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FCI Standard N° 53 / 13.09.2000 / GB KOMONDOR TRANSLATION: Mrs C. Seidler and Mrs Elke Peper. ORIGIN : Hungary. DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: 06.04.2000 UTILISATION: Herding dog. CLASSIFICATION FCI : Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs). Section 1 Sheepdogs. Without working trial. BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: The Komondor is an old-established Hungarian herding breed of Asiatic origin. His original ancestors almost certainly came with the migrating Old Magyars, living as stock-breeding Nomads, to the Carpathian basin. GENERAL APPEARANCE : The Komondor is large in size and powerfully built. His appealing outward appearance and dignified deportment arouse respect and even fear in the observer. By nature he is not ingratiating. His robust body is covered by matted, corded, throughout dense, long hair. The body, seen sideways, forms a prone rectangle, little deviating from a square. The thickly coated head rises above the body. The tail is carried hanging down with its tip bent upwards, almost horizontal. The coat colour is ivory. IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS • The body length sligthly exceeds the height at the withers. • The deepest point of the brisket is approximately on a level with half of the height at the withers. • The muzzle is slightly shorter than half of the length of the head. BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT He has an imperturbable courage in the guarding and defense of the herds entrusted to him and the property and home of his master. He attacks silently and duringly. He regards his territory as his own property and will not tolerate any other living creature in it. His nature is suspicious. During the day, he likes to keep a lying position enabling him to control his area. At night, he is always on the move. HEAD : Broad, in good proportion to the body. Even the dense screen of hair does not make him appear out of proportion. CRANIAL REGION Skull : Domed, brows well developed. Stop : Well developed but not too steep. FACIAL REGION Nose : Straight, cut off blunt, black. Muzzle : Not pointed; bridge of nose straight. Lips : Black, tightly fitting to mouth and jaw bones. Corner of mouth jagged. Jaws/Teeth : Jaws very well muscled, strong and powerful. Even and complete scissor bite, according to the dentition formula. Cheeks : Broad, of medium length. Eyes : Horizontally set, dark brown. The black rim tightly fitting to the eyeball. Ears : Set medium high on the domed skull. Clearly pendant from the base and V- or U-shaped. Not raised neither when alert nor in attack. NECK : Very well muscled. Should form an angle of 35 degrees to the horizontal. In quiet or peaceful situations, it is carried almost in continuation of the backline. Rather short than of medium length. Without dewlap or neck ruff. BODY Topline : Those parts of the body which form the topline are broad and very well muscled. Withers : Sufficiently long, clearly defined in front. Back : Short. Loin : Of medium length. Croup : Broad, of medium length, slightly sloping. Chest : Broad, well muscled. Brisket of medium depth, broad, long. Underline : Sligthly tucked up. TAIL : Low-set, clearly pendant; tip of the tail shows a sligth bend, almost to horizontal. It is desirable that the tail reaches to the hock. When alert, the tail is raised, at most, to the level of the back. LIMBS FOREQUARTERS : Judging of the limbs is highly affected by the long corded coat. Front legs are columnar and straight, parallel and vertical seen from the front or the side. The chest is broad which results in wide apart, strong and free moving legs. The limbs are firmly connected to the body. Bone substance is strong and powerful. Joints are large. Shoulders : The shoulder blades are moderately sloping. Points of the shoulder blades placed vertically over the deepest point of the chest. Forefeet : Large, strong with well knit toes. Pads are slate grey, thick and well padded. Toenails grey. HINDQUARTERS : The position of the hind legs supports the body with medium angulations. Continuing the croup of medium length, broad, well muscled limbs are required. Upper thigh : Strongly muscled, voluminous. Hind feet : Longer than forefeet, otherwise similar. Dewclaws to be removed. GAIT/MOVEMENT : Light, free and even. The stride is wide and ground covering. SKIN : The skin contains a lot of pigment and is slate grey. Dark pigment at the gums and the roof of mouth preferred. Diminished pigment and pink skin undesirable. COAT HAIR : The whole body is covered by long hair. The coat consists of a coarser topcoat and finer undercoat. The characteristic coat is determined by the relation of the top coat to the undercoat. The shaggy coat, that tends towards matting is a basic requirement. An equally dense, wavy, corded coat also occurs. The smaller tufts of hair are less or not matted at all. The coat is longest on the croup, at the loin region and on the rear of the uper thighs (at least 20-27cm). On the back, at the sides of the chest and at the region of the shoulder blades, it is of medium length (15-22 cm), at the cheeks, the eyebrows, on top of the head, on the ears, the neck and the limbs, it is shorter (10-18 cm) and at the lips and on the lower parts of the limbs shortest (9-11 cm). Neither a combed nor a completely neglected coat are desirable. COLOUR : Ivory colour. SIZE AND WEIGHT HEIGHT AT WITHERS Dogs: Minimum 70 cm. Bitches: Minimum 65 cm. WEIGHT Dogs: 50 – 60 kg. Bitches: 40 – 50 kg. The breed shows few faults in type and is largely uniform as it has always been bred with the same target. FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be regarded a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to the degree of the fault. In particular : • Lack of pigment on noseleather, eyes and rims of lids. • Loose eyelids. • Ring Tail. ELIMINATING FAULTS • Flabby construction, body lacking muscle. • Entropion, Ectropion. • Overshot or undershot, wry mouth. • Pricked, light ears. • Short tail (ending 3 cm above hock). • Heavy limbs and faulty movement. • Not ivory coloured or multicoloured coat. • Diversion from lower height limit as mentioned in the standard. NB: Male animals must have two apparently normal developed testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

The old standard.. pending review. General Appearance The Komondor is characterized by imposing strength, dignity, courageous demeanor, and pleasing conformation. He is a large, muscular dog with plenty of bone and substance, covered with an unusual, heavy coat of white cords. The working Komondor lives during the greater part of the year in the open, and his coat serves to help him blend in with his flock and to protect him from extremes of weather and beasts of prey. Nature and Characteristics: The Komondor is a flock guardian, not a herder. Originally developed in Hungary to guard large herds of animals on the open plains, the Komondor was charged with protecting the herd by himself, with no assistance and no commands from his master. The mature, experienced dog tends to stay close to his charges, whether a flock or family; he is unlikely to be drawn away from them in chase, and typically doesn't wander far. Though very sensitive to the desires of his master, heavy-handed training will produce a stubborn, unhappy Komondor. While reserved with strangers, the Komondor is demonstrative with those he loves, selflessly devoted to his family and his charges, and will defend them against any attack. The combination of this devotion to all things dear to him and the desire to take responsibility for them produces an excellent guardian of herds or home, vigilant, courageous, and very faithful. Size, Proportion, Substance Dogs 27½ inches and up at the withers; bitches 25½ inches and up at the withers. Dogs are approximately 100 pounds and up, bitches, approximately 80 pounds and up at maturity, with plenty of bone and substance. While large size is important, type, character, symmetry, movement and ruggedness are of the greatest importance and are on no account to be sacrificed for size alone. The body is slightly longer than the height at the withers. Height below the minimum is a fault. Head The head is large. The length of the head from occiput to tip of nose is approximately 2/5 the height of the dog at the withers. The skin around the eyes and on the muzzle is dark. Eyes: Medium-sized and almond-shaped, not too deeply set. The iris of the eye is dark brown. Edges of the eyelids are gray or black. Light eyes are a fault. Blue eyes are a disqualification. Ears: In shape the ear is an elongated triangle with a slightly rounded tip. Medium-set and hanging and long enough to reach to the inner corner of the eye on the opposite side of the head. Erect ears or ears that move toward an erect position are a fault. Skull: The skull is broad with well-developed arches over the eyes. The occiput is fairly well-developed and the stop is moderate. Muzzle: The muzzle is wide, coarse, and truncated. Measured from inner corner of the eye to tip of nose the muzzle is 2/5 of the total length of the head. The top of the muzzle is straight and is parallel to the top of the skull. Underjaw is well-developed and broad. Lips are tight and are black in color. Ideally gums and palate are dark or black. Nose: Nose is wide and the front of the nose forms a right angle with the top of the muzzle. The nostrils are wide. The nose is black. A dark gray or dark brown nose is not desirable but is acceptable. A flesh-colored nose is a disqualification. Bite: Bite is scissors; a level bite is acceptable. A distinctly overshot or undershot bite is a fault. Any missing teeth is a serious fault. Three or more missing teeth is a disqualification. Neck Muscular, of medium length, moderately arched, with no dewlap. The head erect. Topline The back is level and strong. Body Characterized by a powerful, deep chest, which is muscular and proportionately wide. The breast is broad and well-muscled. The belly is somewhat drawn up at the rear. The rump is wide, muscular, and slopes slightly towards the root of the tail. Softness or lack of good muscle tone is a fault. Tail A continuation of the rump line, hanging, and long enough to reach the hocks. Slightly curved upwards and/or to one side at its end. Even when the dog is moving or excited, the greater part of the tail is raised no higher than the level of the back. A short or curly tail is a fault. Forequarters Shoulders are well laid back. Forelegs straight, well-boned, and muscular. Viewed from any side, the legs are like vertical columns. The upper arms are carried close to the body, without loose elbows. Feet Strong, rather large, and with close, well-arched toes. Pads are hard, elastic, and black or gray. Ideally, nails are black or gray, although light nails are acceptable. Hindquarters The steely, strong bone structure is covered with highly-developed muscles. The legs are straight as viewed from the rear. Stifles are well-bent. Rear dewclaws must be removed. Coat Characteristic of the breed is the dense, protective coat. The puppy coat is relatively soft, but it shows a tendency to fall into cord-like curls. The young adult coat, or intermediate coat, consists of very short cords next to the skin which may be obscured by the sometimes lumpy looking fluff on the outer ends of the cords. The mature coat consists of a dense, soft, woolly undercoat much like the puppy coat, and a coarser outer coat that is wavy or curly. The coarser hairs of the outer coat trap the softer undercoat, forming permanent, strong cords that are felt-like to the touch. A grown dog is entirely covered with a heavy coat of these tassel-like cords, which form naturally. It must be remembered that the length of the Komondor's coat is a function of age, and a younger dog must never be penalized for having a shorter coat. Straight or silky coat is a fault. Failure of the coat to cord by two years of age is a disqualification. Short, smooth coat on both head and legs is a disqualification. Color Color of the coat is white, but not always the pure white of a brushed coat. A small amount of cream or buff shading is sometimes seen in puppies, but fades with maturity. In the ideal specimen the skin is gray. Pink skin is not desirable but is acceptable. Color other than white, with the exception of small amounts of cream or buff in puppies, is a disqualification. Gait Light, leisurely and balanced. The Komondor takes long strides, is very agile and light on his feet. The head is carried slightly forward when the dog trots. The foregoing is a description of the ideal Komondor. Any deviation should be penalized in direct proportion to the extent of that deviation. Extreme deviation in any part should be penalized to the extent that the dog is effectively eliminated from competition. Disqualifications Blue eyes. Flesh-colored nose. Three or more missing teeth. Failure of the coat to cord by two years of age. Short, smooth coat on both head and legs. Color other than white, with the exception of small amounts of cream or buff in puppies.


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