About us – our story
My first encounter with a Saarloos was actually contact-free. I saw an episode of Chcete mě (a Czech TV show about dogs looking for homes) featuring the Saarloos wolfdog. A bit of googling followed, and I also came across the Czechoslovakian wolfdog. I went to several shows, contacted breeders and picked out a breeding female. Sadly, the female never came into season, so those plans went out of the window. At the time it was just me and my French bulldog Ralph, and in February 2018, as every year, we went together to the DUO CACIB show at the Brno Exhibition Centre.
I was peeking into the Czechoslovakian wolfdog ring to see what was going on and who I might recognise. But right next to it was the Saarloos ring where, compared to the Czechoslovakians, there were only a handful of dogs. I sat down and watched their owners show them. Ralph took a liking to a puppy female lying just next to us. I got chatting with her owner, who told me that her girl – Aklitnel – had littermates still available and the best parents under the sun. I knew that already. I'd been following them grow up online, but from the start they'd all been spoken for.
Towards the end of winter, two girls and a boy called Apollon became available. He stole my heart and he was up for grabs. So I contacted the breeder. And, as tends to happen with puppies and Saarlooses: you want a grey dog and you drive home with a red female. Arista was terribly scared of me. It wasn't an easy start at all. She was already older, and we really missed out on those early days together.
With the help of her seasoned bulldog sidekick, within a few months we managed to turn her into a happy puppy who had no problem coping in town, out of town and among other dogs. The only problem was strangers. It still is to this day. If Arista decides she doesn't want to go to someone, she simply won't. She's reserved and, quite simply, exactly how I think a Saarloos should be.
After the sudden death of our little piggy, when I wanted a brown female, I brought home a grey dog. Lex – Daario – Dutohlav – Rosenwolf. Lex is a little calf you can never cuddle enough who loves people. His people. He's not keen on strangers – like a proper little Saarloos, he's reserved too and doesn't rush up to people he doesn't know.