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The
Šarplaninac or
Šarplaninec is a large, 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.
The
Šarplaninac is a robust, well proportioned dog with plenty of bone, of
a size that is well above the average and with a thick, long, rather
coarse coat that emphasizes the short coupled appearance. They are
about 38–55 kg and 70 to 82 cm. Although much larger dogs do exist
which can reach up to 80 kg - most of these "giants" are probably of
mixed breed origins and probably not pure.
The coat is dense, about 4 inches (10 cm) in length, and can be rough or smooth.
All Šarplaninac are solid in colour: fawn, iron grey, white or almost
black; usually sable or gray with darker "overalls" on the head and
back, the undercoat being paler. The colour need not be completely
uniform, and most Šarplaninac have several different shades of the same
colour fading into one another. There are no bicolours and no uniformly
black-coated dogs among purebreds, but odd-coloured specimens do
exist. The dogs must not have large white patches in their coat.
The temperament of the breed is described as independent, reliable,
protective but not snappy, incorruptible and devoted to its master. The
breed is aloof with outsiders, and calm until a threat to the flock
presents itself. The breed has an extremely protective nature. In the
absence of a flock of sheep, the Šarplaninac 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 work without human supervision
while guarding the flocks in the high pastures. Young pups can kill
small animals until trained not to hunt.
Like many of its cousin
Mountain dogs,
the Šarplaninac is a very serious and dedicated guard dog. Due to
this, they are naturally suspicious of strangers and will need good
socializing at a young age to lessen this innate personality trait. They
are calm and gentle with their family but when faced with danger they
become a formidable foe, not a suitable breed for all. Consistent and
firm training is essential to ensure compliance.
Text from
wikipedia.org
