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| Tatra Shepherd Dog | |||||||||||||||
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| Origin | Poland | ||||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||||
TheTatra Shepherd Dog (Polish:Polski Owczarek Podhalański) is a Polishbreed of largeflock guardian dog originating in theTatra Mountains of thePodhale region of southern Poland.[1]: 78 [3]: 148 It was fully recognised by theFédération Cynologique Internationale in 1963.[4] It is one of five dog breeds originating in Poland, the others being thePolish Greyhound, thePolish Hound, thePolish Hunting Dog and thePolish Lowland Sheepdog.[5]: 254
Like other large white European flock guardian dogs such as theKuvasz, thePastore Maremmano and thePyrenean Mountain Dog, the Tatra Shepherd Dog is believed to derive from dogs brought from Asia bynomadic pastoralists.[5]: 254
The firstshow 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 theSecond World War.[6] By 1954, when the first post-War show was organised, about 120 examples had been located; once theZwiązek Kynologiczny w Polsce, the Polish kennel club, was reconstituted after the War, shows were held inKraków.[6]
The breed was fully recognised by theFédération Cynologique Internationale in 1963[4] or 1967.[6] It is no longer found only its area of origin, but is distributed through much of Poland; some are in other countries.[5]: 254
Thestud-book 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.[5]: 254 Not all dogs of this type are registered in the stud-book.[5]: 254 Currently, theAKC does not recognise the breed.
The height at thewithers is 65 to 70 centimetres (26 to 28 in) for males, 60 to 65 centimetres (24 to 26 in) for females.[2]
They usually live for between ten and twelve years.[3]: 148
The Tatra Shepherd Dog was traditionally used as aflock guardian dog, to deter predators from attacking flocks of sheep in the mountainous terrain of thePodhale region. In modern Poland it is most often kept either as aguard dog or as acompanion animal.[5]: 254
