Bucovina Shepherd Dog

The Bucovina Shepherd is a very large Romanian livestock guardian from the Carpathians — a flock dog bred to face wolf and bear.

History

It comes from the Bucovina region on the Romanian-Ukrainian border, where it guarded sheep and homesteads in the mountains. Like the other Carpathian guardians it worked at night and alone, and Romanian recognition of the type is a twentieth-century formalisation of a much older job.

Temperament

The breed is known for being calm, brave and highly territorial, devoted to its own household and openly unwelcoming to strangers. It has a deep voice and uses it at night, which is part of the work.

Care and training

It needs space, secure fencing, early and continued socialising and an owner who understands guarding breeds. Exercise needs are moderate rather than athletic. The thick coat sheds heavily.

Health

Known tendencies are those of any giant breed — joint problems and a shorter average life. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.