The Bergamasco Shepherd, , is an Italian

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

sheepdog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and con ...

. It originated in the Alpi e Prealpi Bergamasche, where it was used as a

herding dog A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a Dog type, type of dog that either has been trained in herding livestock or belongs to one of the dog breed, breeds that were developed for herding. A dog specifically trained to he ...

for both sheep and cattle.

History

The origins of the Pastore Bergamasco are unknown. A genetic study in 2018 found evidence of

haplotypes A haplotype (haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent. Many organisms contain genetic material (DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA orga ...

shared with other European breeds including the

Berger Picard The Berger Picard ( , ) or Picardy Shepherd, is a French herding dog originating in Picardy. These dogs nearly became extinct after both World War I and World War II and remain a rare breed. Appearance The Berger Picard is a medium-sized, we ...

, the

Bernese Mountain Dog The Bernese Mountain Dog, or , is a large dog breed originating from the canton of Bern, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. It is one of four Sennenhund-dog type, type breeds, with ancestral roots in Ancient Rome, Roman mastiffs. The name ''Berner ...

and the

Briard The Briard () or (; plural: ''Bergers de Brie'') is a French breed of large shepherd dog, traditionally used both for herding sheep and to defend them. It was first shown at the first Paris dog show, in 1863; the first Briard to be registered ...

. A dog of this type was exhibited at the first Italian

dog show A dog show is an animal show; it is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a '' breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs f ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1881. The first registration of the breed in the Libro Origini Italiano, the Italian national

stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders w ...

for dogs, was in 1891. A

breed association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, now called the , was established in 1949. The breed was recognised by the

Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana The , usually known as the ENCI, is the national organisation responsible for the recognition, standardisation and registration of pedigree dogs in Italy. It is sometimes called the Italian Kennel Club. The association provides judging for dog s ...

in 1956, and was definitively accepted by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

in the same year. In the nine years from 2011 to 2019, annual registrations in Italy averaged 97 per year, with a maximum of 149 and a minimum of 48.

Characteristics

The Bergamasco is a robust and rustic dog of medium size, solidly built and well proportioned. It is roughly square in outline when seen from the side – the length of the body is approximately equal to the height at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

. Dogs stand some at the

, and weigh about ; bitches are about smaller, and weigh on average less. It is characterised by a long thick coat which covers every part of the dog. Particularly on the hind part of the body, the coat forms long matted locks which provide good protection from bad weather; on the fore part of the body the hair is coarse and forms wavy ringlets like those of a goat, while the hair on the head is rather finer. The coat may be of any shade of grey, from very pale to matt black; some tinges of

isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

fulvous Fulvous is a colour, sometimes described as dull orange, brownish-yellow or tawny; it can also be likened to a variation of buff, beige or butterscotch. As an adjective it is used in the names of many species of birds, and occasionally other ...

colour are allowable.

References

{{Italian dogs FCI breeds Herding dogs Dog breeds originating in Italy Rare dog breeds