Bergamasco Shepherd

The Bergamasco Shepherd or the Bergamasco Sheepdog as it is known belongs to a family of herding dogs. They were used as herding dogs in the Alps and have been around for around 2000 years now. A very distinguishing feature of the Bergamasco Shepherd is that it has a very long and thick coat, with fur that covers even its eyes- a feature that evolved with a purpose: to avoid stunning glare reflecting off the snowy alps. What hides beneath the thick coat is a solid and muscular build. The coat is usually gray or silver gray colored. It may also be colored like coal.

Since it was originally a herding dog, the Bergamasco is a very attentive dog. It is also great with kids since it displays a great deal of patience and attention to their activities. It is also not aggressive by nature; however, it makes a decent watch dog since it is very wary of strangers.

Each litter of the Bergamasco produces between 6 and 10 pups. Males grow up to be around 32 to 38 kg while females stand at something between 26 and 32 kg. The dogs live to an average age of around 13 to 15 years. Flocking of the coat begins anytime between the age of 8 months and one year. Flocking is the process of development of an underlying layer of goat hair (which are long strands that are similar to the hair of a goat). Once the dog has fully flocked, the coat does not warrant much attention. Contrary to what might be expected, the coat needs to be cleaned and brushed only once in a week or two. The top coat is what humans come in direct contact with and this is quite soft to the touch. This dog is not a shedder, although slight loss of fur may be observed. Despite this, the breed is classified as hypoallergenic and is good for most people with allergies too. Mild shedding of fur (which is usually called hair and not fur, in the case of this breed) is observed, and this is slightly higher when the dog is a pup.

As one can imagine, the Bergamasco Shepherd does best in extreme cold climates. An apartment in a hot location is not an ideal place to raise this dog, unless continuous air conditioning is provided. Exercise for this dog is best provided in the form of one long walk, similar to its ancestral lifestyle. Alternatively, since it is so good with children, playing around with kids also provides ample exercise but the pattern must be kept up regularly, which may be challenging. Information relating to this dog may be difficult to acquire and this is a negative factor since it would require doing a lot of research while raising this particular breed. More importantly, health relevant information is very limited. An important point to keep in mind is that although the dog does not need to be watched over (to complete its job), it enjoys forming bonds with humans.