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Cesky Terrier

The breeds · terrier

AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 246

Cesky Terrier.

AKC standard: 'developed to be a well-muscled, short legged and well-pigmented hunting terrier that could be worked in packs'; 'a working terrier, which must have agility, freedom of movement and endurance to work'; temperament balanced and non-aggressive, may be reserved toward strangers. UKC: man-made breed developed by geneticist Dr. Frantisek Horak from Scottish and Sealyham Terriers beginning in 1949, 'seeking a breed for both going to ground and for hunting in the open field', developed to hunt fox and badger; bred to hunt both singly and in packs. FCI 246 utilization: 'formerly a Terrier breed for hunting foxes and badgers, today more a house- and companion dog'; Group 3 Section 2, without working trial. Shooting UK (hunting press): Horak intended it to hunt badgers and foxes below ground and to track deer and drive wild boar above ground; still worked by European hunters. RKC: gentle with people but still capable of seeing off vermin..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
13–24LBWeight, all linesbreed 13 to 24 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size small).. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 9.8 to 13 in · bitches 9.8 to 13 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Span of AKC, UKC and FCI. The AKC and FCI breed-wide ranges are counted in both sex rows. Center blank: UKC (10.5) and FCI (27 cm = 10.6 in) differ slightly.

Weight

13 to 24 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Span of AKC, UKC, FCI and the AKC page. Center blank: the standards print different ranges. Not split by sex in any source.

Coat

AKC: long, fine, slightly textured, furnishings slightly wavy with a silky gloss; shades of gray from charcoal to platinum; puppies born black. UKC: blue gray or light coffee brown, clipped and scissored never stripped. FCI 246: grey-blue or light-coffee-brown, groomed by clipping, skin firm and pigmented. AKC page: grooming frequency 2 of 5, shedding 2 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: medium coat, sheds, groom more than once a week.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC: soft, long, fine coat with slightly wavy furnishings, clipped on the body (1/2 to 1 in saddle, short on thighs and underside). UKC: clipped and scissored, never stripped. FCI 246: long hair clipped to 1 to 1.5 cm on neck, shoulders and back, longer furnishings on legs and belly.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (clipped body, long furnishings; the standards do not describe a double coat). 3 is a judgment call. No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size small).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' mapped to 60 minutes.

Exercise need

AKC page energy level 3 of 5 and mental stimulation needs 3 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day, suits a small house, small to medium garden. AKC standard temperament: 'not as excitable as other terrier breeds but always ready to give chase to something of interest'. UKC: calmer than the other terriers.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to the library scale.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: grooming more than once a week. AKC standard: coat is clipped for presentation, not stripped. UKC: clipped and scissored, never stripped. Wikipedia: the longer hair should be brushed daily.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'more than once a week' mapped to 3. Clipping upkeep (every few weeks) and Wikipedia's daily brushing for the furnishings would argue for 4; the RKC band is the library rule and wins.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: 'developed to be a well-muscled, short legged and well-pigmented hunting terrier that could be worked in packs'; 'a working terrier, which must have agility, freedom of movement and endurance to work'; temperament balanced and non-aggressive, may be reserved toward strangers. UKC: man-made breed developed by geneticist Dr. Frantisek Horak from Scottish and Sealyham Terriers beginning in 1949, 'seeking a breed for both going to ground and for hunting in the open field', developed to hunt fox and badger; bred to hunt both singly and in packs. FCI 246 utilization: 'formerly a Terrier breed for hunting foxes and badgers, today more a house- and companion dog'; Group 3 Section 2, without working trial. Shooting UK (hunting press): Horak intended it to hunt badgers and foxes below ground and to track deer and drive wild boar above ground; still worked by European hunters. RKC: gentle with people but still capable of seeing off vermin.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Registry and hunting-press statements agree on fox and badger work; FCI says it is today more a companion.

Primary game

UKC and FCI 246: fox and badger. Shooting UK (hunting press): badgers and foxes below ground; deer (blood-tracking wounded deer) and wild boar above ground; a Slovakian hunter quoted there has dug over his Cesky many times for foxes and used it to track roe. Wikipedia (editorial): created to hunt in the forests of Bohemia.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Also used on

Shooting UK (hunting press): Slovakian hunters use Ceskys in mixed terrier packs to drive foxes, track wounded deer and pick up pheasants and ducks from water; Czech owners breed for a dog that can track a wounded deer over a considerable distance; often worked alongside Teckels (Dachshunds) and track in a similar way.

EditorialShooting UK

Single hunting-press source (Shooting UK, a UK stalking writer reporting Czech and Slovak practice, including a named Slovak hunter).

Search pattern

AKC standard: 'when working they can be silent but right on target and also able to work underground in burrows and scent track game'. UKC: bred to hunt both singly and in packs. Shooting UK (hunting press): the Czech Hunting Club tests dogs on finding quarry both above ground and below, and blood tracking of wounded deer is where the breed 'really comes into its own'; Ceskys track much like Dachshunds.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Field trial standard

Shooting UK (hunting press): the Czech Hunting Club holds working tests in which dogs find quarry above and below ground and are marked on gameness in the face of quarry to ground; its working tests for the Dachshund are the same as those for the Cesky. AKC: Cesky Terrier is on the AKC Earthdog eligibility list (Recognized Breeds), 6 months or older. FCI 246: 'without working trial'. Wikipedia: eligible for AKC Earthdog through the Foundation Stock Service from Jan 1 2004.

Breed clubShooting UK

Czech Hunting Club test rules were not read; the account is the Shooting UK writer's.

Water work

Shooting UK (hunting press): Slovakian hunters use Ceskys to pick up pheasants and ducks from water. No registry source read states water work.

EditorialShooting UK

Single editorial statement.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (editorial): occasionally 'Scotty cramp', a minor movement disorder. Breeding stock should be checked for hip dysplasia, patella luxation, cardiac abnormalities, primary lens luxation and other eye disorders such as cataracts, thyroid issues, degenerative myelopathy and type 3 von Willebrand disease, all documented in the breed.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial list, no frequencies. FCI 246 also lists Scottie cramp ('irregular, jerky, spasmodic movements') as a disqualifying fault.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 4; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 6 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Czech Terrier, Bohemian Terrier

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