Sarplaninac

Calm and devoted, wary of strangers, defends its ground.
A Sarplaninac
Photo: Sakal33
Adult male
35–45 kg
77–99 lb
Adult female
30–40 kg
66–88 lb
Lifespan
11–13 yrs
Class · Watchdog
also Working

What it's like

In temperament it is calm and devoted to its own people and animals but distinctly wary of strangers, and it readily defends its ground. It is also independent-minded.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Likes its own space
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
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.
Is a Sarplaninac right for you?
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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 a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Sarplaninac is a large dog, about the weight of a grown German Shepherd. Males end up a little heavier than females.

It is a heavily built dog, slightly longer than it is tall, with a broad skull, almond-shaped brown eyes and drop ears. The coat is dense and long, over a thick undercoat, and shorter on the head and front of the legs. It is a single solid colour, from pale shades to a brown so dark it is nearly black, with iron grey and dark grey favoured; darker shades on the back usually fade to paler tones on the legs and underside. The long tail hangs low in a sabre curve.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Sarplaninac puppy is already as heavy as a grown Border Collie. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight5
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
02040602m4m6m9m12m18m
02040602m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
6.1–7.8 kg 13.4–17.2 lb
6.9–9.2 kg 15.2–20.3 lb
3 months
9.8–12.6 kg 21.6–27.8 lb
10.0–13.3 kg 22.0–29.3 lb
4 months
14.5–18.7 kg 32.0–41.2 lb
14.5–19.3 kg 32.0–42.5 lb
5 months
19.7–25.3 kg 43.4–55.8 lb
18.4–24.5 kg 40.6–54.0 lb
6 months
24.4–31.4 kg 53.8–69.2 lb
21.6–28.8 kg 47.6–63.5 lb
7 months
28.1–36.2 kg 61.9–79.8 lb
24.0–32.0 kg 52.9–70.5 lb
8 months
30.7–39.5 kg 67.7–87.1 lb
25.6–34.2 kg 56.4–75.4 lb
9 months
32.4–41.7 kg 71.4–91.9 lb
26.9–35.8 kg 59.3–78.9 lb
10 months
33.5–43.0 kg 73.9–94.8 lb
27.7–36.9 kg 61.1–81.4 lb
11 months
34.1–43.8 kg 75.2–96.6 lb
28.3–37.7 kg 62.4–83.1 lb
12 months
34.5–44.3 kg 76.1–97.7 lb
28.7–38.3 kg 63.3–84.4 lb
15 months
34.9–44.8 kg 76.9–98.8 lb
29.6–39.4 kg 65.3–86.9 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Sarplaninacs live yet. The 11–13 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

Herders in the south-eastern mountains of the former Yugoslavia have kept the Sarplaninac to guard their herds against predators since time immemorial, and the Šar Planina range, its stronghold, gave it its name. Its origin is disputed, though its FCI standard judges it likely that the breed reached Europe from Asia in prehistoric migrations. The FCI has registered it since 1939, at first under an earlier name4.

The Sarplaninac is a flock guardian rather than a herding dog. Its work was to stay with sheep on high summer pastures and see off wolves, bears and thieves, often with little direction from the shepherds. In the twentieth century the breed was standardised from these working dogs, and its name changed from Illyrian Shepherd Dog to Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog Sharplanina in the late nineteen-fifties. The Yugoslav army kept and bred it for guard work.

Breed standard

The Sarplaninac is judged against standard no. 41, in group 2, Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid and Swiss Mountain Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Sarplaninac 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 large breed is most likely at the later end.

Compare with related

Caucasian Shepherd Dog
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Doberman Pinscher
Pinschers & molossoids · Medium
Tornjak
Pinschers & molossoids · Large
American Bulldog
Working · Large
Or compare the Sarplaninac 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 ·