The Greek Shepherd

 

The Greek Shepherd 

The Greek Shepherd or Greek Sheepdog (Greek: Ελληνικός Ποιμενικός, Ellinikós Pimenikós) is a breed of livestock guardian dog from Greece. 

It is claimed the Greek Shepherd has been found in Greece since ancient times, Plato wrote of dogs of similar form and function being known in the region of Epirus as early as 800 BC.It has been called the Greek Shepherd Dog, the Greek Sheepdog and the Hellenic Shepherd Dog. The breed is found throughout Greece, particularly in the north of the country; it is very closely related to other livestock guardian breeds found throughout the Balkans.

Appearance

The breed has a dense double-coat; it has never been bred for colour and can be found in a broad range of colours, including white, black, brown, light-brown or a combination of these, with spotted examples being common. In some areas, only pure white examples are kept by local shepherds, with non-white puppies being culled because it is thought they bring bad luck.

In former times, many Greek shepherds would crop the right ear of their dogs, believing doing so improved the dogs' hearing; this practice gave the dogs a curious, lopsided appearance.

Character

The breed is renowned for its ferocity when guarding flocks, with dogs sometimes taking it upon themselves to protect the whole countryside as opposed to their master's flocks; people walking in some rural areas, even shepherds, often needed to arm themselves with sticks and rocks to ward off shepherd dogs who could mistake them for thieves.A heavy log is often tied to the collars of particularly aggressive animals, being believed the extra exertion curbs the animal's zealotry.

In order to reduce the damage caused by bears and wolves to the livestock of the region, and wanting to protect the endangered breed of dog, ARCTUROS started a breeding programme of the Greek shepherd dog in 1998. Puppies are given free to farmers whose herds graze in the mountainous areas that constitute the habitat of large carnivores.

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sources : www.arcturos.gr

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