History of the Cesky Terrier

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, August 2013 issue.

History of the Cesky Terrier

The motivating concept behind creation of the Cesky Terrier was two-fold: development of a terrier that could hunt extremely well while also becoming a loving part of its human family. This 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 animal its own weight. When hunting in a pack, these terriers could bring down a deer or other equally large animal. 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. This ease of cleaning then allowed the Cesky to spend an evening snuggling with a loving family acquiescing to the terrier’s simple appreciation of a scratched stomach or rubbed ears. The execution of this creative concept began with the Cesky Terrier creator, Frantisek Horak, a Czechoslovakian working first as an accountant, then as a technician, at the Czechoslovak Academy of Science.

Horak’s personal love of hunting dogs focused on developing a breed with British Isles ancestry which was both a great hunter and a wonderful companion. With this concept in mind, he concentrated on the breeding stock of Scottish and Sealyham Terriers. This 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 naturally, as a devoted hunter. He purchased his first Scotty in 1932, after spending four years studying the breed’s characteristics 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 Bohemian wood. His involvement with Scotties 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 first Sealyham, a breed which was in many ways the opposite 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. The Scotty bitch DONKA Lovu zdar bred to the Sealy dog BUGANIER Urquelle produced three pups. Horak’s accounting background enabled him to understand the advantage 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 first dogs. He also understood research and the fine art of patience in conducting that research. In the first breeding, only one dog survived; its name was ADAM Lovu zdar. He spent two years observing the hunting habits of ADAM, but in 1951 the dog was shot dead, the victim of a careless hunter. He repeated his breeding endeavors, crossing the Scotty bitch (Scotch Rose) with the Sealyham dog BUGANIER Urquelle.

This match yielded six pups. From 1950 to 1963, when the Cesky Terrier was officially recognized as an independent breed by FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), Frantisek Horak worked tirelessly to bring to fruition the traits he had for so long dreamed. A full account of these activities can be read (in Czech and English) in toto je . . . Cesky Terrier by Hana Petrusova. By 1963, the Cesky Terrier (translated from Czech Terrier or Bohemian Terrier) found its way into Germany and the Scandinavian Countries as well as eastward to the now former Soviet Republics. From this start, the Cesky migrated to England, Canada and in the 1980’s to the United States. Today, Cesky Terriers are still considered a rare breed and number around 500 in the United States. The stewards of the Cesky Terrier from the 80s through 2002 were a series of clubs primarily located on the east coast. The interest and devotion of these clubs resulted in the establishment of the breed in America. In 2002, the American Cesky Terrier Fanciers Association (ACTFA) was formed and has remained custodian of the Cesky Terrier breed, taking their charges through approval for competition in AKC Earthdog tests and for competition in AKC events such as Obedience, Tracking and Agility. Effective July 1, 2008, the ACTFA was chosen to serve as the AKC Parent Club, and the Cesky was eligible to compete in the AKC Miscellaneous Class. Movement into the Terrier Group occurred on July 1, 2011.

The Cesky Terrier has appeared at Westminster and, in early 2013, the Cesky received its first Group win in conformation. The Cesky can also be seen routinely in luring, agility and other performance events—and handle themselves with the demur of a proven winner. While the Cesky Terrier is portrayed as an aggressive accompaniment to the hunt, Horak’s dream of a family dog is secured. As a matter of fact, one could not find a more family-friendly dog. Today, living with a Cesky Terrier is exactly what Frantisek Horak envisioned.