Croatian Sheepdog

Alert and vocal; quick to raise the alarm.
A Croatian Sheepdog
Photo: Michala Mračková
Adult male
13–20 kg
29–44 lb
Adult female
11–18 kg
24–40 lb
Lifespan
13–14 yrs
Class · Working
also Sport, Watchdog

What it's like

In temperament the breed is alert, lively and intelligent, closely attached to its handler and often reserved with strangers. It is a watchful, vocal dog that readily raises the alarm, a trait valued on the farms where it was developed.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Needs a calm, predictable home
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
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 curly coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus clipping every 6–8 weeks. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Croatian Sheepdog is a medium dog, about the weight of a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Males end up a little heavier than females.

It is a lightly built, agile dog, slightly longer than tall, with a wedge-shaped head and pricked or semi-pricked ears. The coat is black, soft and wavy to curly over the body, but short and smooth on the face and the front of the legs, which gives the dog a distinctive tidy-faced look. Small white marks on the chest or toes are tolerated. Some puppies are born with naturally short tails.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Croatian Sheepdog puppy is already as heavy as a grown Pug. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
051015202m4m6m9m12m18m
051015202m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
2.8–4.4 kg 6.2–9.7 lb
3.1–5.1 kg 6.8–11.2 lb
3 months
4.2–6.4 kg 9.3–14.1 lb
4.0–6.5 kg 8.8–14.3 lb
4 months
6.0–9.3 kg 13.2–20.5 lb
5.4–8.8 kg 11.9–19.4 lb
5 months
7.8–12.0 kg 17.2–26.5 lb
6.5–10.7 kg 14.3–23.6 lb
6 months
9.3–14.3 kg 20.5–31.5 lb
7.4–12.1 kg 16.3–26.7 lb
7 months
10.4–16.0 kg 22.9–35.3 lb
8.1–13.2 kg 17.9–29.1 lb
8 months
11.2–17.3 kg 24.7–38.1 lb
8.6–14.1 kg 19.0–31.1 lb
9 months
11.8–18.1 kg 26.0–39.9 lb
9.1–14.8 kg 20.1–32.6 lb
10 months
12.1–18.7 kg 26.7–41.2 lb
9.4–15.4 kg 20.7–34.0 lb
11 months
12.4–19.1 kg 27.3–42.1 lb
9.7–15.9 kg 21.4–35.1 lb
12 months
12.6–19.4 kg 27.8–42.8 lb
9.9–16.3 kg 21.8–35.9 lb
15 months
12.9–19.9 kg 28.4–43.9 lb
10.5–17.2 kg 23.1–37.9 lb
18 months
13–20 kg 29–44 lb
10.9–17.8 kg 24.0–39.2 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Croatian Sheepdogs live yet. The 13–14 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Croatian Sheepdog was most probably shaped over centuries in eastern Slavonia, herding livestock and guarding the farmyard; a bishop's manuscript of 1719, citing one from 1374, suggests that immigrants brought it to Croatia. Professor Stjepan Romić began systematic breeding in 1935, and the dogs were first shown publicly in Zagreb in 19494.

The Croatian Sheepdog, known at home as the hrvatski ovčar, owes its present form largely to the work done in the mid-twentieth century to fix a consistent type from the farm dogs of Slavonia. The breed was later accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, with Croatia as its country of origin. It was bred as a working herder of sheep and cattle, moving stock quickly and nimbly on the flat lands of eastern Croatia, and it is still used on farms there. Outside its homeland it remains uncommon.

Breed standard

The Croatian Sheepdog is judged against standard no. 277, in group 1, Sheepdogs and Cattledogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Croatian Sheepdog 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

Mudi
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Cardigan Welsh Corgi
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Miniature American Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Small
Border Collie
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Medium
Or compare the Croatian Sheepdog 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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