The South Russian Ovcharka or South Russian Shepherd Dog is

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 flock guardian dog. It developed in the areas of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

that are now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and southern Russia, and is thought to derive from

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

between local dogs of the Russian steppes and long-haired shepherd dogs brought to the area from Spain in the late eighteenth century together with

Merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

sheep. These may have been similar in appearance to the present-day Gos d'Atura Catala.

History

The South Russian Ovcharka is thought to derive from

between local dogs – of both flock guardian and

sighthound Sighthounds (also called gazehounds) are a Dog type, type of hound dog that hunts primarily by sight and speed, unlike scent hound, scent hounds, which rely on scent and endurance. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it ...

type – of the Russian steppes and long-haired shepherd dogs brought to the area from Spain in the late eighteenth century together with

sheep. These Spanish dogs may have been similar in appearance to the present-day Gos d'Atura Catala. A cross-bred dog of this South Russian type won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris. Much of the

selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...

and development of the breed took place in the early twentieth century, on the estates of at

Askania-Nova Askania-Nova () is a biosphere reserve located in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, within the dry Taurida steppe near Oleshky Sands. An active member of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme, the reserve maintains and conserves native steppe hab ...

, now in

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

, Ukraine. The

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

was approved early in the 1930s. 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 ...

definitively accepted it on 30 September 1983 as the Yuzhnorusskaya Ovcharka or South Russian Shepherd Dog.

Characteristics

It is a large dog: dogs stand no less than 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 ...

and weigh at least ; bitches are about smaller and weigh some less. Some dogs are very large, with weights of up to . The head is long and of wedge shape; the ears are pendent and triangular. The coat is long, coarse and thick. It may be solid white, grey or pale ivory; or white with tinges of yellow, or white with patches of grey, pale ivory or wheat colour.

Legislation

The dog is banned in Denmark.

Notes

References

{{Livestock guardians FCI breeds Dog breeds originating in Ukraine Livestock guardian dogs