Sarplaninac

Like many ancient Mountain Dogs, the Šarplaninac has been heralded for centuries as one of antiquity's most utilitarian breeds and for good reason. Throughout their history, they've been used for herding, guarding and working as well as police and military dogs largely in their home region around the Šar Mountains, including Macedonia, Serbia, and other parts of former Yugoslavia. They are considered one of the oldest native breeds in the world, a descendant of ancient Molosser breeds, that remained nearly untouched by outside influence. They are a calm, dignified breed that has an extremely strong protective nature, hence their historic use and purpose. Their drive to herd and protect is actually so deep that they will often treat their family like a flock if they have no true flock to guard and will often attempt to herd them if they sense any presence of danger. While they do form strong bonds with their families, they are usually suspicious of strangers and other dogs and their first instinct is to position themselves as a barrier between their loved ones and a potential threat, rarely turning aggressive unless thoroughly provoked or as a last resort. That protective nature is so tenacious, they've been known to guard their families and flocks from wolves, lynxes and even bears. With that said, it's possible to train at least some of that protective nature out of them so they are more accepting of other people, dogs, and non-canine animals in a more social or relaxed setting, but the process is not considered easy. As they were long bred and trained to be independent enough to stay with herds for days without direction, they are much more likely to make their own decisions than listen to that of others unless they have received thorough training and have a master that consistently asserts dominance, and even so, there is no guarantee that they will immediately listen instead of operating on intuition. With their family they are relaxed, calm, and generally good-tempered and usually do well handling even children with some level of patience and gentleness but thorough training and socialization will be needed for any dog that is to be a regular, well-behaved family member, as they are quick to resort to their instincts over commands. They are also not considered an adaptable breed and are best for families with work to provide, something to protect and a large outdoor space for them to live, as they are happy to weather most conditions with their all-weather double coats.