UKC Herding · FCI standard 326

South Russian Shepherd Dog.

FCI 326 utilization: herding and guardian dog, used for protecting cattle; they successfully performed guard duties and protect premises. FCI behaviour: a perfect guard dog both when watching the cattle and when protecting the owner and his property. FCI history: dogs descended from Spanish sheepdogs able to round up flocks of sheep and protect them. UKC: used as flock herders and guardians in the Russian steppes; in 2009 the breed moved from the Guardian Dog Group to the Herding Dog Group. Wikipedia (English): a breed of flock guardian dog. Wikipedia (Russian, translated): good working qualities, used mainly for guard duty today..

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.

66–165LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 77.2 to 165 lb; breed bitches 66.1 to 110 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 25 in · bitches 24 in

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Every source prints only a minimum, so high is blank and low is the lowest figure cited (UKC 24 in; FCI 24.4). No ideal printed, so center is blank.

Weight

dogs 77.2 to 165 lb · bitches 66.1 to 110 lb

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Low is the FCI minimum. High is the Dogbreedslist breed-wide 110 lb, counted in both sex rows; it is an editorial figure, not a standard. Low 66.1 lb is converted from the printed 30 kg.

Coat

FCI 326: abundant, long (not less than 10 cm), harsh, thick, coarse and shaggy, slightly wavy or broken coat of nearly equal length on head, body, limbs and tail, with eyebrows, moustache and beard; soft, long, thick, lighter undercoat; males ideally maned; a combed-out undercoat or matted, elf-locked coat is undesirable. UKC: long, coarse, thick, dense with a well developed undercoat, equal length on head, legs, chest and tail. Colour white, white with yellowish shading, white with grey, wheaten or pale ivory patches, grey, pale ivory (FCI); white, straw, ashen grey and shades of grey (UKC). Wikipedia (English): long, coarse and thick; solid white, grey or pale ivory, or white with tinges of yellow, or white with patches of grey, pale ivory or wheat. Wikipedia (Russian): coat not less than 10 cm, harsh, slightly wavy, with a well-developed undercoat; the coat needs careful care (translation).

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · Long (10 cm or more), harsh, thick, shaggy coat with a thick undercoat (FCI 326)

DerivedFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Derived from the standard's coat description; the standard prints no heat figure. Long shaggy double coat reads as the heavy double / long tier, 2. The FCI notes the dogs adapt to various climatic conditions through endurance; that is a breed claim, not a heat figure.

The dog at home

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

Energy

FCI 326: well balanced, self-confident and independent; devoted to its owner but mistrustful and aloof towards strangers; a quick and agile dog despite a heavy look. UKC: fierce, distrustful of strangers and dominant in character; capable of adjusting to a wide variety of climatic conditions and temperatures; uncontrolled excitability or cowardice is a serious fault. Wikipedia (Russian, translated): a one-owner dog that picks one family member to obey, treats house and family as its property, and suits an active lifestyle rather than older or frail owners.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Grooming

Dogbreedslist (editorial): grooming 4 stars of 5, moderate shedding, routine brushing will help. Wikipedia (Russian, translated): the coat requires careful care.

EditorialDogbreedslist.info

Editorial star rating, no minutes or kennel-club band; not scored.

The work

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

Role

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Primary game

FCI 326: cattle (utilization line, protection) and sheep (history: rounding up and protecting flocks). UKC: flocks on the Russian steppes. Wikipedia (English): flocks, with the Spanish long-haired shepherd dogs arriving with Merino sheep.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Stock worked, not game. The sources give a mix of herding and guarding; the herding style (heading, driving) is not described by either.

Also used on

FCI 326: guarding premises and the owner's property. UKC: guardian of flocks. Wikipedia (Russian, translated): guard duty is its main use today.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Search pattern

FCI 326 history: agile dogs able to round up flocks of sheep and protect them. UKC gait: the heavy trot and the gallop, free and extended. No source read describes how it works stock beyond that, and none states voice or pack or single work.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

Field trial standard

FCI 326 classification: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, without working trial. UKC: Herding Dog Group since 2009.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 326, 2017

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: Yuzhnorusskaya Ovcharka, South Russian Ovcharka, Yuzhak

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