How to Identify a Polish Lowland Sheepdog

The Polish lowland sheepdog has an ambling gate, but excellent reach with its front legs, giving it a long stride to help herd sheep. It is a stable and self-confident breed and needs an owner who is not afraid to take control. This breed will need consistent training from an early age, but is clever and has an excellent memory. While quite loyal to its family, it is suspicious of strangers and can be quite aloof but never be vicious.

Instructions

1. Look at the general appearance of the Polish lowland sheepdog. This is a medium sized breed, but is very muscular. Because of its strong skeleton, this is a well-balanced dog. Males are 18 to 20 inches at the withers and females are 17 to 19 inches. The legs are not long. The Polish lowland sheepdog has a rectangular appearance; its height is about nine-tenths of its length.

2. Make sure the head is in proportion to the rest of the body. The extra hair on the face make it look bigger than it is. The brown or hazel eyes give off a penetrating gaze and are medium sized and oval. They should not protrude. The medium sized, dropped ears are heart shaped, set somewhat high on the skull and are covered with long hair. Depending on coat color, the large nose can be black or brown and should be fully pigmented.

3. Notice the strong, muscular neck. It is a broad neck, but does not have a dewlap. It should set well on the broad, well-muscled shoulders. They are quite angulated and lead to a deep, broad chest. The thick, compact front feet are oval in shape and are larger than the rear feet. The large hindquarters are heavily boned and support a great deal of muscle. The rear feet are also oval, compact and thick. The short tail is low-set and should be no longer than two vertebrae. If puppies are born with long or partial tails, they are docked to the proper length.

4. Pet the double coat. The dense outer coat is long and shaggy and rather straight. The dense undercoat is soft. While common colors are white with black patches, white with gray patches or white with sandy patches, or gray with white or chocolate, the Polish lowland sheepdog can have any coat color.