Tatra - Breed Standard

OWCZAREK PODHALANSKI / POLISH MOUNTAIN SHEPARD / POLISH TATRA SHEEPDOG / POLISH MOUNTAIN SHEEPDOG

UTILIZATION: Herder, sheepdog and watchdog. Its imposing attitude and beautiful appearance make it a good companion dog.

FCI CLASSIFICATION: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattledogs (except Swiss Mountain-and Cattledogs). Section 1 Sheepdogs. Without working trial.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Large body of strong and compact build giving the impression of stamina and mobility. In silhouette, it is rectangular; the male being a little shorter than the female.

BEHAVIOUR / CHARACTER: Temperament calm, intelligent and alert with imposing attitude. Easily trained, excellent sheep and guard dog. Also good as a companion dog.



HEAD AND SKULL: in good proportion to the body, dry, carried moderately high. Length of muzzle a little bit bigger than length of skull, or equal. Skull in profile a little bit arched, frontal furrow shallow. Stop well marked, not too straight. Faults - A deep forehead furrow.

NOSE: Black, of medium size, with the nostrils wide open.

MUZZLE: Strong, gently tapering to the nose; its length is slightly greater or equal to the length of the skull. The nasal bridge is broad.

LIPS: Desirably taut and well fitting; the edges of the lips should be edges dark pigmented.

TEETH: Strong, regularly set. Scissor bite, level bite permitted.



EYES: Middle sized, expressive, a little bit slanting, dark in color. The iris is dark brown, eye rims dark.

EARS: Set on at the height of the external angle of the eyes or a little higher, medium length, rather thick, triangular, densely coated.; the front edge of the ear is in slight touch with the head. Faults - High set ears. Ears bent back. Cut ears.

NECK: medium length, muscular, without any dewlap, with a profuse mane; the upper line of the neck is higher than the back line.

BODY: Long, massive and compact, with strait broad back and wide lions. The chest is deep. The ribs are oblique and rather flat. The tuck-up is slight.

COUP: Oblique, slightly sloping. Fault - High at the croup



FOREQUARTERS: Forelegs muscular, with plenty of bone, but not too heavy; seen from front straight and parallel. Shoulder-blade: Slightly sloping, well adapted to the body. Pastern: Slightly sloping forward. Feet: Compact, oval in shape like a relatively big fist, with hairs between the toes. Pads strong, hard and dark; nails strong, blunt and dark. Fault - Lack of dewclaws.

HINDQUARTERS: Viewed from the rear hind legs vertical; seen from the side slightly set backwards, moderately angulated. Hock: Seen from the side vertical. Feet: Like the forefeet. Fault - Lack of dewclaws.

TAIL: Set on not too high, carried under back line, when alert tail can be carried over back line. Tail reaches hocks, forming a curve at the end. Fault - Tail held constantly over the back.

HAIR: On head, muzzle, front part of forelegs and on the hind legs from the hock downward the hair is short and dense. The neck and the body are covered with long, thick, straight or slightly wavy hair, hard to the touch with profuse undercoat. A rich ruff over the neck, long and profuse hair on tights, bushy tail.

COLOR: Uniformly white; little cream colour patches are undesirable.

HEIGHT: Height at withers for males 65-70cm, for bitches 60-65cm.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS

• Overshot, undershot
• Shallow stop
• Pointed muzzle
• Many teeth missing
• Curled hair, silky hair, lack of undercoat, patches
• Nervousness, shyness, aggressiveness