Czech Mountain Dog - Facts and Information - Český Horský Pes

Appearance
The Czech Mountain dog is strong and sturdy dog breed, but the body should be agile and athletic and not overly massive. The body is rectangular with slightly tucked up belly and deeper chest. The average height of this breed is between 56-70 cm, which is 22-28 inch and weight is between 26-40 kg, which is 57-88 lbs. Females are slightly smaller than males.
The breed has a very gentle expression in its oval shaped dark brown eyes, relatively large triangular ears that hangs down, strong jaws and teeth and very strong and muscular neck.
The Czech Mountain dog was used in cold and harsh Czech and Slovak mountains, such as Tatra mountains or Czech Giant Mountains, which is why they have the dense fluffy coat that protects them from all kinds of harsh weather.
The coat is approximately 10 cms long and it is usually spotted, where the base color is white and the spots are black or brown.
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Temperament
The Czech Mountain dog is a combination of tireless worker and loving companion dog. They were used for various utilizations, such as avalanache rescue dogs, sometimes also for sledding or for some dog sports such as carting or mushing. They can also serve as livestock guardians, but they should be trained for this purpose from their puppyhood.
They have excellent characteristics for being versatile mountain dogs, for example amazing endurance and strength, alertness, confidence, independence, good problem solving ability and intelligence. The breed is extremely friendly towards its own people, but pretty alert and watchful towards strangers, which is why they can make good property guards and watchdogs as well.
But of course, this is not only a worker and majority of these dogs are companion dogs today. This is pretty sensitive breed that creates extremely strong bond with its owner and family. They should never be agressive, which is why they can make good dog partners for kids as well, but of course, you should never leave any dog breed with a very young child unsupervised. They can also live with other dogs or pets in the family, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood.
The Czech Mountain dog is known for its gentle, friendly and lively nature. They also enjoy training, although they might be stubborn from time to time. It is better to keep the training sessions short and regular and to be very patient and kind, but also firm during the training.
When it comes to exercise, it is important to say, that this is definitely not a coach potatoe. These dogs are best suited for active families who love long walks or hikes, as these dogs will be always ready for any kind of outdoor adventure. They will love any kind of mushing sport and they will love long walks and hikes in any kind of weather and it does not matter if its snowing or raining outside. It is important to be ready for active breed, when considering the Czech Mountain dog.

History
The Czech Mountain Dog is still very young breed, developed only in 1970s Czechoslovakia. It was developed by crossing the Slovak Cuvac with Canadian sled dogs. The goal was to create all purpose mountain dog that will suits greatly into Czech and Slovak mountain terrain and climate, but that will be also amazing companion and indeed the breeding was succesful.
You already know that the breed found utilization in mushing and as mountain and avalanche rescue dogs, but they also went on couple of expeditions. For example, they were part of Tatra mountain expedition in 1982 and Soviet polar expedition in 1989.
The breed was recognized in Czechoslovakia already in 1984, but to this day it is not officially recognized by any major kennel club such as FCI or AKC.

Health and grooming
The Czech Mountain Dog sheds some deal of fur all year long, more heavily during spring and autumn. You can minimize the shedding by regular brushing, which will remove all the dirt, loose and dead hair from the coat and it will also redistribute natural oils all over it. Regular brushing will also prevent matting and tangling. No other grooming is needed, regular brushing is all you need to do. Just like with all dog breeds, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.
This is usually pretty healthy dog breed with average lifespan around 12 years, which is average for dogs of this size. They do not suffer much from any serious health issues, but they can be prone to the same health concerns as other large breeds, which are mainly hip dysplasia and bloating. Other minor health concerns include allergies, infections or some eye problems.