Slovensky Cuvac

The Slovensky Cuvac is boundlessly faithful and courageous and always ready to fight off any intruder, even if they are bears and wolves.

Daily Care

Grooming Tips

Beyond regular weekly grooming, the occasional bath will keep the Slovensky Cuvac clean and looking his best. Grooming can be a wonderful bonding experience for you and your dog. The strong, fast-growing nails should be trimmed regularly with a nail clipper or grinder to avoid overgrowth, splitting, and cracking. Ears should be checked regularly to avoid a buildup of wax and debris, which can result in infection.
Check the ears on a weekly basis for signs of infection, irritation, or wax build up. Cleanse regularly with a veterinarian-approved cleanser and cotton ball. Brush the teeth at least once per week to prevent tartar buildup and fight gum disease. Additionally, nails should be trimmed once per month if the dog does not wear the toenails down naturally.

Exercise Tips

As a livestock guarding breed, the Slovak Cuvac is a fairly high-energy breed. These dogs require a long daily walk or brisk jog to meet their minimum needs for exercise, but they also appreciate having free time to run in a fenced yard. These dogs require a long daily walk or brisk jog to meet their minimum needs for exercise, but they also appreciate having free time to run in a fenced yard. Adequate daily exercise and mental stimulation will help to prevent the development of problem behaviors.

Feeding Tips

As a large-breed dog breed, the Slovak Cuvac should be fed a high-quality commercial dog food diet formulated for dogs of its size. Because this breed is a high-energy hunting breed, however, an active or working breed formula may be more appropriate to meet his needs. For these dogs, you should also be sure to choose a large-breed puppy formula to keep your dog from growing too quickly.
If you get a Samoyed puppy from a breeder, they would give you a feeding schedule and it’s important to stick to the same routine, feeding the same puppy food to avoid any tummy upsets. You can change a puppy’s diet, but this needs to be done very gradually always making sure they don’t develop any digestive upsets and if they do, it’s best to put them back on their original diet and to discuss things with the vet before attempting to change it again.
Older dogs are not known to be fussy or finicky eaters, but this does not mean you can feed them a lower quality diet. It’s best to feed a mature dog twice a day, once in the morning and then again in the evening, making sure it’s good quality food that meets all their nutritional requirements. It’s also important that dogs be given the right amount of exercise so they burn off any excess calories or they might gain too much weight which can lead to all sorts of health issues. Obesity can shorten a dog’s life by several years so it’s important to keep an eye on their waistline from the word go.
Treatscan be an important aid in training, but giving too many can cause obesity. Learn about whichhuman foodsare safe for dogs, and which are not. Check with your vet if you have any concerns about your dog’s weight or diet.Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.

Health Tips

The Slovak Cuvac is generally a healthy and hardy breed that doesn’t have a high risk for serious inherited health problems. As a large-breed dog, however, they have a risk for musculoskeletal issues like hip dysplasia and patellar luxation – they also have a higher risk forgastric torsion.And working with aresponsible breeder, prospective owners can gain the education they need to learn about specific health concerns within the breed.

Trainability

The Slovak Cuvac is not a breed that is recommended for inexperienced dog owners, partially due to its size but also due to its independent nature. Livestock guarding breeds tend to be fairly independent so you will need to establish yourself as the alpha of the family and then maintain a firm and consistent hand in leadership throughout the dog’s life. It is also important that this breed receives plenty of socialization from an early age to ensure that they get along with other dogs – this breed is naturally good with children and fairly patient with rough handling.
Once basic obedience has been mastered, you can move on to advanced obedience or agility. He may not excel at these levels, but he will enjoy the activity and will soak up the extra time spent with someone he loves.

History

The origins of the Slovak Cuvac breed can be traced back as far as the 17thcentury. In the early years of the breed, the Cuvac was used as a livestock guardian in the mountains of the Soviet Union. As wolves began to slowly disappear from the countryside, however, herding practices changed and the Slovak Cuvac breed nearly went extinct. After World War II, a veterinarian set about to revive the breed and the first written standard was published in 1964.
As a good guard, watch, and companion dog, as well as a guide for the shepherds, the Tatra Chuvach has also proved his worth in the guarding of cattle and driving of poultry and other domestic animals to pasture. Holidaymakers visiting the mountain farmers to buy cheese and other products found pleasure in the thickly-coated puppies and so transferred the breed to the lowlands, where they were not seldom regarded as a luxury breed because of their unusual appearance.
The Stud Book of the Tatra Chuvach in Czechoslovakia was founded in the early 1900s by Professor Anton Hruza of the Brno Veterinary College. Since then, the club for Tatra Chuvach breeders, with its headquarters in Bratislava, has kept exact records and held exhibitions, assessments, competitions, and shows in all regions of the republic.