Redeagle, the sarplaninac is NOT the only LGD from the balkans. You have the carpathian, the tornjak, the karst, durimitorac, and most importantly the Serbian Sylvan. All these dogs are LGD, and while some are the same size and even smaller than the sar, there are lgd like the Sylvan which are MUCH larger. It all depends on the particular regional beliefs and preferences AND the current dog population which usually determined which ""breed"" they ended up with. How ever, most common, was just a generic ""sarplaninac"", or any lgd of mix breed heritage, just so long as the damn thing would work successfully. Some were giants, some weren't much bigger than rottweilers. Also, there were different TYPES of lgd. Meaning, you had the LGD who would WARN of attack, and keep the predators at bay the best they could, and then you had the Volkodav/Vukodav type, which were usually kept leashed to the shepherd himself, and when alerted by the warning barks of the others, they would be set loose to actually engage, and many times kill, the threat. Not every LGD has what it really takes to fight a wolf or bear. Sometimes their barks work, and sometimes they don't, the heavy artillery is let loose, if you will. Also, when comparing the size of the wolf to the size of the sarplaninac... they are pretty much the same. Meaning that a combination of man's knowledge, natural selection and genetics came to the conclusion that the size of the sarplaninac was substantial. Also, seeing that these dogs are longer than they are tall, and do have slightly wider chests than most lgd for their size, that equates to MASSIVE power combined with great leverage, making it VERY effective at what it is meant to do. This was a point i meant to bring up earlier, but forgot. Just because WE, as modern day humans, THINK that dogs need to be bigger than they are to succeed at certain jobs, does NOT mean we are right. Just because you can get a 39 inch tall 270 lbs CO, does NOT mean he will be effective as an LGD. Just because you can get Sarplaninac 32 inches and almost 180 lbs, does NOT mean he can cut the mustard in the mountains. This massive size will be the dogs ultimate demise, as the environment, topography, lack of massive meals, the threat of life and death fights, and the having to make the 300 mile or so trek 2 times a year to the winter/summer pastures dictates inevitably what sizes are conducive to getting the job done, and getting it done right, AND being able to do it for MANY years. I hope that this is making sense and helping everyone understand what is really going on. Mike