Hutsul Shepherd Dog

One of the oldest white Molossers, the great Hutsul Dog is alarmingly rare today. This breed is closely related to the other white sheepdogs of the region, such as the Polish Tatra, Slovakian Watchdog, Hungarian Kuvasz and Merdzan Sarplaninac, as well as the Turkish Akbash and the dogs of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Some believe that the Ukrainian Hutsul Sheepdog is a result of crossings between these breeds, while others claim it is in fact older than most of them.

The Hutsul Shepherd Dog is an excellent livestock herder and protector, as well as a valued property watchdog of the Hutsul people living in the Ukrainian Carpathian mountains. Although not as massive as some Molossers, this rugged working breed has a very powerful muscular body and is more than capable of fighting off predators. Leaner than the Sarplaninac, but wider than the Kuvasz, the mighty Hutsul Mountain Dog is a very agile and athletic Moloss. When not provoked, this breed is calm and reserved. It is suspicious of strangers and can be confrontational with other dogs.

The coat is fully weather-resistant and has a thick, soft undercoat. The top coat is coarse and slightly wavy. Like with most mountain sheepdogs, there is also a bearded variant. A pure Hutsul Dog is always uniform white in colour. Average height is around 27 inches.