The Rumanian Sheepdog (also known as Rumanian Sheepdog) is a large, massive and imposing breed of dogs from Romania that is nimble, vigorous, agile and never heavy. A well appreciated sheepdog throughout the country of origin, the Romanian Carpathian Shepherd Dog was selected from an endemic breed present in the Carpatho-Danubian area. For centuries the principle criteria for selection has been utilization, this dog having conserved its character intact to the present day. For centuries, this dog has been used by shepherds of Carpathian mountains as herding dog to defend their cattle as well as an excellent guard dog.
The dog has a wolf-like head (Lupoid type) with a strong and slightly cone shaped muzzle and large, wide black nose. Almond-shaped slightly oblique and moderately sized eyes are dark brown in colour. Ears are tri-angular, of moderate size and round at the tips. They are set slightly higher than eyeline. Medium length neck is very strong and muscled. The body is rectangular, the croup is broad, slightly sloping, the chest is large and deep, the shoulder long and slightly sloping. Sexual dimorphism is well defined, the males should be taller and stronger than the females. Tail is set rather high, busy with abundant coat. It is carried low when the dog is at rest. The dog has harsh and coarse outer coat with a dense and soft undercoat. This dog displays wolf-grey colour with lighter shades on laterally and darker on the back. Small amount of white markings is allowed.
This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI.