and is very willing to please. She is a good tracking dog and does not give up easily. She is about 70/30 defense/prey...which is typical from what I have heard about the true Czech dogs.  I have seen some of the Czech dogs that dont have great heads on them. Some of the Czech and DDR breeder are doing the crosses to get the more blocky look of the DDR and keep the drives and confidense of the Czech dogs.  My female is a nice working dog. She loves the obedience and is a good tracker. In her protection she is quick to challenge the helper....but has nice grips. The one thing I have noticed is that most of the Czech dogs have nice crushing grips.  I also like the nice dark pigment that the Czech dogs have. I am partial to the black sables and blacks.

Me too,  I love the big heads and the structure of a Czech dog.  They do seem to mature slower but the drives are what caught my eye. We based our kennel off of Czech lines.  In my eyes a German line just doesn't compare to the Czech lines

My Czech female, Xena, matured alot faster than my DDR female did.  I agree with ghostly though. I love the looks and drives of the Czech dogs. You cant beat their temperament either.  

czech dogs are to small and have pin heads .they are what i call the runt of the breed. good for agility and bite work.yuk you definitly need to add ddr in to get a complete package. one thumb down.

what about their  aggressiveness are they for novice owners ?

I have seen some very nice Czech dogs...not all of them have that pin head or Malinois head look to them.  Here are some head shot of some of the Czech dogs that I like..

I do agree though that some of them do not have the nice heads that they use to....I have noticed that the Blatenskeho Zamku and Pohranicni Straze lines do seem to produce that nice head. I believe that is the main reason that some breeder are crossing the Czech with DDR..to get that blocky head back.

I do like the working drives of the Czech dogs though. They can be over the top in their drives.

As for being a novice and owning a Czech dog. I would say as long as you have a trainer that is knowledgeable with this "type" of dog and you are willing to give them the proper training and exercise then it would be fine.

the straze lines do have some nice heads also some not so nice the above dogs have very nice heads.i bet those dogs also have nice temperments. but those little pin head ones are not the dog for your average owner.i guess it's about the breeder.

Czech dogs I would say are more suitable for beginers than some ddr :) they bond very good with his handler so you wil get very good bond that is needed for most of the work :)

I would not say Czech dogs have pin heads, some do but West German workingline heads are by worse IMO. They look two dimensional from the front with no stops. Their are/were plenty of Czech dogs out there with great heads.

Males
Congo Vikar = Great Head

Norbo Ben Ju = Great Head

Pluto z Pohranicni straze = Great Head

Chuligan z Pohranicni straze = Great Head

Females
Amalka z PS

Tina Jipo-Me

Exa z Esagilu

That is just to name a few off the top of my head I could go on and on.

They don't all have pin heads. Mambo z Pohranicni Straze, the sire of the future litter I'm getting a puppy out of.

snajper69- Thank you for the compliments on Agar.  He's defiantely been a dog we've been very proud of and beyond happy with.

blair built gsd- I was probably the most greenest novice or novices when I acquired my czech dog Agar and he and I have done quite well together.  Quite honestly he taught me more than I was able to teach him in the beginning but the key is to have someone experienced help with the training and mentoring.  If you are determined then all things are possible.  Finding the right dog for a novice is key regardless of the lines and the determination to learn how to understand the dog.  It is true the incredible bond you'll establish the more you work with your dog.  In time you both will know what the other is thinking and feeling just in each others body language and expression.

The only thing I don't like about them and I don't know if it's necessarily the czech lines, but the young dogs take longer to mature which can be frustrating if you are not a patient person like myself. lol  I have 1 young dog almost 2 that still has maturing to do but overall is a fantastic dog in all aspects.  Nice civil drives, has that on off switch, strong bite, but he's a knucklehead sometimes because he's still young. lol  He doesn't have the same "look" as my Agar who is his father but I've been "conditioned" early on that the ability of the dog is more important to consider than if he has a big head.  The other male pup I kept out of my first litter has the big bone structure like his dad, big head but it's a bit soon to brag about him too much since he is only 6 months old.  They are super smart and learn fast but that's just a good GSD trait in general I think.

It's all in what you like.  Agar is out of the pohranicni straze lines as is my bitch.  I've been lucky and pleased with these dogs so I am partial to the lines but there are some others that I wouldn't mind having now.  Just not enough room or time for more dogs. lol

This is my girl and I wouldn't say she has a pinhead.  In fact, I don't really like the narrow muzzles on most bitches I know but I love my girl's head and broad muzzle.

Agar do you have pictures of the pups would love to see them.

Very good point, they mature slow, but they are awesome dogs, males tend to be knuckle heads for bit longer than females. :) My female, she is 50/50 ddr/check, is stubborn like a donkey :) (I love that in a dog, I think is the DDR part that makes them so stubborn). What I like the most about males check pups, they have this funny personality they always get in trouble and act like it wasn't them lol :) I don't know. Did any one have similar experience? What I like about females they tend to act very mature at early age but they still like to get in trouble. At first when I had female I though she was a nut case, because for most of the day she acted like 3 year old dog, and than upsss I am a puppy again lol. I told my breeder that I think the dog is scitzo :) lol. When came to work she was serious like no other dog I ever seen, even the trainer was blown away, he said is rare to see that seriousness in a pup when doing foundation work. But other than that I am really sold on a check dogs. I might even go 100% next time around.

Every dog has something to offer, you need to know what you look in a dog first.

We meant some have small head not all and when comparing to DDR ;) Pin head was a joke :) I call my dog pin head even though she has quite nice head on her ;) but when a puppy it looked like a pin :) BTW Galant has a nice head and some other dogs in your dog Pedigree that is why you seing nice size head on yours :)

GSDguy08,  My interest is really in showlines but Mambo is a very nice dog indeed.  I hope you'll post some piccys when the little darlings arrive?

Thank you Snaiper! :)

 I've always been pleased with her head even when she was a puppy.  I just meant that I have seen some showline bitch faces with what I would call a pin muzzle and I don't like that look on a dog.  I do like a little more breadth across the muzzle and I've been very pleased with what Galant has seemed to bring to the Czech lines.

>  High drive Czech dogs like high drive Mals are not for the faint of heart or in a lot of instances for first time handlers either. I noticed this several years ago when a lot of agencies began importing dogs from overseas. I had a lot of handlers who could barely control them and were just outright afraid of them, they wasted no time climbing the lead to assert their authority anytime they felt a need to. However their drive to please was equally as great, especially when hunting a quarry.

>  One thing for certain however, once they learned to hunt a man, they were relentless in their task and really enjoyed the fight at the end if necessary!!