Our Story
The Tornjak kennel “Hrvatska Dika” is a small family-owned kennel with a great passion for our national breed, located in the countryside near Karlovac, Croatia. We were both passionate about dogs since forever, and dogs were the ones who brought us together.
My husband, Marko, became involved with Tornjak breed almost 20 years ago. He got his first Tornjak Zed in 2004. by chance, while he was looking for a new companion and a friend after losing his old German Shepherd. He became curious about our Croatian national breed, and when he found the right breeder, his Tornjak journey started. When I met Marko, It didn’t take me long to completely fall in love with this beautiful breed.
Two years later, Marko met a former journalist, a great cynologist, and a breeder, Mr. Šandor Horvath, who had a big role in the history of Tornjak breed. He was one of the pioneers in the resurrection and standardization of the breed. Marko got a lot of knowledge from Mr. Horvath, as well as his first female Erika aka Gara, who became our foundation female. We are very proud and grateful to have such a valuable line to cherish in our dogs. The kennel “Hrvatska Dika” was established in 2006 (F.C.I. 36/6) and is following the national and F.C.I. breeding rules and regulations. Our dogs are not classic kennel dogs. They do not live in cages or wire dog pens. They are our family members, living in our household and sharing our space. During the years, they have given us a lot of happiness and beautiful memories. And they continue to do so.
Our main goal is to preserve Tornjak, an old livestock guardian breed, and to breed healthy, fit dogs with a desirable temperament – a puppy who can grow into a prime working dog, family keeper, pet, or show dog. Sometimes, we do show our dogs and almost all of them are show Champions. We are very proud of the fact that our homebred female became the first World Winner upon the breed’s full recognition and the first-ever International Champion in the history of the breed.
“Hrvatska Dika” puppies are bred with love and care and are treated like family before they become a member of your own family. We don’t have litters often as we breed for quality, not quantity. The number of dogs in our kennel is in correlation with the quality of life we want to provide for them. Our standards are high ergo, not lots of dogs. Our breeding combinations are chosen carefully and our breeding standards are high.
Our dogs who are not used for breeding, are loved and cherished equally. That is how we do it. All of our dogs have their hips x-rayed and most of them, their elbows as well. We consider that extremely important. We never breed dogs with bad hips! Our puppies are coming to you with the contract and a lifetime of our commitment and assistance. We are choosing new owners very carefully and are always doing our best to place them in suitable homes where they will spend the rest of their lives, we hope happily. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about us, our dogs, and our values as a kennel.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Please also find us on social media platforms to stay up to date with our latest news.
Josipa & Marko Vojić