Does anybody know anything or seen/worked a Timber Shepard?

My understanding they were a breeding program that crossed the Timber Wolf with some good working German Shepards and have now been bred along these lines for many years. I believe they are excellent working dogs that have a very long life span with no hip displasia. There are meant to be some in Australia....some might even be used in the Qld police among other places?

The other version of this, which to my understanding is not in Australia, is the Czech Wolf Dog. It was similary originally from the European Wolf and a working Shepard. I have seen some pictures on u-tube and they look good. They say in Czech they now are a known breed within their own right?

Both dogs work and track exceptionally well. They sound very interesting to me and I would love to see some pictures and hear/see more on their working abilities.

There is a third type of Wolf dog in the US, that is a hybrid between the wolf and various other dogs. These sound a bit to unreliable as a general rule but the timber shepard and the Czech wolf dog sound like they are well balanced working dogs bred with a purpose in mind.

So what can some one tell me about them.....are they available in Australia or have I got it wrong?

Steve

Hi Steve,
I did alot of seaching GSD x wolves about a year ago. Some of the sites I kept.
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You have probably seen these sites.
I don't know if any are in Oz but I do remember reading when I was looking at what it takes to bring a dog from overseas, and wolves are a breed not allowed.
If people have brought in hybrid in they might have called it a shepherd x.
I can go for the search again for you and find it all if you want, just ask.
There might also be a way by having it brought in through NZ? Not sure but loop holes can be found for some things.
Hope this has helped, Ena

Thanks Ena,

It is intersesting the czech wolf dog is a FCI recognized breed......but I wonder how hard it would be to import with a name like "wolf dog". Here is a link to a site for a bit of background information on the breed: [Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register]

The Timber Shepard, as I mentioned is apparently in Oz and PNG and is being used in at least security work if not police work. Here is a link to information on it: [Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register]

I am trying to find out more on both breeds, just for interests sake, and was wondering if anyone knows of any in Australia and what the working abilities of them is like?

As I mentioned previously the straight hybrid wolf seems to be a bit more variable but these other two seem to be bred for a purpose.

Steve

Steve,

I live with two Saarloos wolfdogs and know the Czech reasonably well. The Czech was developed as a working dog as you know and now private owners enjoy working with them, though I dont know of any that work for a living. They do require an experienced handler and they can be quite strong willed. The Saarloos has a few more wolf like charachteristics and tends to be shy ( a fault if in the czech) originally bred as a water rescue dog and guide dog the breed was further developed after its creators death more for looks than working ability and has no use today. The only genuine working wolfdog belongs to the Italian government and it is forbidden to sell them to the public, these dogs are used in SAR for avalanche and earthquake work and also by the police forestry division. They are very rare.

The Timber shepard website gives no useful information or photos though I have to say that I am very curious. It is odd that there are no pictures of the dogs at work. Few genuine working wolfdogs were bred to resemble wolves and most tend to look more like the GSDs they are based upon.

Though I am passionate about wolfdogs, I remain a little sceptical about their true working capabilities. If anyone really wanted to import a czech, I could put them in touch with an English speaking breeder in Europe.

Best wishes,
Simon.

Having said there are no photos in the link to timbersheperds there are some on the site like [Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register]
which could be of the timber sheperd?

Simon.

I have sent off an email to see if I can find a little more out about the Timber Shepard and its working ability. I got a reply to say will send me through some details shortly. I will let you know what I find out

Steve

Hi again,
I found that to import any wolf/ hybrid to Aust, they have to show 5 generations of breeding before allowed. And this site has much to read about them, hope this helps with your search.
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Ena

Thanks for that Ena,

I think that link talks more about either the third type I mentioned the wolf/hybrid dog and the hybrids that have a large percentage of wolf in them. It is the ones from certain breeding programs such as the Czech and possibly this Timberwolf that I think are meant to be more reliable and have better working ability. I am still waiting on an email so we will see.

Steve

The Tundra Shepherd or American Tundra Shepherd is a hybrid from the Alaskan Tundra Wolf and GSD which had its origins in a five year experimental project in 1968 which the US Government embarked upon aimed at producing wolfdogs suitable for use by the military. I believe there are a quite a few breeders in the US. The breeder who started the project for the government was Frank Catania from Edwardsville, Kansas.


Peter

Thanks for posting that link Steve.I did know of the guy but had never seen that site before now.A guy that I know spoke with him a few times many years ago and said he had sent dogs into PNG.How true that is I dont know.