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Portuguese Sheepdog

The breeds · herding

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Herding · FCI standard 93

Portuguese Sheepdog.

FCI 93 utilization: sheepdog for herding and watching over livestock. Used in the Alentejo for herding and watching sheep, cattle, horses, goats and pigs; known for keeping livestock in the pastures, searching for stray animals, and alerting to predators; vigilant at night; exceptionally intelligent, very lively, wary of strangers. UKC: developed as a sheepdog, guard and general farm dog; used particularly in the Alentejo for guarding and driving all the flocks and herds (sheep, goats, cattle, horses, pigs); a good night guarding dog.

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.
26–60LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 26 to 59.5 lb; breed bitches 26 to 59.5 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 16.5 to 21.7 in · bitches 16 to 21.5 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

Low and high span FCI, UKC and the AKC breed-wide band; no ideal printed.

Weight

dogs 26 to 59.5 lb · bitches 26 to 59.5 lb

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

Same disagreement as the male row.

Coat

FCI 93: straight or slightly wavy, long, slightly harsh goat-like texture, long beard, moustache and eyebrows not covering the eyes, dense, no undercoat or woolliness; colours yellow, brown, grey, fawn, wolf-grey and black, with tan markings. UKC: very long, smooth or slightly wavy, goat-like, no undercoat; docked or natural bob tail is a disqualification

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

Shedding

Shedding 2 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 · Coat very long, straight or slightly wavy, goat-like texture, with beard, moustache and eyebrows; no undercoat or woolliness (FCI, UKC). Also described as adapted to the Alentejo's temperature changes (FCI history)

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

Derived from the coat description (long coat = 2, per library table); the standard states no undercoat, which may favour a 3. Judgment call for the second key.

The dog at home

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

Energy

AKC breed page: energy level 4 of 5, mental stimulation needs 4 of 5, playfulness 3 of 5, barking level 3 of 5, trainability 5 of 5, watchdog/protective nature 5 of 5, adaptability 4 of 5, openness to strangers 3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not a measured figure.

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 2 of 5, drooling level 2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

The work

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

Role

FCI 93 utilization: sheepdog for herding and watching over livestock. Used in the Alentejo for herding and watching sheep, cattle, horses, goats and pigs; known for keeping livestock in the pastures, searching for stray animals, and alerting to predators; vigilant at night; exceptionally intelligent, very lively, wary of strangers. UKC: developed as a sheepdog, guard and general farm dog; used particularly in the Alentejo for guarding and driving all the flocks and herds (sheep, goats, cattle, horses, pigs); a good night guarding dog

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

FCI and UKC agree on role and stock.

Also used on

FCI 93: today also an excellent companion, sporting and guard dog; guarding is part of the working description (vigilant at night, alerts to predators). UKC: guard and general farm dog

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

Field trial standard

FCI 93 classification: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, 'Without working trial'. AKC: a Foundation Stock Service breed (FSS news: added September 2012) eligible for AKC herding events for suffix titles only

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2009

More

akc bands

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

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

Also called
Cao da Serra de Aires, Monkey dog

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your portuguese sheepdog, on the record.

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