Šarplaninac
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| Šarplaninac | ||||||||||||||||
 Šarplaninac |
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| Other names | Sharrplaninatz Yugoslav Shepherd Dog-Šarplaninac Macedonian-Yugoslav Shepherd Dog Illyrian Shepherd Dog Sharr Mountain Dog Qen Sharri |
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| Country of origin | Kosovo & Macedonia (the Šar Mountains) | |||||||||||||||
| Nicknames | Planinac Sar Шарко Šarko Sharr |
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The Šarplaninac (pronounced shar-pla-NEE-natz) or Sharplaninec, formerly known as Illyrian Shepherd, is a large-sized shepherd dog breed of the Balkan region, from the Šar Mountains (Šar Planina in Macedonian and Serbian).
- Albanian: Qen i Sharrit or Qeni Ilir
- Macedonian: Šarplaninec or in Cyrillic alphabet Шарпланинец
- Serbian: Šarplaninac or in Cyrillic alphabet Шарпланинац
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[edit] Description
[edit] Appearance
The Šarplaninac is a large, muscular, strongly-built dog. The body is slightly longer than the height at the withers, and the front legs account for approximately 55% of the height. The head is large but proportional to the body, with dark eyes.
[edit] Size
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This article or section appears to contradict itself about general sizes of up to 60/62 cm and preferred sizes of 70/75 cm. Please help fix this problem. |
The Šarplaninac is a medium size dog with strong long-hair. It is compactly built, with a massive head, and strong and muscular legs.
- Height in Male Dogs: 56-62cm (24 inch above)
- Height in Female Dogs: 54-60cm (22.5 inch above)
- Weight in Male Dogs: 35-45kg (77-99 lbs)
- Weight in Female Dogs: 30-40kg(66-88 lbs)
Although much larger and heavy dogs exist, preferred size for Šarplaninacs is for male dogs 75cm and female dogs 70cm.
[edit] Coat
The coat is dense and medium in length; it can be rough or smooth. The coat is also about four inches (10 cm) long. The coat will benefit from occasional brushing. All Šarplaninac types are always solid in colour: tan, iron grey, white or almost black. The solid colour need not be completely uniform, and most Sars have several different shades of the same colour fading gradually into one another. There are no bicolours and no uniformly black-coated dogs among purebreds, but oddly-coloured specimens do exist.
[edit] Colour
Usually sable or gray with darker "overalls" on the head and back, the undernet being paler.Almoust all other colours are accepted, except for large white spots. There are several varieties of colors where in relation to percentage dominate: Tiger Color with 30%, grey color with all the varieties 20%, Yellow color with black muzzle 20%, white color 20% and counter mask (muzzle).
[edit] Temperament
The temperament of the breed is described as independent, aloof with outsiders, and calm until a threat to the flock presents itself, when suddenly the Šarplaninac erupts into swift ferocity. The breed has a highly protective nature. In the absence of a flock of sheep, the Shar will often treat its humans as sheep - herding them away from danger or undesirable areas. They are serene and majestic, gentle with children and smaller dogs. They are also highly intelligent and bred to survive without human supervision while guarding the flocks in the high pastures. Young pups can kill small animals until trained not to hunt.
[edit] Working life
The Šarplaninac is a reserved and intuitive breed, naturally stubborn and undemonstrative, but once properly trained and handled with authority, it excels at a variety of tasks. Dog-aggression and wariness of strangers are common traits of the Šarplaninac, which is why early socialization is of utmost importance. Heavily-boned and muscular, the Illyrian Shepherd has a very rich full top-coat, with an abundant dense undercoat, making it fully weatherproof and suited for an outside life.
Šarplaninac is one of rare dog breeds which can win a fight with a wolf, lynx and even a Balkan bear.[citation needed]
The breed can also work cattle and serve as a guard dog; it was bred and used as a military dog under Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The Šarplaninac is spreading through ranches in North America as a serious sheep herding dog and a livestock guardian.
[edit] History
The Šarplaninac is an ancient livestock guarding breed from the Šar Mountains of Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia and Albania. Although its origin is not clear, it is believed that their ancestors were the ancient Molossian dogs of Greece and the livestock guarding dogs of Turkey.[1][2]
The breed was initially recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in 1939 as the Illyrian Shepherd Dog, after the Ancient name of the region. In 1957, at the request of the Yugoslav Canine Federation (JKS), the FCI changed the name to Yugoslav Shepherd Dog-Šarplaninac, after the Šar Mountains (Šar Planina in Macedonian and Serbian) where the breed is most common.[1][2] Currently the dog is formally known as Macedonian-Yugoslav Shepherd Dog.[citation needed][1]
[edit] Trivia
- The image of the Šarplaninac is featured on the Macedonian denar, coin of Republic of Macedonia.
- The image of the Šarplaninac is featured on the emblem of Dragaš town in the Šar Mountains region of Kosovo.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Fédération Cynologique Internationale: Official FCI-Standard N° 41, Published November 24, 1970.
- ^ a b United Kennel Club: Official U.K.C. Breed Standard, Revised April 1, 1998.
[edit] External links
