HISTORY OF THE CESKY TERRIER
By Robert Comer
T
he motivating concept behind creation of the Cesky Terrier was two-fold: development of a terrier that could hunt extremely well
breed with British Isles ancestry which was both a great hunter and a wonder- ful companion. With this concept in mind, he concentrated on the breeding stock of Scottish and Sealyham Terriers. Th is brilliant, thoughtful, deliberate and patient man did his homework and his research. His evolving theory included numerous dimensions of ear, head, tail, and hindquarter shape. Horak began his quest, quite natu- rally, as a devoted hunter. He purchased his fi rst Scotty in 1932, after spending four years studying the breed’s charac- teristics and hunting habits. In 1934, he was determined to breed his charges for stalking foxes, badgers, red deer, hare and other fauna of his beloved Bohe- mian wood. His involvement with Scot- ties established Horak as a well-respected Scottish Terrier breeder, but he began harboring the dream of developing a terrier that would also easily hunt in packs — an occurrence that seldom if ever happened with the Scotties he bred. In 1940, he purchased his fi rst Sealyham, a breed which was in many ways the oppo- site of the Scotty. He thought of them as better to command. Four years after the end of World War II and nine years after his ownership-study of the breeds,
Horak began his grand experiment: he bred a Scotty and a Sealyham. Th e Scotty bitch DONKA Lovu zdar bred to the Sealy dog BUGANIER Urquelle produced three pups. Horak’s accounting background enabled him to understand the advan- tage of meticulous recording. In his quest for a new terrier, he recorded every breeding nuance. In fact, his records are so detailed that it is possible for today’s Cesky breeders to follow their dog’s pedigree back to the fi rst dogs. He also understood research and the fi ne art of patience in conducting that research. In the fi rst breeding, only one dog survived; its name was ADAM Lovu zdar. He spent two years observ- ing the hunting habits of ADAM, but in 1951 the dog was shot dead, the vic- tim of a careless hunter. He repeated his breeding endeavors, crossing the Scotty bitch (Scotch Rose) with the Sealyham dog BUGANIER Urquelle. Th is match yielded six pups. From 1950 to 1963, when the Cesky Terrier was o ffi cially recognized as an independent breed by FCI ( Fédération Cynologique Internatio- nale ), Frantisek Horak worked tirelessly to bring to fruition the traits he had for so long dreamed. A full account of these
while also becoming a loving part of its human family. Th is short legged, mobile, well-muscled and well-pigmented terrier was developed to hunt alone or as part of a pack. When pursuing prey alone, it could adequately handle a ground ani- mal its own weight. When hunting in a pack, these terriers could bring down a deer or other equally large animal. Th is hunting-concept success also revealed a terrier that — at the end of a day of root- ing through woods, bogs and thickets — could be cleaned with minimal e ff ort. Th is ease of cleaning then allowed the Cesky to spend an evening snug- gling with a loving family acquiescing to the terrier’s simple appreciation of a scratched stomach or rubbed ears. Th e execution of this creative concept began with the Cesky Terrier creator, Frantisek Horak, a Czechoslovakian working fi rst as an accountant, then as a technician, at the Czechoslovak Acad- emy of Science. Horak’s personal love of hunting dogs focused on developing a
“This hunting-concept success also revealed a terrier that— AT THE END OF A DAY OF ROOTING THROUGH WOODS, BOGS AND THICKETS— COULD BE CLEANED WITH MINIMAL EFFORT.
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