The Polish Lowland Sheepdog ( pl, Polski Owczarek Nizinny, also PON), is a medium-sized, shaggy-coated,
sheep dog
A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
native to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
Description
Appearance
The PON is a muscular, thick-coated dog. The
double coat
The coat of the domestic dog refers to the hair that covers its body. Dogs demonstrate a wide range of coat colors, patterns, textures, and lengths.
As with other mammals, a dog's fur has many uses, including thermoregulation and protection fr ...
can be of any color or pattern; white, gray, and brown are most common, with black, gray, or brown markings. It is common for colors to fade as the dogs reach adulthood. The
undercoat is soft and dense, while the
topcoat is rough and either straight or wavy, but not curly. The hair around the head makes the head appear to be larger than it actually is, and typically covers the eyes.
Males are 45 – 50 cm (18 – 20 inches) in height at the
withers
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...
, while females are 42 – 47 cm (17 – 19 inches). Males typically weigh between 40 – 50 lb, females, 30 – 40 lb. The body is just off square, it appears rectangular due to the abundance of coat on the chest and rear; the ratio of the height to the body length should be 9:10 (a 45 cm tall dog should have a body 50 cm long). The tail is either very short or
docked in the United States. European countries have banned docking for the most part and many PONs now have tails of varying lengths.
Temperament
Polish Lowland Sheepdogs are stable and self-confident. They have an excellent memory and can be well trained, but may dominate a weak-willed owner. PONs adapt well to various conditions, and are popular as
companion dog
A companion dog is a dog that does not work, providing only companionship as a pet, rather than usefulness by doing specific tasks. Many of the toy dog breeds are used only for the pleasure of their company, not as workers. Any dog can be a compa ...
s for
apartment
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...
dwellers in their native Poland. PONs require a moderate amount of exercise daily.
Activities
![Polish Lowland Sheepdog puppy Bruno by Vetulani](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Polish_Lowland_Sheepdog_puppy_Bruno_by_Vetulani.JPG)
The Polish Lowland Sheepdog can compete in
dog agility
Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles. The handler ...
trials,
obedience,
Rally obedience
Rally obedience (also known as Rally or Rally-O) is a dog sport based on obedience. It was originally devised by Charles L. "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling"—doing a variety of interesting warmup and freestyle exercises. Th ...
,
showmanship,
flyball
Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their ha ...
,
tracking
Tracking may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage)
* Tracking, composing music with music tracker software
* Eye tracking, measuring the position of t ...
, and
herding
Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...
events.
Herding
Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...
instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. PONs that exhibit basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.
Health
In general, PONs are a very healthy breed. Animals should be checked for
hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is an abnormality of the hip joint where the socket portion does not fully cover the ball portion, resulting in an increased risk for joint dislocation. Hip dysplasia may occur at birth or develop in early life. Regardless, it doe ...
and checked for eye abnormalities such as PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) before being used for breeding. PONs require a low
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
diet. The life expectancy of a PON is approximately 12 years.
History
A Polish Lowland Sheepdog at a dog show in Racibórz, Poland.
Known in its present form in Poland from at least the thirteenth century, the PON is most likely descended from the
Puli,
Tibetan Terrier
The Tibetan Terrier is a medium-sized breed of dog that originated in Tibet.American Kennel Club (2013). '' Get to know the Tibetan Terrier.'' Retrieved from http://www.akc.org/breeds/tibetan_terrier/index.cfm Despite its name, it is not a membe ...
and the
herding dog
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog, shepherd dog, sheep dog or working dog, is a Dog type, type of dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to dog breed, breeds that are developed for herding.
Herding behavior
All herd ...
s.
Legend has it that the Polish Lowland Sheepdog was part-ancestor of the
Bearded Collie
The Bearded Collie, or Beardie, is a herding breed of dog once used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now mostly a popular family companion.
Bearded Collies have an average weight of . Males are around tall at the withers while females are ...
.
Almost driven to extinction in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the PON was restored mainly through the work of Dr. Danuta Hryniewicz and her dog, ''Smok'' ("Dragon"), the ancestor of all PONs in the world today, who sired the first ten litters of PONs in the 1950s.
In fact, Dr. Hryniewicz considered Smok to be the epitome of the breed, with a perfect anatomical build and a wonderful temperament. Smok set the standard and type that was emulated by PON breeders for generations to come, and from which the first official standard for the PON was finally written, and accepted by the FCI,
Fédération Cynologique Internationale
The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium.
History
The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...
, in 1959. He is considered to be the 'father' of the modern Polish Lowland Sheepdog. His moderate build lends itself to working effortlessly all day long, running with ease to herd the sheep. Pictures of Smok can be seen in the book, "The Official Book of the Polish Lowland Sheepdog".
The American Kennel Club recognized the Polish Lowland Sheepdog as a breed in the Herding Group in 2001.
Polish Lowland Sheepdog
at AKC website, retrieved 24 November 2011.
See also
* Dogs portal
* List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...
References
External links
*
Popular Polish dogs
{{Polish dogs
FCI breeds
Herding dogs
Dog breeds originating in Poland
Rare dog breeds
Poland–Scotland relations