OK,

So I heard quite a bit about wolf "look alike" dogs and thought I would check it out as I wanted a large healthy dog as a family pet.

I did not realise the amount of dogs out there. There were Northern Inuits, Utonagans, Anglo wolfdogs, Tamaskans, Sarloos and the British Timber dog. After reading all I could find about health problems (There are some,  temperament, breeding ethics and costs I decided that the BTD was for me.

It must have been foretold  because  on my first search for one of these beautiful dogs, I found a puppy that had literally just become available.

I was on the phone straight away and yes, he was still there and waiting for someone to be his servant.
The next day we were off and after a fairly long drive arrived at the Spirit Walker Oasis.  And after introductions there he was. I had seen a photo of him sat next to a wall but did not realise how tall that wall was until I saw him Boy he was big.
Any who, not long after, Alfie was the proud owner of new servants and on his way to his new home.

These dogs are fantastic.  They really are gentle giants. (11 months old and 42kg).  He is intelligent, loves all the kids where we live and lets them play with him all the time and is not in the least  aggressive. I would not recommend anyone with small children take on one of these dogs as they just love to play and little ones could get knocked about due to their size.

And we are not alone.  Once you take one of these boys into your home you also have the back up of the BTDA. This is a group of breeders, owners and people who just love these dogs but may not be in a position to take one on yet or are waiting for puppies to come along.

When we took on Alfie there was just the one breed association but not long after there was a split and a new group was formed. This was due to differences in opinions so there are now 2 breed groups for the BTD

The BTDA is the original group and they hold the register for all British Timber Dogs with the Independent Dog Association in the UK. They are an open group of people who welcome anyone with an interest in their dogs and they take an interest in your dogs, whatever the breed.

The BTDS is the breakaway group who have their own Gold Standard for BTD's. If I am honest about it they are quite closed and do not like anyone asking difficult questions. Whilst both groups operate a Facebook page, the BTDS is closed and will not allow any constructive  criticism  of their  methods.

As with any breed group it should always be about the animal and not the ego of  the committee so yes, I joined the BTDA.  If you want to learn about these dogs and get good advice that is the place to go

Peace