The Tatra Shepherd Dog () is a Polish

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 ...

of large flock guardian dog originating in the Tatra Mountains of the

Podhale Podhale (; ), sometimes referred to as the Polish Highlands, is Poland's southernmost region. The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian Mountains. It is the most famous region of the Goral Lands which are a ...

region of southern Poland. It was fully recognised 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 1963. It is one of five dog breeds originating in Poland, the others being the Polish Greyhound, the Polish Hound, the Polish Hunting Dog and the

Polish Lowland Sheepdog The Polish Lowland Sheepdog (, also PON), is a medium-sized, shaggy-coated, sheep dog breed native to Poland. Description Appearance The PON is a muscular, thick-coated dog. The double coat can be of any color or pattern; white, gray, and bro ...

History

Like other large white European flock guardian dogs such as the

Kuvasz The Kuvasz is a Hungarian List of dog breeds, breed of flock guardian dog. Mention of the breed can be found in old Hungarian texts. They have historically been royal guard dogs, or livestock guardian dog, guarded livestock, but have been incre ...

, the Pastore Maremmano and the

Pyrenean Mountain Dog The Pyrenean Mountain Dog or is a French breed of livestock guardian dog; in France it is commonly called the Patou. It originates from the eastern or French side of the Pyrenees Mountains that separate France and Spain and is recognised as a ...

, the Tatra Shepherd Dog is believed to derive from dogs brought from Asia by

nomadic pastoralists Nomadic pastoralism, also known as nomadic herding, is a form of pastoralism in which livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze. True nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance, ...

. The first

show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** ...

for these dogs was held in 1937. Because they were in isolated areas of the mountains, a small number of them survived the events of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. By 1954, when the first post-War show was organised, about 120 examples had been located; once the

Związek Kynologiczny w Polsce The Polish Kennel Club (, ), a member of the FCI, is an organization responsible for dog pedigree registration services in Poland. The organization also provides training services, judging for conformation show A dog show is an animal sh ...

, the Polish kennel club, was reconstituted after the War, shows were held in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. The breed was fully recognised by the

in 1963 or 1967. It is no longer found only its area of origin, but is distributed through much of Poland; some are in other countries. The

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 ...

is open – unregistered dogs judged to be typical of the breed may be added to it. Approximately 300 puppies are born per year, in about 50 litters. Total annual new registrations with the kennel club were 473 in 2011 and 383 in 2012. Not all dogs of this type are registered in the stud-book. Currently, the AKC does not recognise the breed.

Characteristics

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 ...

is for males, for females. They usually live for between ten and twelve years.

Use

The Tatra Shepherd Dog was traditionally used as a flock guardian dog, to deter predators from attacking flocks of sheep in the mountainous terrain of the

region. In modern Poland it is most often kept either as a

guard dog A guard dog or watchdog is a dog used to watch for and guard people or property against unwanted human or animal intruders. A dog trained to attack intruders is known as an attack dog. History Dogs have been used as guardians since ancient ...

or as a

companion animal A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, intel ...

References

{{Livestock guardians FCI breeds Dog breeds originating in Poland Livestock guardian dogs Rare dog breeds

History

Characteristics

Use

See also

References