It’s not a breed of which many people are aware, let alone have seen, but the Tatra Mountain Dog (also known as the Owczarek Podhalanski, Polish Mountain Sheepdog, Tatra Shepard, Chien des Tatras and Tatrahund) has been invaluable to mountain workers in Poland as a herder, but especially as a guardian to flocks of sheep and goats, for a very long time.

Some believe this breed to be a white variant of the Sarplaninac dog taken to Poland by Wallachian traders from the Balkans. Some think it’s undoubtedly related to the Hutsul Dog. Others insist the dog came along with nomads who settled in the vicinity of the Tatra mountains, their large white dogs the ancestors of the Tatra.

Tatra Mountain Dogs are usually used in a group of two or more dogs, an advantage when confronting a pack of wolves. Instead of attacking wolves that are too far away from the herd, the dogs engage in a confrontation only when the predators move in and conflict can’t be avoided. By not leaving the flock and breaking up their pack, the dogs have a better chance of protecting their herd, as well as of killing a wolf.

These are independent, self-sufficient, territorial, loyal and protective, dogs, courageous and very adaptable; the same dogs may be used in the mountains during the grazing season and in winter brought to town to help with other chores.

It’s thought that there are currently about 7,500 Tatras in the world, the majority in Poland, but about 300 in America.

Image of Tatra Mountain Dog © Michal Bednarek | Dreamstime.com