Did you know that the Czechoslovakian Vlciak can also be used in rescue or Canis therapy, and that both of these activities can be combined with sport cynology? The following interview is about all this, but also about the suitable motivation for this breed! We have already talked with the sympathetic trainer Kveta Slaná about the nature and use of the CSV breed. In addition to her rich experience with the breed, she is also a successful trainer in several areas of dog sport and with her own she writes one exam after another. It would be a sin not to confess her again and not find out how it is done with the CSV....
Hello Kveta, for the second time! I'll get straight to the point, our topic for discussion today is your work achievements. With your, the great Ariana from the Zdychlavský vlk kennel, you have achieved a lot in the field of sport cynology (and not only there) and the list of your jointly passed exams is long and interesting. Tell our readers what you do together.
Our priority is rescue. Last year, we passed the highest level in area search according to the International Test Order (RH-FL B). We also participated in the international Ruin Search Competition (RH-T A), where Ariana and I won a beautiful 2nd place. In addition to exams, however, the handler must regularly undergo various trainings and once every two years he must attend the Attestation, which entitles him to real deployment in search operations. And so, we have been participating in real search operations for more than two years.
Ariana's first exam was dog therapist testing. I went there with my older, and with Ariana I was just going to an exhibition that was held nearby. A lower number of dogs took part in the testing than planned, so we went "in numbers". It was also the Ján Hlavatý Memorial and so after adding up the points, Ariana surprisingly took 3rd place. Surprisingly, because she was young, without special training, and among border guards and other dogs it was a success. Of course, I then prepared it gradually for the performance of real therapy, although it is not possible to prepare for some situations. Later, we also volunteered with Kika Poliaková, who, together with her mother Izma Fončorda, also successfully passed the testing of therapist dogs, as a volunteer in an orphanage for children with various disabilities. We also went to kindergarten or hospital. We are doing this more intensively now that we go to school four days a week to children with disabilities and developmental disabilities. It's interesting to keep track of progress while coming up with joint activities that could help your child while also entertaining dogs.
Further exams are more or less about achieving more goals. The ZM exam was part of the bet. When they laughed at me at the training school because of my CSV, I bet with them that within a year he would pass a versatile schooner. We didn't make it and I lost the bet. We passed the exam a little later so that I could prove it at least to myself. True, the Vlciak must mature to work. It ripens later than sheepdogs, but then it's worth it. The FPr 1-3 tracking exams were easy, so after seeing the invitation to the World Championship qualifying race, I applied. Well, for such a big race and such a demanding test, it was really little time to prepare, and although we did quite well on the first day, on the second day we didn't even move from the tread. That's when I ended up with the tracks. Elite sport already requires better preparation and is time-consuming. Miles of footprints almost daily, hours of maturation, in addition to so many hobbies, work and children, is a lot for me.
We passed the test of endurance of the dog just fine and we were preparing for the next stages, but every year it collides in the spring with the qualifying races in the defense multi-sport cynologists (BVK) and in the autumn with the Slovak BVK Championships, in which we regularly participate, but our best position so far has been in two. But we're not done yet:)
None of the exams took place at home practice, we always traveled to see them in a foreign environment.
Basic obedience should be mastered by every dog, the trail is in the blood of CSV, and preparation for a specific exam is just fine-tuning the details!
How is it possible to combine so many activities together and achieve success in all of them? How much time do you devote to your dog and what is the secret ingredient?
Basic obedience should be mastered by every dog, the tracking is in their blood, and preparing for a specific exam is just fine-tuning the details. However, it is possible that as it goes, a person displaces the bad things and remembers only the good. I devote an average of five minutes a day to training. My secret ingredient? Food for a reward. And in moderation. Since CSV is harder to motivate, I started feeding only for a reward and I see a huge change in her desire to exercise. Her reward now is kibble and meat is a high value reward that I will use as my treat when practicing new things.
Does this mean that you will feed the general part of the rations (or whole?) to the train? What do you recommend for other CSV owners?
If I'm not teaching a new exercise, he'll have his entire ration in a bowl and get "time off" when he's completed the exercise(s). It's also preparation for exams when you can't have rewards on the desktop, but what's in front of the desktop is not forbidden by anyone. When we're in therapy, he gets a bonus dose when kids take pictures or kibble paths.
I definitely recommend it to other owners of CSV, especially those who cannot get the attention of a dog, or the dog allows himself to them. When you carry the entire ration in the treat, the dog will begin to stay closer to you on walks, and when he receives a portion of food every time he runs over and makes contact without any commands, your close surroundings will be his favorite zone. When he receives an extra good reward after being called, which he never receives at any other time, the recall will be much more reliable.
Tell us which discipline fulfills both of you the most and what do you enjoy the most?
We probably enjoy finding objects and people the most, and maybe biting on our sleeves. Anything in which he can "steal" food from someone else.
Which exam was the most difficult to prepare for and which one was the hardest?
The most difficult is preparation, where you need people. When a person does not have others at his disposal, whether in defense or rescue, he cannot do it himself. The worst test was probably BH-VT. It was an embarrassment for both. Fortunately, we gave it with scuffed ears and did not have to repeat it again.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? I don't mean the highest exam passed, but the success that you value the most?
I fulfilled my first dream and most enjoyed the moment when Ariana and I stood on the podium over a German and Belgian shepherd. It was at the qualifying race in BVK in Košice. The second dream and goal I had with Ariana is coming true now. It was to bring several CSV owners to training. To see that they can be worked with. To make them understand. And what my goal wasn't, but I'm proud of, is that we can be part of the rescue corps and also our work with disabled children. We can help where they need it most.
Ariana will be seven years old this year. Do you have any other ambitious plans for it?
Naturally. This year we would like to try the IGP1 exam, lunch, maybe some more rescue and fight again at MSR BVK. It usually kicks me when I see an invitation to an event on FB, then we usually have a week to prepare and study the exam rules. This will avoid the stress of having been preparing for the exam for so long, and what if it does not work out. But I am most looking forward and I hope that it will work out, that little Arians will join us in the winter and one of them will strengthen our team.
Thank you very much for the interview.
Translated using Google
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