Croatian Sheepdog
| Croatian Sheepdog | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Croatian Sheepdog doing dog agility | |||||||||||||
| Other names | Hrvatski ovčar Kroatischer Schäferhund | ||||||||||||
| Origin | Croatia | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||
The Croatian Sheepdog is a dog breed from Croatia.
History
The Croatian Sheepdog probably originates from dogs which the Croats brought with them in the Migration Period. The oldest found record of a Croatian Sheepdog dates from 1374, in which the Bishop of Đakovo, Peter calls him "Canis pastoralis croaticus".[1] This breed was most probably developed over several centuries out of the descendants of the so-called “Pfahlbauhund” in Slavonia, Croatia. Professor Stjepan Romić developed the Croatian Shepherd Dog as a breed in the year 1935. The breed was first publicly presented at the first state dog show in Zagreb in 1949. Dr. Otto Rohr wrote the first breed standard in the year 1951, which was then published by the FCI in 1969.[2]
Characteristics
The Croatian sheepdog is of low to medium height and the base color is always black, although there may be very small patches of white on its chest and/or toes. A characteristic is the short hairs on its somewhat fox-like head and legs. The remainder of the coat is longer and wavy or curly. The height at the withers in both sexes is between 16 and 21 inches and the length exceeds the height by approximately 10%. Traditionally the tail is docked very short but, if undocked, it is carried curled over the dog's back.
Use
The Croatian Sheepdog possesses a well-developed herding instinct, and is used both as a sheepdog and as a watchdog. [3]
References
- ^ Croatian Kennel Club; Hrvatski Ovčar, Canis pastoralis croaticus, izmjere i analize DNA hrvatskih ovčara (DNA measurements and analyzes of Croatian Sheepdogs) p. 6-7 [1]
- ^ FCI Breed Standard
- ^ Fogle, Bruce (2000). The Encyclopedia of the Dog. USA: Dorling Kindersley. p. 319. ISBN 0789461307.