The Mioritic Sheepdog is a giant and furry livestock herder and guardian breed that originated in carpathian mountains of Romania. Also known as Mioritic Shepherd Dog and Romanian Mioritic, it is a large and spectacular dog. This is an ancient breed that naturally spread all over Romania. Its progenitors are thought to be moloss dogs which were brought to this area by the Roman Legions during Roman Empire migration. These legendary courageous, ferocious and strong dogs were used in armies of medieval kings. With its excellent hunting and protecting skills, the dog became a highly valued possession for Romanian shepherds due to the presence of most numbers of wolves, lynxes and other predators than any other European country.
This large and majestic dog stands between 28-33 inches and weighs between 110-140 lbs. It comes with a massive head and broad, slightly doomed skull. Moderate length, well developed muzzle tapers towards wide, well developed black nose. Moderate size eyes with calm and intelligent expression are obliquely set and come in hazel, dark brown or slightly lighter color. V shaped, high set ears hang closely to the cheeks. The moderate length neck is broad and powerful without dewlap. This dog has a rectangular body that is made muscular by straight and solid topline, horizontal, strong and muscled back, moderately long loin and deep, broad chest that come with well sprung ribs. The set on high tail blend with the fur of the body and often gets unnoticed. At rest the tail hangs down reaching the hocks with a lightly curved tip. When the dog is on the move the tail is carried high level with the back but never bent over the top line.
Abundant coat makes this already large dog appear massive. Minimum length of coat hair is 10 cm and it is abundant all over the body. It is harsh and straight and comes in solid white or solid grey or piebald coloring.
This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI.