CESKY TERRIERS

Cesky Terriers were invented in Czechoslovakia by a man named Frantisik Horak.  They are also called Bohemian Terriers, but that is because they come from the area of Bohemia, and not because they live a Bohemian lifestyle.  Cesky is what the Czech people call Bohemia, in case you were wondering, like I was.  And the way you pronounce cesky is "CHESS kee."  You have to pretend there is an "h" after the "c," even though there isn't one.  Anyway, the Cesky Terrier is one of the 3 newest breeds that the AKC just recognized in June.

So here's how the breed got started.  Mr. Horak, who lived in Czechoslovakia, wanted a dog that could hunt in packs in the forests of Bohemia, and that could also get into skinny places such as dens and burrows.  So he crossed the Sealyham Terrier with the Scottish Terrier.  And by 1949, he had a terrier that could be used to hunt foxes, rats, rabbits, ducks, pheasants, and even wild boar.

The Cesky Terrier has short legs, drop ears, and a natural tail.  It is a tough, muscular dog with a long, silky coat.  The coat colors are usually some shade of gray, all the way from charcoal to platinum.  Puppies are born with black, black-and-tan, or brown coats.  Then by the time they are 2 or 3, they have their lighter adult coat color.

The height of a Cesky is between 10 and 13 inches at the withers, and the ideal weight is between 16 and 22 pounds.  Ceskys are groomed so that they have a bushy beard, mustache, and eyebrows.  Their hair is cut with clippers and not by stripping the old coat out by hand, which is how a lot of terriers are groomed if they are being shown.  A pet Cesky has to be clippered about 4 times a year, and a show dog has to be done more often.  The hair is cut short on the top, with longer hair on the stomach and legs.

Cesky Terriers make good family dogs because they like children.  They are calmer than some other kinds of terriers, but they are still playful and fun.  Of course, since they are terriers, they like to chase things and they also love to dig.  Ceskys are smart and easy to train, and they also make good watch dogs.  They can be a little timid around strangers, so they need to have good socialization when they are puppies.

The only health problem that Ceskys have is that they might get something called Scottie Cramp Syndrome.  This makes them walk in a funny way, but it is not the kind of disease that you can die from.

A Cesky groomed for the show ring

At the time when the breed was being developed and was getting to be more popular, the Communists were in charge of Czechoslovakia.  So when Mr. Horak kept getting lots of mail about Ceskys, the secret police got worried and visited him to see what he was up to.  In 1963, the breed was recognized by the international dog show group, the FCI.  By the 1980s, breeders started thinking that their Ceskys didn't look like the original dogs that Mr. Horak bred, so they crossed them again with Sealyham Terriers.  In 1987 the first Ceskys were brought to the U.S.  Mr. Horak died in 1997, by his new breed was pretty well established by then.  It is now recognized by all the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world.

So that is the story of how we got Cesky Terriers.  You will probably start to see more of them around, now that the AKC has recognized them.  For some reason, people seem to like those short-legged terrier types with beards that drag in their food and water dishes.  But if you ask me, basenjis are much, much cuter!