Bohemian Shepherd

Attentive and loyal; generally gentle with children.
A Bohemian Shepherd
Photo: Krosandra
Adult male
19–27 kg
42–60 lb
Adult female
17–24 kg
37–53 lb
Lifespan
12–15 yrs
Class · Sport
also Family, Watchdog

What it's like

In temperament the Bohemian Shepherd is lively, attentive and loyal. It learns readily and stays close to its people, and it is generally gentle with children. It is watchful with strangers without being aggressive. Its coat is also relatively easy to care for.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Keen to work with you
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Usually fine with small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a long coat. Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. Plan on daily brushing. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Bohemian Shepherd is a medium dog, heavier than a Border Collie and lighter than a Golden Retriever. Males end up a little heavier than females.

It is a medium-sized, well-proportioned dog, slightly longer than it is tall, with small, pricked ears set high on the head. Its long, straight coat is black with tan markings and has a dense undercoat. The hair forms a ruff around the neck and feathering on the legs, and the tail is usually carried low and well furnished.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Bohemian Shepherd puppy is already as heavy as a grown Cocker Spaniel. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
01020302m4m6m9m12m18m
01020302m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
4.1–5.9 kg 9.0–13.0 lb
4.1–5.8 kg 9.0–12.8 lb
3 months
6.1–8.7 kg 13.4–19.2 lb
5.8–8.2 kg 12.8–18.1 lb
4 months
8.8–12.6 kg 19.4–27.8 lb
8.3–11.7 kg 18.3–25.8 lb
5 months
11.4–16.1 kg 25.1–35.5 lb
10.5–14.8 kg 23.1–32.6 lb
6 months
13.6–19.3 kg 30.0–42.5 lb
12.3–17.3 kg 27.1–38.1 lb
7 months
15.2–21.6 kg 33.5–47.6 lb
13.6–19.2 kg 30.0–42.3 lb
8 months
16.4–23.3 kg 36.2–51.4 lb
14.5–20.5 kg 32.0–45.2 lb
9 months
17.2–24.5 kg 37.9–54.0 lb
15.2–21.5 kg 33.5–47.4 lb
10 months
17.7–25.2 kg 39.0–55.6 lb
15.7–22.2 kg 34.6–48.9 lb
11 months
18.1–25.8 kg 39.9–56.9 lb
16.0–22.6 kg 35.3–49.8 lb
12 months
18.4–26.2 kg 40.6–57.8 lb
16.3–23.0 kg 35.9–50.7 lb
15 months
18.9–26.8 kg 41.7–59.1 lb
16.8–23.7 kg 37.0–52.2 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Bohemian Shepherds live yet. The 12–15 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Bohemian Shepherd, or Chodský pes, belongs to the Chodsko region of the Czech lands, where 19th- and 20th-century writers described sheepdogs guarding homes and rounding up cattle; the Chods' banner bore one, earning them the nickname 'Dog-heads'. The FCI cautions that such accounts show only an old local type. Almost lost in the post-war years, the breed was rebuilt from 19844,7.

The Bohemian Shepherd's modern history begins with its revival in what was then Czechoslovakia. The breeder Jan Findeis led the work, collecting dogs from rural areas that still resembled the old Chodsko type and building a registered population from them. The breed was recognised by the Czech national kennel union and later gained provisional recognition from the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in the twenty-first century. The breed was originally kept to guard farmsteads and to help move and watch over livestock. Today it is used as a companion and in obedience, agility, tracking, search and rescue and assistance work.

Breed standard

The Bohemian Shepherd is judged against standard no. 364, in group 1, Sheepdogs and Cattledogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Bohemian Shepherd figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

German Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Large
Rough Collie
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Bearded Collie
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Australian Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Or compare the Bohemian Shepherd with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·