Karst Shepherd Dog

		Karst Shepherd Dog
		FCI standard Nº 278

Origin		Slovenia
Translation		Mrs. Peggy Davis. Revised by Mrs. Sporre-Willes and Mr. Triquet
Group		Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer -Molossians and Swiss Mountain-and Cattledogs
Section		Section 2.2 Molossian, Mountain type
Working		Without working trial
Acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI		Tuesday 04 February 1969
Publication of the official valid standard		Monday 26 June 2000
Last update		Wednesday 22 August 2001
En français, cette race se dit		Berger du Karst
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Karst-Schäferhund
En español, esta raza se dice		Pastor de Karst
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Karst Shepherd Dog
In his country of origin, his name is		Kraski Ovcar

Usage

The shepherd dog from the Karst Massif is a shepherd dog by excellence and a good guard; today he is more often used as a guard and defence dog; in recent times he is mostly a family dog, but remains nevertheless essentially a perfect shepherd dog.

Brief historical summary

The Karst Shepherd Dog is a breed which has existed for several centuries and which belongs in the molossian group. Probably this dog followed the Illyrians in their migration through Istria and the Dalmatian islands and settled in the Slovenian region of the Karst Massif. The breed was mentioned in writing for the first time in 1689 in the book of Baron Janez Vajkart Valvasor « The glory of the duchy of Carniole ». The breed and its standard were officially recognized on the 2nd June 1939 under the name of « Illyrian Shepherd » during the general assembly of the F.C.I. in Stockholm. At the general assembly of the F.C.I. in 1948 in Bled-Slovenia, the standard was completed and the breed recognized again. Up to 16th March 1968 however, the Shepherd of Illyria of the Karst Massif carried the same name as the shepherd from the Sarplanina Massif.
In the presence of two shepherd dogs carrying the same name, the Central Society of Yugoslavia decided to name the one from the Karst region « Shepherd from the Karst Massif » and the other one « Sarplaninac ». Since that day, those two breeds have been totally independent.

General appearance

The Karst Shepherd Dog is of medium size, harmonious, robust, endowed with a well developed musculature and a strong constitution. The tail and ears are hanging. The coat is iron grey, long and abundant.

Important proportions

• Length of body in proportion to height at withers should be no less than 9 : 8. Body a little longer in bitches.
• Skull a little longer (13 to 14 cm) than the muzzle (11 to 12 cm).
• Width of skull (13 to 14 cm) equal to its length.

Behaviour / temperament

Of good, moderately sharp temperament, courageous and valliant but not biting, very devoted to his master. Incorruptibly good guard, distrustful of strangers; pleasant companion dog and obedient, whilst maintaining a strong individuality.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Of pleasing appearance while being proportionately large in relation to the body; it must be neither fine nor coarse. The upper profile of the skull and muzzle are slightly convergent. Seen from above, it is wide at ear level and tapers imperceptibly towards the nose. Seen in profile, it is deep and rounded. The length of the head, from the occipital protuberance to the tip of the nose, is of 24 to 26 cm. The skull is a little longer than the muzzle.
Skull		Quite developed, lean with fine muscles; its profile being slightly convex, seen from all sides it is rounded. Width of the skull at ear level is equal to the length of the skull. Superciliary arches moderately accentuated; frontal furrow moderate; median crest slightly convex without accentuation of the occiput.
Stop		Only slightly pronounced, not abrupt.

Facial region
Nose		Black. Broad, well developed, slightly exceeding the front line of the muzzle.
Muzzle		Of medium length, broad and deep at its base, reducing progressively towards the nose. Muzzle straight and broad.
Lips		Thick, tight, well fitted, without forming pockets; black pigmentation.
Jaws and teeth		Complete dentition, strong teeth, especially the incisors; scissor bite.
Cheeks		Laterally a little prominent, strong but not too developed, modelling a rather shallow face.
Eyes		Relatively wide apart, neither prominent nor sunken in the sockets, almond shaped, of chestnut colour or dark brown; frank expression, calm and firm, almost melancholic because of the black pigmented eyelids.
Ears		Moderately high set, of medium length. The tips can reach the outer angle of the eye. They fall flat, in the shape of a « V » against the cheeks, the inner borders being folded outwards.

Neck

Broad, thick, well muscled; oval cross-section; upper profile straight or slightly curved, lower profile straight. Of medium length (about 25 cm), is deeply set into the shoulders and attached to the head and body by strong muscles. Skin thick, tight-fitting, without dewlap. Thick coat with long hair, forming a ruff and a well furnished mane, which makes the neck appear shorter and stronger than it is. Proud carriage, slightly raised.

Body
Body		Well developed, of medium length, thoracic part long.
Topline		Straight, horizontal or slightly oblique.
Withers		Long, of medium height, of good width and well linked to the neck.
Back		Straight of medium length, muscled and broad.
Loin		Lumbar region rather short, very muscular and broad.
Croup		Of medium length, broad, very muscular; towards the root of the tail slightly inclined.
Chest		Well developed and well let down, voluminous in width and of good length; ribs broad, flat, moderately sprung; forechest well developed with sternum point quite rounded; length of 25 to 28 cm, its circumference is of 70 to 78 cm.
Underline and belly		Belly slightly raised and tucked up, tight; flanks short moderately cut up.

Tail

Solidly attached to the body, wide at the base; in normal position, sabre shaped, at tip often with a slight hook; of medium length, must at least reach the hock; bushy with long hair, without forming a plume; when the dog is alert or moving the tail is raised up to the level of the back or slightly above it; at rest, it is carried low.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Straight, seen from the front or in profile; the different parts of the limbs (quarters) are very harmoniously linked together.
Shoulders		Shoulder blades of medium length, wide, oblique, well muscled and firmly attached to the body. Scapular-humeral angle close to a right angle.
Upper arm		Relatively long, more slanting than the shoulder blade, of strong musculature, close to body.
Elbows		Humeral-radial angle not too open; the elbow, close to the body, must be at sternum level.
Forearm		Sufficiently long, straight; strong bone structure and musculature.
Carpal		Strong, well jointed to the forearm as well as to the metacarpus.
Pastern		Broad of medium length, slightly slanting.
Forefeet		Well proportioned in relation to the trunk, of oval to round shape; toes tight and arched, dark nails; the centre pad and the digital pads are sufficiently strong, black or with a dark pigmentation.

Hindquarters
Generality		Well proportioned, straight seen from behind and in harmony with the other parts of the body. Seen in profile, the angulations are sufficiently closed.
Upper thigh		Coxal-femoral angle sufficiently closed; thighs long, wide, well muscled and well filled.
Lower thigh		Moderately long, inclined, robust.
Stifle		Femoral-tibial angle slightly open; knee strongly built, solid knee cap.
Metatarsus		Robust, short and straight; dewclaws, if present, must be removed.
Hock		Solid and moderately open.
Hind feet		As the forefeet.

Gait and movement

Harmonious, elastic, well coordinated movements; preferred gait and the most elegant is the trot; the gallop with long strides is less elegant.

Skin

Thick, compact, elastic, close-fitting, without wrinkles; dark pigmentation; lips edges and eye rims black pigmented.

Coat
Hair		Well furnished, long, flat, with abundant undercoat. The head the front edges of the ears and the front part of the legs covered with short hair. The back edge of the ears has longer and more supple hair. In its upper region, the neck has long hair, stiff and very bushy forming a mane; in its lower part, the hair is longer and more supple forming a ruff which is wider at the set of the neck. The trunk and belly have long hair which becomes less hard on the belly. The tail regularly bushy, does not form a plume. On the back side of the forequarters, the long hair is very supple forming fringes. On the back side of the hindquarters, the hair is even longer and bushy forming culottes. The length of the top coat is at least 10 cm.
Colour		Iron grey; especially on the back, a dark shade is preferred; towards the belly and the limbs, the colour turns without visible transition to a light grey or sandy colour, with a dark streak on the front parts of the limbs. The dark mask on the muzzle spreads on to the skull. On the back part of the head it is bordered with grey or sandy or pale fawn hair overlaid with black.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males 57 to 63 cm (ideal size 60 cm). Females 54 to 60 cm (ideal size 57 cm). A tolerance of 2 cm above is authorised but will have a negative effect on the general appreciation of the dog.
Weight		Males 30 to 42 kg. Females 25 to 37 kg.

Faults

• Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

General faults

Minor faults in the general constitution.

Head a bit small, narrow, long and of insufficient depth.

Stop not marked.

Superciliary arches pronounced.

Cheeks too full or too lean.

Jaws insufficiently developed.

Slack lips.

Ears set too high or very low insufficiently flattened against cheeks.

Eyes too open, too light, set insufficiently apart.

Presence of dewlap.

Slack back, rump slightly raised or falling away.

Narrow chest, not deep enough or barrel shaped; narrow forechest.

Tail too short.

Quarters (limbs) slightly defective, foot split up between toes, hare feet.

Wrinkled skin or light in pigmentation.

Absence of wrinkles on forehead.

Insufficient pigmentation of nose, lip edges and eye rims.

Coat of insufficient length.

Small white patch on the chest, absence of mask.

Serious faults

Serious faults in the general constitution.

Square body shape.

Narrow head, too light or too coarse.

Stop too marked.

Muzzle too pointed or too long.

Teeth : pincer bite, uneven alignment of incisors.

Light eyes.

Pricked ears.

Saddle back, rump definitely raised.

Corkscrew tail or rolled up.

Pounding gait (in front).

Stilted gait (behind).

Clumsy movement especially of the hindquarters.

Soft and wavy coat.

Insufficient pigmentation of nose; lip edges and eyerims.

White patch on the chest exceeding 2 cm in width and 10 cm in length.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dog.

Exaggerated disproportion between the different parts of the body.

Size below the minimum authorized in the standard.

Head too big in relation to the body.

Incomplete dentition.

Undershot, overshot conditions.

Standing position manifestly close or too wide (barrel-shaped).

Very short or stump-like tail.

Depigmentation of nose, lip edges and eyerims.

All other colours than grey which must be at least light grey; bicoloured subjects or of several colours, very definite demarcation between the shades of grey.

White patches on the chest or the neck exceeding 2 cm in width or 10 cm in length.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

http://www.fci.be/

Additional information from visitors

Descended from ancient Molossian hunting dogs crossed with imported Egyptian sighthounds, the Posavac is closely related to other hounds of the Balkans. Common in a variety of sizes in the 1400's, the Posavac Hound has been bred to a consistent type ever since the early 18th century, but was only recognized as one of the Yugoslavian Hounds by the F.C.I. in 1955 under the name of "Kras Posavac Basin Hound". A rough-coated variety existed in the past, but has been excluded from the breed Standard, even though it can still be encountered on occasion in some parts of the region.
A valued hunter in Yugoslavia, the breed remains fairly unknown outside its native borders. This magnificient rugged dog exists in modest numbers all over the Balkans and is presently classified as a Croatian breed. Named after the Posavina plains of northern Bosnia, the Posavski Gonic is a fast runner and tenacious worker, used to track a variety of game, from rabbits and birds to deer and wild boars.
The Posavac Hound is energetic, intelligent and gentle-natured, making an amenable family companion. However, it requires plenty of excercise and is better suited for the life of a working hunter than that of an urban pet. Broad-chested and muscular, this medium-sized breed is healthy, resilient and well-equipped for tackling even the roughest of terrains. The coat is short, thick and flat, coming in shades of wheaten, fawn and red, usually with white markings on the head, chest, feet and tail. Average height is around 20 inches.

Details: Also available:; Last Updated: 27 January 2024; Hits: 255

Karst Shepherd Dog