Croatian Sheepdog

History

The origins of the Croatian Shepherd Dog are unknown. It is a traditional breed of the historic Baranja and Bačka regions of Slavonia, close to the border with Hungary, and may derive from dogs brought to that area from Greece or Turkey, or from elsewhere in the Balkan region. A manuscript from 1374 in the archives of the Archdiocese of Đakovo–Osijek reportedly mentions sheepdogs in Croatia, using the Latin phrase canis pastoralis croaticus.

In about 1935 the agronomist and veterinary surgeon Stjepan Romić started selectively breeding black Slavonian dogs, leading to the development of the modern Croatian Shepherd Dog. Examples of the breed were shown in 1949 at a dog show in Zagreb, at that time the capital of the Socialist Republic of Croatia; a breed standard was drawn up in 1951 by Otto Rohr. The breed was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1967.

Characteristics

The Croatian Shepherd Dog is of medium size: dogs stand some at the withers, bitches about less; for dogs of exceptionally good conformation and type, the breed standard allows a tolerance of up to over or under the standard limits. The coat is double on most of the body, consisting of a dense soft undercoat and a long soft topcoat, either curly or wavy, with a length varying from ; the hair on the face, ears and lower legs is short. The coat is always black, although some limited white markings are tolerated.

Use

The Croatian Shepherd has a well-developed herding instinct, and is used both as a sheepdog and as a watchdog.

References

References

1. Mateja Janeš, Vladimir Brajkovic, Ivana Drzaic, Minja Zorc, Peter Dovč, and Vlatka Cubric-Curik (2019). [https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/323731 Mitochondrial variability of Small Međimurje dog]. ''Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus''. '''84''' (2): 203–209.
2. [https://www.fci.be/en/nomenclature/CROATIAN-SHEPHERD-DOG-277.html FCI breeds nomenclature: Hrvatski Ovcar (277)]. Thuin, Belgium: Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed July 2025.
3. [https://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/277g01-en.pdf FCI-Standard N° 277: Hrvatski Ovčar/Croatian Shepherd Dog]. Thuin, Belgium: Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed July 2025.
4. Bruce Fogle, Tracy Morgan (2000 [1995]). [https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao00fogl/page/319 ''The New Encyclopedia of the Dog''] second American edition. New York: Dorling Kindersley. {{isbn. 9780789461308.
5. Miroslav Krleža (2013). [https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/romic-stjepan Romić, Stjepan] (in Croatian). ''Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje''. Accessed July 2025.
6. [https://www.hks.hr/images/download/hrvatski%20ovcar%20komentar%20standarda.pdf Hrvatski Ovčar/Croatian Shepherd Dog]. Hrvatski Kinoloski Savez = Croatian Kennel Club. Accessed July 2025.
7. [https://web.archive.org/web/20250529022339/https://zakladaho-cpc.hr/images/PROJEKT.pdf Projekt: Izmjere i analize DNA hrvatskih ovčara] (in Croatian, 'Project: Survey and DNA analysis of Croatian sheepdogs'). Karlovac: Zaklada Hrvatski Ovčar. Archived 29 May 2025.