Tornjak

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The Tornjak originated from the areas of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Croatia and has existed in those areas for the past thousand years. The Tornjak was registered under the name Kanis montanus which translates to mountain dog, but the local people gave it the name Tornjak (tor: enclosure for sheep and cattle).

The Tornjak was registered as autochthonous breed on May 9, 1981 with the name Bosnian-Herzegovinian sheepdog - Tornjak. According to research, the Tornjak is most likely the descendant of the Tibetan Mastiff or from where the today's Iran is.

The environment has created a healthy and strong dog, with modest needs for food and shelter, and a great watchdog. The Tornjak is a large and powerful dog, well-proportioned and agile. The shape of the body is almost square.

The bone is not light, but nevertheless not heavy nor coarse. His coat is long and thick. The body of this dog is strong and well built, with harmonious and dignified movements. The hair is long and thick and adequately protects the body against bad weather conditions.

The tail is shaggy, kept high like a flag. The Tornjak has a clear, self-confident, serious and calm look to it. In general, the Tornjak is a long-coated dog with short hair over the face and legs. The topcoat is long, thick, coarse and straight. It is especially long on the upper part of the croup, over the shoulders and the back can be slightly wavy.

On the muzzle and the forehead, up to the imaginary line connecting the ears, over the ears and on the front parts of legs and feet it is short. It is especially abundant around the neck (mane), dense and long over the upper thighs (breeches). It forms feathers along the forearms.

With well-coated dogs it is also especially abundant on the rear of hind pasterns.  The tail is richly coated with very long hair. Winter undercoat is long, very thick and of a nice woolly texture. Hair is thick and dense and should not part along the back. As a rule the Tornjak is parti-colored with markings of various solid colors. Usually the dominant ground color is white.

Temperament: Steady, Persistent, Alert, Vigilant, Calm, Peaceful

Health Problems: Fairly healthy breed.