Pastore della Lessinia e del Lagorai - TOP 10 Interesting Facts - Lagorai Shepherd

1) Origin
The Pastore del Lagorai is an ancient herding breed, native to the mountanious region of Triveneto, where it was used as a herding dog. There are actually carvings and bronze decorations with dogs similar to Lagorai Shepherd, probably made by ancient Venetian people who settled in Triveneto. This dog is most likely the ancestor of todays breed, but because the breed is so old, no one can be really sure what is the exact ancestry or date of origin.
2) Alpine Shepherd dog
One theory about the breeds ancestry suggest, that the main ancestor is today already extinct Alpine Shepherd dog. It is also believed, that they share this ancestry with other Italian herding breeds as well, such as Pastore di Oropa, Lupino del Gigante, Bergamasco or Cane Paratore, but also with the French Berger Picard or with the famous German Shepherd
3) Recognition
For a long time, the Pastore dell Lagorai was not officially recognized by any major kennel club. That changed at the end of June 2020, when the official Italian Kennel Club finally recognized this rare breed.
4) Rarity
The natural selection made this breed extremely hardy and healthy, but sadly, it is also extremely rare breed, that can be found almost exclusivelly in northeastern Italy. But there are ongoing projects by Italian association for Lagorai Shepherd, which is trying to protect the purity of the breed, to protect the breed from extenction and to help the breed gain international recognition.
5) Not a wolf
On the first sight, the Pastore della Lessinia e del Lagorai is kind of wolf like, but it is important to say that this is a pure dog and not a wolfdog as some people might think. Wolfdog would not be capable of herding a flock like Lagorai Shepherd. Just like a true sheepdog, this is intelligent, but also independent dog, that is very loyal, lively, curious, agile and athletic, all very important traits when working with the flock.
6) Coat
This is just incredibly good looking breed and one of the outstanding feature is definitely the coat and color. The coat is semi long with very thick undercoat and typical colors include merle, fawn, brown and black. Very often the coat have grey base spotted with black and white.
7) Eyes
Not only the coat have very unique coloration, the breed has also very expressive great looking eyes. Most often the eyes are in dark brown or black color, but some dogs have eyes in yellow or blue color as well. This breed is also known for heterochromia, which means, that they can have each eye in different color.
8) Size
The Lagorai Shepherd is a very athletic dog breed which is well muscled and that has average height between 50-60 cm, which is 19-23 inch. There are no extreme size differences between males and females.
9) Maintenance
Great fact about this breed is, that the maintenace and grooming is quite easy. The dense coat does shed some deal all year long, and regular brushing is definitely beneficial, so the coat does not mat and to remove any dirt and loose hair from it. But no other grooming needs, apart from the regular brushing, is needed. Of course, you should also regularly check the dogs ears, eyes, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.
10) Health
This breed evolved naturally over the centuries into hardy and usually very healthy dog breed with long lifespan. It is not uncommon for these dogs to live a great life well into their 15 birthday, or even longer. But of course, they may suffer from some health issues, such as joint and bone problems, eye problems, some allergies or infections.