Polish Tatra Sheepdog

Developed over centuries in the Tatra Peaks of the Carpathian Mountains in Southern Poland, the Polish Tatra Sheepdog is a rare and nearly timeless breed with a distinct personality and attractive look. Originally bred to be a livestock guardian and watchdog, this breed takes many of its character traits from its drive to work. Despite their intimidating size, Tatras are known to be quite gentle and generally maintain a calm regard for other animals and people. Much of this is due to their composure in the field, as they have stood as vigilant protectors of flocks of livestock and families in the region for as long as they've been domesticated. They are highly intelligent and strategic, which is another reason for their non-aggressive behavior -- they only attack if it is the last resort. They've been known to herd sheep into tight bunches, then stand as a barrier between the flock and predators, preventing any chance of outside attacks while attempting to launch an attack itself. This characteristic behavior also defines their regard for their owners, as although they are inherently trained to protect livestock, they will accept human families the same and play the watchdog and guardian roles with zeal, which can become problematic if not trained early on, as they like to use their bellowing bark to intimidate potential threats, whether they exist or not. While they are normally a calm, collected breed, their historic duties have also made them quite independent and strong-willed, so they take considerable training to be an obedient and responsive pet. But unlike a large variety of other breeds who get easily frustrated when left unattended too long, the Tatra usually does fairly well flying solo and will usually resort to their watchdog duties both indoor and out at their own discretion. Because of their size and heavy double coat, they generally do better with families that have large spaces to run and patrol, are active, live somewhere that isn't consistently hot, and have an experienced, authoritative owner who is able to train and socialize them. Even with their watchdog/herding/guardian background, they can still make fantastic companion animals in the right setting.