KENAI
Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog

The breeds · herding

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Herding · FCI standard 349

Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog.

Herd guard dog from the Carpathian Mountains. UKC: developed for use as a herd guard dog; capable guard and courageous fighter against bear, wolf and lynx; wary of strangers but very good with children. FCI 349 utilization: excellent herding dog, incorruptible guardian and marvelous companion; a good herd dog, very courageous and an efficient fighter against bear, wolf and lynx; calm, stable, wary of strangers. Gündemir et al. 2023: bred to guard herds of sheep and cattle; the one Mioritic skull measured was more brachycephalic than the other guardian breeds, close to the mastiff type (n = 1). AKC breed page: watchdog and protective nature 5 of 5, openness to strangers 1 of 5.

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.

30 / 28INHeightdogs 29.5, bitches 27.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
100–130LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 100 to 130 lb; breed bitches 100 to 130 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 29.5 in (27 to 29.5) · bitches 27.5 in (25.5 to 28)

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 349, 2022

Center is the ideal FCI (27.6 in) and UKC (27.5 in) print. Low is the UKC minimum (25.5 in; FCI 65 cm = 25.6 in). The AKC page's 22.5 in floor sits below the FCI disqualification (under 63 cm = 24.8 in) and the UKC eliminating fault (under 25.5 in), a plain conflict with every standard, so it is in the text only (Chad's Oct 9 amendment).

Weight

dogs 100 to 130 lb · bitches 100 to 130 lb

Breed clubAKC

AKC band is breed-wide, counted in both sex rows. The standards print no weight.

Coat

FCI 349: abundant on head and body, harsh, straight, minimum 10 cm; undercoat denser, supple and lighter; shorter on the limbs; tail well furnished. Piebald (white ground with well-defined black or grey markings), solid white or solid grey; ear tips dark grey or black. Brindle is a severe fault. UKC: solid white, solid gray or piebald; coat minimum 4 in

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 349, 2022

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 · FCI 349: long coat, minimum 10 cm, abundant on head and body, harsh and straight, denser lighter undercoat. UKC: minimum 4 in with a very thick undercoat

DerivedFCI Standard N° 349, 2022

Derived from the coat description (2 = heavy double / long). FCI calls a coat under 8 cm a severe fault.

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 3 of 5, mental stimulation needs 3 of 5, drooling level 3, barking level 1. FCI 349: calm and stable dog

Breed clubAKC

No Royal Kennel Club page, so no numeric minutes band; exercise_need_min is omitted.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

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. FCI 349: abundant long coat on head and body, minimum 10 cm, harsh, with a denser, lighter undercoat. UKC: harsh abundant coat minimum 4 in on head and body, very thick undercoat

Breed clubAKC

The work

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

Role

Herd guard dog from the Carpathian Mountains. UKC: developed for use as a herd guard dog; capable guard and courageous fighter against bear, wolf and lynx; wary of strangers but very good with children. FCI 349 utilization: excellent herding dog, incorruptible guardian and marvelous companion; a good herd dog, very courageous and an efficient fighter against bear, wolf and lynx; calm, stable, wary of strangers. Gündemir et al. 2023: bred to guard herds of sheep and cattle; the one Mioritic skull measured was more brachycephalic than the other guardian breeds, close to the mastiff type (n = 1). AKC breed page: watchdog and protective nature 5 of 5, openness to strangers 1 of 5

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 349, 2022

FCI files the breed in Group 1 (sheepdogs, without working trial) while the Bucovina and Raven are Group 2 molossoids. The cranial finding rests on a single specimen.

How common the problems are

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

Most common disorders

Cocostirc et al. 2023 (Romanian kennel screening for the canine degenerative myelopathy SOD1:c.118G>A mutation): 4 Mioritic Shepherds from one kennel, 2 G/G and 2 G/A carriers, mutant allele frequency 0.25; first documentation of the mutation in the breed; no dog showed clinical signs. A second table cited in a 2021 SOD1 review lists the breed at wild-type only (1.00)

StudiedCocostîrc V, 2023

Four dogs from one kennel is a screening, not a prevalence. No club health statement was found.

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 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 1; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; 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.

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
Ciobanesc Romanesc Mioritic, Mioritic, Romanian Mioritic Shepherd

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