Illyrian shepherd, the dog of Albanians and the kings!

We can be proud of him in everything, its noble character, the epical loyalty, the incredible strength and the unique elegance. Such a dog, more than everything, besides possessing many attributes, shows a kind of status. This is perhaps because the Illyrian shepherd dog has been the breed picked out by leaders and fighters, kings and conquerors of the world such as: Alexander the Great, Pirro of Epirus, Attila the king of Huns and lots of other legendary names. In Malësia e Madhe mountains i met Ardian, a tall boy who kept his dog in his 4*4 car and trying to impress others with his dog more than with his car and calls him “the most loyal dog in the world”. When I ask him, why you praise him so much, he says he praises his loyalty and in fact this dog is the most loyal breed in the world, devoted to its master. “For the Illyrian shepherd dog it is also spoken at the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini”, he says and I smile, because I am sure Ardian has never read it, but he for sure has heard about it. This 19 year old boy from Malësia e Madhe keeps this dog in his private house. Ardian says he identifies the dog with Albanians, not only because he is unique and autochthonous, but because this breed perfectly matches the Albanians` temperament, brave and powerful. The Illyrian shepherd dog puts his self in danger when attempting to protect the livestock or his master. Even though he clashes with wolves, a characteristic of his is that he is never the first to attack, but he has a protective nature. “These are dogs who know how to love. Even though they look big and scary, they are friendly with people”, says the youngster. Many dog breeders affirm that he is Pelasgian dog and has a very long pedigree history; almost 5000 years called Koan, meaning protector of livestock or primitive tribes. They were called different names in the Illyrian period. In the southern Illyria, Platon used to call them “Protective dogs of Epirus”, whereas later on they were called Molosser and Pirros dogs, named after Pirro. The cynological international experts affirm that currently there were admitted 345 types of dog breeds, whereas the Albanian autochthonous dog has been admitted and excluded several times from the breed standardization and his name has changed due to the politics` interferences. There were the Slovenian cynologists who standardized for the first time this dog population in 1936, when the breed was called the Illyrian shepherd dog, whereas in 1957, the Serbian cynologists, certainly for political reasons, changed the name from the Illyrian shepherd dog into Shar Blaninac (the Yugoslavian dog of the sheep) or “The dog of Shari” in Albanian. The Yugoslavian cynologists started to crossbreed the Illyrian dog with other breeds in order to turn him in an escort dog for the army. The Illyrian shepherd dog is known as the dog of the sheep, whereas in towns, the dog guards houses and properties. He is not yet certified as an Albanian dog. For the Albanians, the Illyrian shepherd dog is certainly the dearest dog, a breed to be proud of. The researchers believe that there are documents of this dog since 2000 years ago. The Albanians have taken care of this breed genetics these last decades. The Cynological Federation of Kosovo has made the standardization of the Illyrian shepherd dog and has introduced it at FCI. According to the standard, a male is 67-75 cm tall, weighs 40-60 kilos. The head comprises one fourth of the body, 29 cm on average, body height comprises 4-8% of the overall height. They live 12-14 years. They are gray and beige, straight teeth and regular nip. Characteristic of the dog is the fifth finger in the front feet. They are odorless dogs with thick, long coats and it is recommended to be combed often in order to avoid parasites or fungal and skin diseases. Resistant to low temperatures they are even healthier that other breeds of the same body size. The chairman of the cynological association in Kosovo, Mr. Saud Kajtazi affirms: Currently there are 50 dog breeding centers in Kosovo where are registered 3000 Illyrian Shepherd Dogs. According to the FCI, in order for a species to be called a breed, 1000 exemplary must be registered in the biological register of a federation, meanwhile so far there are registered 3 times more, time has come for the dog to be accepted even by FCI.