Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Kuvasz "cousin" - Owszarek Podhalanski puppies being introduced to sheep

Natasza in Netherlands shares these photos of her Podhalanski puppies. The photos were taken by Cat Urbigkit in Wyoming.

The Polish Owczarek Podhalanski, also Tatra Sheepdog, Tatra Dog, Tatra Shepherd Dog, and Podhalaner, is one of the FCI recognized Polish breeds (FCI Group 1, Section 1, Standard no. 252).

This sheepdog is a close relative of the Kuvasz and Cuvac and probably also related to the other great mountain herding dogs of Europe, about the Bergamasco Sheepdog. He comes from the large Asian mastiffs from who came to Europe about 1,000 years ago.

The Polish Tatra Sheepdog, which sometimes goes by the Owczarek Podhalanski and the Polish Mountain Sheepdog, originated in Podhale, in the Tatra Mountain area of Poland, hence the breed's name. The word “Owczarek” means “shepherd.”

The information is from Wikipedia.

About the family of Livestock Guardian Dogs...

“To this day flocks are guarded in the hills of Asia, Europe and Africa by powerful, robust dogs that are neither clumsy nor pacific. Despite the distances that separate them these breeds have much in common, and the Kuvasz is a member of this extended sheepdog family.”

From: Dr. Buzády Tibor, Dogs of Hungary, trans. Bernard Adams, Budapest, Hungary: Nóra Kiadó, 2002, p. 90.