KENAI
Tornjak

The breeds · working

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Guardian · FCI standard 355

Tornjak.

Livestock guardian that also herds, and a farmyard guard. FCI 355 utilization: herding and protection of livestock; farmyard guard dog; FCI classifies it as molossoid, mountain type, without working trial. FCI, UKC and the AKC page on temperament: steady, friendly, courageous, obedient, intelligent, dignified; fierce in guarding property entrusted to him, cannot be bribed, suspicious of strangers; devoted to his master and very calm in his presence; learns quickly and is easy to train. UKC history: re-created breed from nearly extinct native shepherd dogs of the mountains of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Croatia; written mentions in 1067 and 1374; recovery began around 1972 and continuous pure breeding in 1978.

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.
62–110LBWeight, all linesbreed 62 to 110 lb.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 23 to 28.3 in · bitches 22.8 to 28 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

The UKC centimetre figure for females reads as a copy slip from the male line; the inch figures agree with FCI and are used. Low and high span UKC and FCI tolerances and the AKC breed-wide band. Center blank.

Weight

62 to 110 lb

Breed clubAKC

One breed-wide band from one page; no standard backs it.

Coat

UKC and FCI 355: long double coat, short on the muzzle, forehead, ears and front of legs; mane, breeches and forearm feathering. As a rule parti-coloured with distinct markings of solid colours, usually a white ground; a black mantle with white markings, or nearly white with small markings. UKC: a solid-coloured dog and a dark mask are faults, solid colour is eliminating; FCI disqualifies solid-coloured dogs

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2017

Shedding

AKC breed page: shedding level 4 of 5. UKC and FCI describe a long, very thick winter undercoat of woolly texture; neither states when it is shed

Breed clubAKC

Heat tolerance

2 of 5 · UKC and FCI 355: double coat, long, thick, coarse and straight topcoat (especially long over the croup), abundant mane and breeches, tail richly coated, winter undercoat long, very thick and woolly

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 2017

Derived from the coat description (2 = heavy double / long). No source speaks to heat.

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; playfulness 3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

No Royal Kennel Club page and no standard states an exercise requirement, so 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 4 of 5. UKC and FCI: long thick coat with a woolly winter undercoat that should not part along the back

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands only; no source states a brushing schedule, so grooming_load is omitted.

The work

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

Role

Livestock guardian that also herds, and a farmyard guard. FCI 355 utilization: herding and protection of livestock; farmyard guard dog; FCI classifies it as molossoid, mountain type, without working trial. FCI, UKC and the AKC page on temperament: steady, friendly, courageous, obedient, intelligent, dignified; fierce in guarding property entrusted to him, cannot be bribed, suspicious of strangers; devoted to his master and very calm in his presence; learns quickly and is easy to train. UKC history: re-created breed from nearly extinct native shepherd dogs of the mountains of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Croatia; written mentions in 1067 and 1374; recovery began around 1972 and continuous pure breeding in 1978

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 355, 2017

The registries do not name the predators the dog faces or say how it works with the stock; FCI is the only one with a utilization line.

Also used on

FCI 355: farmyard guard dog; UKC and AKC page: guard of property entrusted to him

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 355, 2017

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 1; Shedding Level 4; 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
Bosnian and Herzegovinian-Croatian Shepherd Dog, Bosnian-Herzegovinian-Croatian Shepherd Dog, BHC Shepherd

Every breed, read the same way.

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

All published breeds

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