Don’t make the mistake of calling the Bergamasco‘s coat “corded,” because those “strands” are called “flocks,” and they grow over the course of the dog’s life reaching the ground at approximately 5 – 6 years of age. The flocks provide a highly efficient system of protecting against the cold and wet, but also regulating the dog’s temperature in the heat of the summer. Predators will get a mouthful of hair for their trouble, and its an efficient barrier from ticks and insect bites.  Bergamascos also have extremely long upper eyelashes to keep the curtain of hair that falls from their forehead out of their eyes. Click here for more on this breed’s incredible coat.

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