South Russian Ovcharka

The South Russian Ovcharka[lower-alpha 1] or South Russian Shepherd Dog is breed of flock guardian dog. It developed in the areas of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union that are now Ukraine and southern Russia, and is thought to derive from cross-breeding between local dogs of the Russian steppes and long-haired shepherd dogs brought to the area from Spain in the late eighteenth century together with Merino sheep.[2][3]: 401  These may have been similar in appearance to the present-day Gos d'Atura Catala.[2]

South Russian Ovcharka
Other names
  • Youjnorousskaïa Ovtcharka
  • South Russian Sheepdog
  • Ukrainian Ovcharka
  • Yuzhak
  • South Ukrainian Ovcharka
  • South Russian Shepherd Dog
Origin
Traits
Height Males
minimum 66 cm
Females
minimum 62 cm
Weight Males
minimum 35 kg
Females
minimum 30 kg
Life span 9–11 years[1]: 55 
Kennel club standards
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

History
Image from about 1915

The South Russian Ovcharka is thought to derive from cross-breeding between local dogs – of both flock guardian and sighthound type – of the Russian steppes and long-haired shepherd dogs brought to the area from Spain in the late eighteenth century together with Merino sheep.[2] These Spanish dogs may have been similar in appearance to the present-day Gos d'Atura Catala.[2] A cross-bred dog of this South Russian type won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris.[2]

Much of the selective breeding and development of the breed took place in the early twentieth century, on the estates of Friedrich von Falz-Fein at Askania-Nova, now in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine.[2] The breed standard was approved early in the 1930s.[2]

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale definitively accepted it on 30 September 1983 as the Yuzhnorusskaya Ovcharka or South Russian Shepherd Dog.[4]

Characteristics

It is a large dog: dogs stand no less than 66 cm at the withers and weigh at least 35 kg; bitches are about 4 cm smaller and weigh some 5 kg less.[2] Some dogs are very large, with weights of up to 75 kg.[3]: 402  The head is long and of wedge shape; the ears are pendent and triangular. The coat is long, coarse and thick. It may be solid white, grey or pale ivory; or white with tinges of yellow, or white with patches of grey, pale ivory or wheat colour.[2]

Legislation

The dog is banned in Denmark.[5]

Notes
  1. Russian: Южнорусская овчарка, yuzhnorusskaya ovcharka

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Russian Ovcharka.
  1. [Bruce Fogle] (2013). The Dog Encyclopedia. London; New York: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9781465408440.
  2. FCI-Standard N° 326: Yuzhnorusskaya Ovcharka (South Russian Shepherd Dog). Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed March 2022.
  3. Desmond Morris (2002). Dogs: A Dictionary of Dog Breeds. North Pomfret, Vermont: Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 9781570762192.
  4. FCI breeds nomenclature: Yuzhnorusskaya Ovcharka (326). Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed March 2022.
  5. "Danish Legislation on Dogs". www.foedevarestyrelsen.dk. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
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