Carpathian Shepherd
Description
Big waste dog, nimble, never clumsy, vigorous appearance. The body is rectangular, with a broad croup that is slightly inclined. It is vast and high-chested, and has a long and slightly inclined shoulder. The sexual dimorphism is well noticed; the males should be taller and stronger than the females. The Carpathian Shepherd Dog is a mesocephalic dog, with a strong, wolfish type head, but not clumsy. The forehead is broad and slightly curved. The skull is wider between the ears and it narrows progressively toward the stop. The medial groove is long enough and sufficiently marked. The nose is big, broad and always black. The muzzle is strong, with an almost oval section, slightly in the shape of a truncated cone. The muzzle’s length is shorter or equal to that of the skull. The lips are thick, adherent, strongly pigmented and very well outlined. The dark brown eyes are almond shaped. The tail is bushy, covered by abundant hair. At rest, it is held dropped, straight or slightly sword shaped, touching the hocks; when the dog is alert or it is in action, the tail is carried high. The coat is rough, abundant and straight. The undercoat is dense and soft. Except for the head and former faces of the limbs where the hair is short and flat, the hair is abundant all over the body, of a medium length. On the neck, the posterior face of the limbs and on the tail, the hair is longer; the abundance of hair in these regions being typical. Coat colors consist of sandy (wolfish), with various shades, more often lighter on the sides and darker over the body; sandy (wolfish) with white spots, preferably not too spread apart.
Temperament
Born as a watchdog, the Carpathian Sheepdog is remarkable for its instinctive, unconditioned devotion to the flocks and its master. It is a dignified, calm and well-balanced dog. In order to successfully keep a Carpatin, the family must achieve pack leader status. It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in their pack. When we humans live with dogs, we become their pack. The entire pack cooperates under a single leader; lines are clearly defined and rules are set. Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans MUST be higher up in the order than the dog. The humans must be the ones making the decisions, not the dogs. That is the only way your relationship with your dog can be a complete success.
Big waste dog, nimble, never clumsy, vigorous appearance. The body is rectangular, with a broad croup that is slightly inclined. It is vast and high-chested, and has a long and slightly inclined shoulder. The sexual dimorphism is well noticed; the males should be taller and stronger than the females. The Carpathian Shepherd Dog is a mesocephalic dog, with a strong, wolfish type head, but not clumsy. The forehead is broad and slightly curved. The skull is wider between the ears and it narrows progressively toward the stop. The medial groove is long enough and sufficiently marked. The nose is big, broad and always black. The muzzle is strong, with an almost oval section, slightly in the shape of a truncated cone. The muzzle’s length is shorter or equal to that of the skull. The lips are thick, adherent, strongly pigmented and very well outlined. The dark brown eyes are almond shaped. The tail is bushy, covered by abundant hair. At rest, it is held dropped, straight or slightly sword shaped, touching the hocks; when the dog is alert or it is in action, the tail is carried high. The coat is rough, abundant and straight. The undercoat is dense and soft. Except for the head and former faces of the limbs where the hair is short and flat, the hair is abundant all over the body, of a medium length. On the neck, the posterior face of the limbs and on the tail, the hair is longer; the abundance of hair in these regions being typical. Coat colors consist of sandy (wolfish), with various shades, more often lighter on the sides and darker over the body; sandy (wolfish) with white spots, preferably not too spread apart.
Temperament
Born as a watchdog, the Carpathian Sheepdog is remarkable for its instinctive, unconditioned devotion to the flocks and its master. It is a dignified, calm and well-balanced dog. In order to successfully keep a Carpatin, the family must achieve pack leader status. It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in their pack. When we humans live with dogs, we become their pack. The entire pack cooperates under a single leader; lines are clearly defined and rules are set. Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans MUST be higher up in the order than the dog. The humans must be the ones making the decisions, not the dogs. That is the only way your relationship with your dog can be a complete success.
Training
This dog is not hard to train because it is obedient and loves to make its master happy. Beautiful results can be achieved with a gentle and consistent training. Gooming The Carpathian Shepherd Dog is a low maintenance breed. This dog should never require professional grooming, only an occasional brushing. Other than that, only those routine maintenance procedures that all breeds require such as teeth brushing and ear cleaning are necessary. There do not seem to be any reports on the Carpathian Shepherd Dog’s shedding, but this breed is almost certainly a very heavy shedder. Health It does not appear that any health studies have been conducted on the Carpathian Shepherd Dog which makes it impossible to make any definitive statements on the breed’s health. Most fanciers seem to believe that the breed is in excellent health. This dog has been bred exclusively as a working dog, and breeders would have quickly eliminated any genetic defects which would have impaired its ability to work. This breed was also subject to a very harsh environment with dangerous predators, and only the strongest and healthiest breed members would have survived. This breed allegedly has a very long life for a breed of this size, about 12 – 14 years, but it is unclear what this estimate is based on. Although skeletal and visual problems are not thought to occur at high rates in this breed it is highly advisable for owners to have their pets tested by both the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF). The OFA and CERF perform genetic and other tests to identify potential health defects before they show up. This is especially valuable in the detection of conditions that do not show up until the dog has reached an advanced age, making it especially important for anyone considering breeding their dog to have them tested to prevent the spread of potential genetic conditions to its offspring. Even though health studies have not been conducted on the Carpathian Shepherd Dog, they have been for similar and closely related breeds. Among the problems of greatest concern that have been discovered include. History Alfred Edmund Brehm (1829-1885) in (Animal's Life) wrote about these dogs. The first written data regarding the Romanian Carpathian Shepherd Dog was recorded in the Veterinary Science Magazine, year XV, No. 2. In March 1998, a group of fans of the Carpathian Shepherd Dog founded the Carpathian Shepherd Dogs Club. The club was later renamed the National Club of Carpathian Shepherd Dog Breeders which is based in The club observed that there many Carpathians in Rucăr, Argeş County that are considered ancestors of today's Carpathians. In March 2003, at Bistriţa, an important conference of the factors involved in the Romanian breeds took place. On July 6, 2005 in Buenos Aires, the approved the provisional homologation of the Carpathian Shepherd Dog. It is theorized (although not proven) that the various Carpathian Shepherd Dog breeds, as with other livestock guardian and Mountain dog breeds, are descendant from dogs that were developed somewhere around 9,000 years ago in Mesopotamia following the domestication of sheep and goats in the same area. |
Height - Males 25 - 29 inches (65 - 73 cm), Females 23 - 26 inches (59 - 67 cm)
Weight - 32-45 kg kg (70-100 lb)
Coat - Rough, abundant and straight
Life span - 12-14 years
Country of origin - Romania
Other names - Ciobănesc Românesc Carpatin, Romanian Shepherd, Romanian Carpathian Shepherd, Câine Ciobănesc Carpatin,
Carpathian Sheepdog, Carpatin, Romanian Carpatin Herder, Rumanian Carpathian
Weight - 32-45 kg kg (70-100 lb)
Coat - Rough, abundant and straight
Life span - 12-14 years
Country of origin - Romania
Other names - Ciobănesc Românesc Carpatin, Romanian Shepherd, Romanian Carpathian Shepherd, Câine Ciobănesc Carpatin,
Carpathian Sheepdog, Carpatin, Romanian Carpatin Herder, Rumanian Carpathian