UKC Guardian · FCI standard 247

Aidi (Atlas Mountain Dog).

Guard dog of semi-nomadic mountain people in the Atlas of Morocco (a breed of North Africa, standard held by Morocco). FCI 247 utilization: guarding and protecting his master's flocks and belongings; defends its masters' tent and belongings and protects the flocks from wild beasts; the coat is armour in the fights the dog must undertake against jackals and other predators. FCI and UKC both state that the dog has never guarded flocks in the European sense of herding, and that there are no sheepdogs in the Atlas region. Temperament: very faithful, affectionate and docile with its family; inherent guarding and remarkable protective behaviour; always alert, instinctively judges the gravity and proximity of danger. Tireless short, fast trot (FCI).

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

50–55LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 50 to 55 lb; breed bitches 50 to 55 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 20.5 to 24.5 in · bitches 20.5 to 24.5 in

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 247, 2003

No source splits by sex, so the range counts in both rows. UKC prints the ideal as a range, so center is blank.

Weight

dogs 50 to 55 lb · bitches 50 to 55 lb

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial sources only; no standard prints a weight. One range for both sexes, counted in both rows.

Coat

FCI 247: thick, rather harsh, half-long, about 6 cm; short and finer on face and ears; mane on neck and throat, especially males; very long, well-furnished breeches and tail. Colours very variable: fawn (washed sand to deep red, may be brindled or have a mantle), brown (beige to burned bread), black; all may be spotted with white up to fully white. Lips and nose strongly pigmented black or brown. Harlequin, blue and isabella are not acceptable. UKC: same colours; distinctly short coat or no tail plume are disqualifying; the richness of the tail plume denotes pure breeding

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 247, 2003

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · FCI 247: thick, rather harsh, half-long coat about 6 cm, short on face and ears, mane (especially males), long breeches and plume; the fleece protects equally from the sun and from the cold of the mountains. UKC: thick, bushy coat that protects from sun and cold

DerivedFCI Standard N° 247, 2003

Derived from the coat description (3 = medium double). Both standards say the coat guards against heat as well as cold.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

DogBreedInfo: should be taken for long daily walks; not recommended for apartment life, does best with at least a quarter acre and a 5 foot fence. Wikipedia (English): adapts to an urban environment when given sufficient tasks and exercise

EditorialDogBreedInfo.com

Text only; no minutes figure printed.

Grooming

DogBreedInfo: the coat is easy to groom and needs little attention; brush occasionally with a firm bristle brush and bathe only when necessary; an average shedder

EditorialDogBreedInfo.com

Single editorial source for grooming.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 247, 2003

Two registry sources only. FCI notes that in some regions of Morocco the ears are cropped and the tail docked on working dogs.

Also used on

Guard of the tent and belongings as well as the flocks (FCI 247). Hunting partner: Wikipedia (English) says it possesses hunting capabilities and good scenting ability and in Morocco is often paired in hunting with the Sloughi, which chases down prey the Aidi has located by scent; French Wikipedia says it is sometimes still used in a pair with the Sloughi to hunt wild boar, fox and jackal; DogBreedInfo calls it a good hunting and scent dog. FCI 247 and UKC do not mention hunting

EditorialWikipedia

Hunting use rests on three editorial sources (two Wikipedia languages count as one publisher, plus DogBreedInfo); the registry standards are silent.

Search pattern

Wikipedia (English): the Aidi locates prey by scent and the Sloughi then chases it down (a scent-then-sight pair). French Wikipedia: very developed sense of smell

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial; Wikipedia (two languages) is one publisher.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 3 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Atlas Mountain Dog, Chien de Montagne de l'Atlas, Atlas Sheepdog, Moroccan Aidi

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