Sarplaninac

The Šarplaninac is a large, strongly built dog. The body is slightly longer than the height at the withers, and the front legs account for approximately 55% of the height. The head is large but proportional to the body, with dark eyes. All Šarplaninac are solid in colour: fawn, iron grey, white or almost black; usually sable or gray with darker "overalls" on the head and back, the undercoat being paler. The colour need not be completely uniform, and most Šarplaninac have several different shades of the same colour fading into one another. There are no bicolours and no uniformly black-coated dogs among purebreds, but odd-coloured specimens do exist. The dogs must not have large white patches in their coat.

The temperament of the breed is described as independent, reliable, protective but not snappy, incorruptible and devoted to its master. The breed is aloof with outsiders, and calm until a threat to the flock presents itself. The breed has an extremely protective nature. In the absence of a flock of sheep, the Šarplaninac will often treat its humans as sheep - herding them away from danger or undesirable areas. They are serene and majestic, gentle with children and smaller dogs. They are also highly intelligent and bred to work without human supervision while guarding the flocks in the high pastures. Young pups can kill small animals until trained not to hunt. Like many of its cousin Mountain dogs, the Šarplaninac is a very serious and dedicated guard dog. Due to this, they are naturally suspicious of strangers and will need good socializing at a young age to lessen this innate personality trait. They are calm and gentle with their family but when faced with danger they become a formidable foe, not a suitable breed for all. Consistent and firm training is essential to ensure compliance.

The Sarplaninac (pronounced shar-pla-nee-natz) is an ancient livestock guarding breed from the mountain region of southeastern Yugoslavia, known in Roman times as Illyria. This breed was formerly named the Illyrian Shepherd Dog when first recognized by the FCI in 1939. The name was changed in 1957 to Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog Sharplanina, after the Sharplanina mountain range where the breed is most common. Like all ancient breeds developed in isolated regions, the origin of the Sarplaninac cannot be determined. It is believed to be descended from the ancient Molossian dogs of Greece and the livestock guarding dogs of Turkey. Although little known in the United States, the Sarplaninac is still widely used in its homeland to protect flocks against predators. Until 1970, Sarplaninacs could not be legally exported from Yugoslavia. The first to arrive in the U.S. was actually carried down from the mountains by mule. Since then, growing numbers of American and Canadian ranchers have been successfully using Sarplaninacs for predator control. The Sarplaninac was recognized by the United Kennel Club on January 1, 1995.