The current state of Alex’s line in the Bohemian Shepherd Dog breed

The Bohemian Shepherd Dog is a Czech working dog breed of medium size with a long black and tan coat and characteristic ear shape. The dogs of this breed are friendly, trainable, and with no sign of nervousness. The population of this historic breed of dogs, known since the 13th century, was almost destroyed until 1984, when Jan Findejs and Dr. Vilém Kurz partnered to take the first steps to regenerate the breed. One of the sires used in the project was a sire named Alex. This study aimed to determine the state of Alex’s line (IV. line), and the number of descendant dogs born from 2021 until the first quarter of 2024. Used 13 years after the start of the breed regeneration project, and with only two breeding first-generation descendants, Alex’s line accounted for 2.7% of the population from the beginning in 1996 until 2008. In 2009 an expansion started, caused by three of his male descendants who sired more than 100 puppies each, resulting in Alex’s progeny accounting for 41.25% of all registered puppies from 2021 to 2024. Therefore, genetic testing before mating is now an essential measure to prevent genetic diseases in purebred dogs.