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Bohemian Shepherd

The breeds · herding

AKC Foundation Stock Service · FCI standard 364

Bohemian Shepherd.

FCI 364 utilization: versatile working dog. FCI history: dogs of the Chodsko region used for guarding and protecting and to round up cattle; the faithful home guard of the Chod people. AKC breed page: an intelligent, lively, quick, athletic breed that welcomes most any activity, rather versatile. KPCHP history: from the 13th century the Chods guarded the Bavarian-Bohemian border road from Domazlice, and the dogs also helped guard and defend the border, were used for grazing stock and had to be able to track in necessary hunting of game; the club says the breed was regenerated from 1984. Wikipedia: an ancient sheep herding dog and watch dog from the Chod region of southwest Bohemia, also used by the Chods on border patrol and for herding and tracking game..

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.
35–60LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 35 to 60 lb; breed bitches 35 to 55 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 19 to 22 in · bitches 19 to 22 in

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

FCI, AKC and the Czech club print the same 49 to 52 cm band; Wikipedia's breed-wide 19 to 22 in is counted in both sex rows and widens low and high. FCI disqualifies females under 47 or over 54 cm. No ideal printed.

Weight

dogs 35 to 60 lb · bitches 35 to 55 lb

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

Low and high span FCI, AKC, the Czech club and Wikipedia's breed-wide 35 to 55 lb (counted in both sex rows).

Coat

FCI 364: long, glossy, thick, coarser coat 5 to 12 cm, straight or slightly wavy, with a well developed shorter, softer undercoat; longest on neck, back and the back of thighs and hocks; short smooth coat only on the face, ear tips and front of the limbs. Colour black to gunmetal-black with vivid tan markings; no other colour allowed. AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5, Shedding Level 3 of 5. KPCHP (Czech copy of the standard): coat 5 to 12 cm, long, dense, harder; well developed shorter softer undercoat; black with tan markings (black and tan). Wikipedia: long thick fur and a rich undercoat let them survive harsh weather; desired colour black with tan.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

Shedding

AKC breed page: Shedding Level 3 of 5. No other source read states a shedding season.

Breed clubAKC

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · Long coat with a rich undercoat that makes it weather-resistant (FCI 364) KPCHP: hardy, copes with cold very well; in sunny summer shade must be provided; can live in a flat if the owners do not mind the long coat, ideally in a cooler room; the health page adds that it copes worse with extremely hot weather.

DerivedFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

Derived from the standard's coat description; the standard prints no heat figure. Long coat plus well developed undercoat reads as the heavy double / long tier, 2.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

AKC breed page: Energy Level 4 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 4, Playfulness 4. AKC intro: intelligent, lively, quick, athletic, enthusiastically welcomes most any activity. FCI 364 working-dog classification: with working trial. KPCHP: thrives with year-round time outdoors; welcomes most activities (use page lists IGP, tracking, agility, canicross and dogtrekking) but can lie quietly indoors.

Breed clubAKC

No Royal Kennel Club page exists for this breed (the RKC A to Z list holds no entry), so no exercise band in minutes is recorded.

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 4 of 5, Trainability 4, Barking Level 4, Watchdog/Protective Nature 4, Openness to Strangers 3. FCI 364: lively with fast though not impetuous reactions; docile, easily trained, attentive, amenable; fearless with strong nerves, exceptionally vigilant, superb sense of smell, no signs of nervousness. KPCHP temperament page: lively temperament and quick reactions, agile but not rash; welcomes most offered activities enthusiastically, yet can switch from activity to rest and lie quietly; sensitive, needs a calm approach until puberty ends; gets on well with other dogs in the great majority of cases. Wikipedia: energetic and quick, stable, calm and friendly.

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

Grooming

AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5, Shedding Level 3 of 5. FCI 364: long coat with a rich undercoat. No grooming band in plain words was found.

Breed clubAKC

The work

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

Role

FCI 364 utilization: versatile working dog. FCI history: dogs of the Chodsko region used for guarding and protecting and to round up cattle; the faithful home guard of the Chod people. AKC breed page: an intelligent, lively, quick, athletic breed that welcomes most any activity, rather versatile. KPCHP history: from the 13th century the Chods guarded the Bavarian-Bohemian border road from Domazlice, and the dogs also helped guard and defend the border, were used for grazing stock and had to be able to track in necessary hunting of game; the club says the breed was regenerated from 1984. Wikipedia: an ancient sheep herding dog and watch dog from the Chod region of southwest Bohemia, also used by the Chods on border patrol and for herding and tracking game.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

FCI itself says its historical documents support a long-established type of Czech sheepdog but do not prove the origin of the present-day dog.

Primary game

Cattle (FCI 364 history: used to round up cattle). No source read names sheep for this breed. KPCHP history: used for grazing stock (pastevectvi) and for tracking in necessary hunting of game. Wikipedia: herding and guard dog, 'ancient sheep herding dog' in its lead line and 'aiding them in border patrols but also herding and tracking game'; the Wikipedia sheep claim is editorial and the sources disagree on cattle versus sheep.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

Stock worked, not game.

Also used on

FCI 364: guarding and protecting; home guard; exceptionally vigilant; superb sense of smell (the standard names the scent ability but no scent work). KPCHP use page: all-round (IGP) trials; excels in tracking competitions with national IGP-FH titles; first working Bohemian Shepherd with Czech police certified for narcotics detection; rescue and search work with strong scenting, and mantrailing (first-level certificate first earned in 2022); also agility, obedience, nosework, dog dancing, canicross and dogtrekking. Wikipedia: proficient search and rescue dogs, good sense of smell.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

Search pattern

FCI 364 gait: natural gait is a low trot, light, supple, far reaching. No source read describes how it works stock (heading, heeling, eye, voice). KPCHP use page: excels in tracking competitions (national IGP-FH tracking titles); nosework and mantrailing named as strengths. This is trial and sport work; no source read describes herding style.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

Field trial standard

FCI 364 classification: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, with working trial. The trial rules were not read. KPCHP says the breed has no separate working and show lines, and that most working-handled dogs also do well in the show ring; its use page lists IGP all-round trials, tracking, rescue, agility and nosework as the working outlets.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 364, 2019

How common the problems are

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

Most common disorders

KPCHP health page: the breed shows various diseases in small numbers, but so far nothing indicates a larger share suffers any one in particular; hip X-ray (DKK) is monitored and selected for breeding suitability, with a result up to degree 2 required. KPCHP health programme (2015 directive): the breed is among the less health-affected working breeds; higher DKK grades occur in an acceptable share of the X-rays made. Wikipedia: generally considered healthy with few hereditary diseases, thanks in part to the Czech club's rules; average lifespan 12-14 years (editorial, not a measured median).

Breed clubKlub pratel chodskeho psa (Czech breed club): breed standard copy

Club statement from its own surveys; no counts printed on the pages read.

More

akc bands

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

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

Also called
Chodský pes, Chodsky Pes, Bohemian Shepherd Dog

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