Bergamasco Shepherd

In 2018 a genetic study found that, just prior to 1859, a broadly distributed European herding dog had given rise to the German Shepherd Dog, the French Berger Picard, and the five Italian herding breeds: Bergamasco Shepherd, Cane Paratore, Lupino del Gigante, Pastore d'Oropa and the Pastore della Lessinia e del Lagorai.[2]

Bergamasco is a medium size dog with a rustic appearance

The Bergamasco is a muscular, heavy-boned herding dog with a large head and a thick tail that hangs down to the hock and curves slightly upward at the end. The entire dog is covered with an abundant coat that forms mats. The Bergamasco is compact in profile but is just slightly longer than tall. The Bergamasco's characteristic feature is its unique coat, made up of three types of hair. The coat forms flocks (strands of hair weaved together creating flat layers of felted hair) or loose mats, which cover the dog's body and legs, and protect the dog from weather and predators. The hair on the head is typically long and hangs over the eyes.[3]

The Bergamasco is roughly square in outline when seen from the side – the length of the body is approximately equal to the height at the withers.[1] Dogs stand some 58–62 cm at the withers, and weigh about 32–38 kg; bitches are about 4 cm smaller, and weigh on average 6 kg less.[1]

The breed's most distinctive feature is the unusual felted coat, a normal and healthy characteristic of the breed. The coat is characterized by three types of hair: a fine, dense, oily undercoat, long harsher hairs similar to a goat's and a top woolly outer-coat.[4] The three types of hair weave together as the dog gets older to form flat mats or flocks. The mats start from the spine and go down the flanks, growing every year to reach the ground. The color can be solid gray or gradations of gray (including merle) up to and including solid black, provided it is not shiny or lustrous. Color also includes shadings only of isabella and fawn at the lower part of flocks (as a result of discoloration of old hair, not as a base color).[3]

The Eastern European breeds, the Komondor and Mioritic Shepherd, have a single coat consisting of relatively little guard hair (also referred to as "goat hair"), but mainly curly down hair as an adaptation to that environment. The Western European breeds, such as the Briard and the Spanish Water Dog, also have a single coat, however, it consists mainly of guard hair. The Alpine region geographically between them, home of the Bergamasco shepherd, appears to form a bridge between these two groups. The Bergamasco shepherd forms flocks which consist of both types of hair are present in almost equal proportions, although straighter and differently distributed.[5]

• Komondor
• Puli