Karst Shepherd

The Karst Shepherd is Slovenia's grey flock guardian, and the first breed the country registered as its own.

History

It has guarded sheep on the karst plateau above the Adriatic for centuries, and it was recognised in 1939 as one breed with the Šarplaninac before Slovenian breeders successfully argued for separation in 1968 — a dispute about whether two mountain populations were one dog, settled in favour of two. It is Slovenia's national breed.

Temperament

The breed is known for being brave, self-directed and devoted to its own household, suspicious of strangers and inclined to bark at night as a guardian should.

Care and training

It needs space, secure boundaries and early socialising. Exercise needs are steady rather than intense. The long grey coat sheds heavily.

Health

Generally robust, with hip dysplasia among the known tendencies. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.