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Bergamasco Sheepdog

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 194

Bergamasco Sheepdog.

Herding and guarding. AKC standard: a drover and a guardian whose primary functions are to move and guard herds and livestock; calm and patient, bred to think for themselves and assess each situation. UKC: to both guide and guard the herd. FCI 194: shepherd dog used to drive and guard herds. RKC: an instinctive herder used both as flock herd and flock guard..

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.

24 / 22INHeightdogs 23.5, bitches 22. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
57–84LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 70 to 84 lb; breed bitches 57 to 71 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayUp to 1 hour per day (RKC band). The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 23.5 in (21 to 25) · bitches 22 in (21 to 25)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Center is the ideal AKC and UKC print (FCI prints 60 and 56 cm, the same within rounding). Low/high span the widest acceptable range, the AKC 21 to 25 in, which it applies to both sexes; the UKC and FCI windows are narrower and sit inside it.

Weight

dogs 70 to 84 lb · bitches 57 to 71 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Three registry standards agree. No ideal printed, center blank. AKC breed page repeats the same bands.

Coat

Three types of hair: a short, dense, fine undercoat adhering to the skin; strong, rough "goat hair"; and woolly hair. Goat hair and wool weave into flocks (flat, irregular, boiled-wool consistency) from about 12 to 15 months; flocks are never combed out. Hair on the head hangs over the eyes (UKC); solid gray to black, white no more than one-fifth. FCI 194 agrees: the woolly coat does not moult.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Shedding

Shedding 1 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · Three-hair coat (short oily waterproof undercoat, rough goat hair, woolly hair) felting into flocks over the whole body and legs; AKC breed page says the coat aids thermoregulation and must never be shaved

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2022

Derived from the coat description: heavy matted double-type coat in a mountain breed, placed at 2.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day (RKC band)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: up to 1 hour = 60. AKC breed page calls it a moderate amount of daily exercise (energy 3 of 5).

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC breed page: a moderate amount every day, best as shared activity rather than time alone in the yard; generally calm but with a good deal of energy, happy to retrieve a ball, hike briskly or romp in an open field. AKC standard: a gait of steady slow trot that can be kept up for long periods without tiring.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: more than once a week, long coat, sheds. AKC breed page: an adult coat is basically maintenance-free once the flocks are ripped into mats; no shedding, no brushing, a bath only two or three times a year, never shave.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than once a week = 3. The AKC breed page and RKC disagree on upkeep and shedding; both stand. Coat formation (ripping the mats apart over a few hours or evenings from about a year of age) is a one-off workload not captured by the number.

Grooming

RKC: more than once a week; long coat; sheds. AKC breed page: basically maintenance-free once the flocks are formed; goat and wool hair appear from about a year old; the mats are ripped apart by hand; no shedding or brushing; bathe two or three times a year; never shave the coat because it aids thermoregulation.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

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

Role

Herding and guarding. AKC standard: a drover and a guardian whose primary functions are to move and guard herds and livestock; calm and patient, bred to think for themselves and assess each situation. UKC: to both guide and guard the herd. FCI 194: shepherd dog used to drive and guard herds. RKC: an instinctive herder used both as flock herd and flock guard.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Four registries state the same dual role; no breed-club working description was reachable.

Primary game

Livestock, not game. AKC standard: sheep on the alpine rocky slopes and pastures; FCI 194: herds and livestock in general, moved seasonally between the Alpine pastures and the plains of the Po Valley (UKC: Po Valley in winter, the Alps in summer).

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Also used on

UKC: excellent guard and companion dog, suited to many uses, able to form a close relationship with man. FCI 194: excellent guard and companion. AKC breed page: happy to join in almost any activity. No hunting use is stated in any source read.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

Range

Steady and sustained rather than fast: "having no need for speed" (AKC), long stretches at an extended trot in mountain pasture (FCI 194).

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Described qualitatively; none of the sources says close, medium or big in those words.

Search pattern

Drover on the move with the flock. AKC standard: a free, low-reaching, extended, elastic trot kept close to the ground, a steady slow trot held for long periods; slower paced than flatland herding breeds, with a unique skeletal structure for rough terrain. FCI 194: preferred gait a rather extended trot maintained for long periods, able to go into an ordinary gallop. UKC: because the herd is driven the dog must be in constant motion.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2022

Field trial standard

FCI classification: Group 1 Sheepdogs and cattledogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, with working trial.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 194, 2020

The FCI classification only; no AKC or club herding test standard was read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

24.8% · 24.8% dysplastic of 105 OFA hip evaluations on record (all data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 75.2% normal; mild 14.3%, moderate 7.6%, severe 2.9%; breed rank 35

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA data is a voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is likely higher. All-data figures are undated; n is the number of evaluations on record. Very small n (105) for a rare breed.

Most common disorders

Parent club: a healthy and hearty breed with no known diseases or health problems affecting the breed as a whole; the number of dogs and breeders is small and overbreeding has not been an issue. The club prefers PennHIP for hips and recommends a degenerative myelopathy (DM) DNA test where a parent is a carrier, though DM is not currently an issue in the breed. AKC breed page: generally healthy.

Breed clubBergamasco Sheepdog Club of America, 2020

Parent-club self-report. It sits beside the OFA hip figure (24.8% of 105), which is a small voluntary sample; the two are not reconciled. The AKC page prints Life Expectancy 13 to 15 years; that registry band is not used as a median.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

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. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Bergamasco, Bergamasco Shepherd, Pastore Bergamasco

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