The Bergamasco shepherd is a breed that has been used for centuries to guard flocks. But this unusual dog is also a trusted guardian of home and family.
The Bergamasco shepherd is an ancient Italian dog breed descended from herding and droving dogs that arrived from the East during the great migrations of nomadic peoples. It was originally used in Lombardy to guide flocks on the seasonal routes between the Po Valley and the Alpine pastures. But, beyond its undeniable qualities as a sheepdog, this dog is also an excellent companion for children, whom it regards as puppies to be protected, and a watchful defender of the family that takes it in. It is, in fact, a protective breed, yet never aggressive or dangerous, and is also considered ideal for surface search-and-rescue and rubble search operations. Featured in a recent study on Italian species waiting to be discovered by Mylav, the Bergamasco is thus beginning to gain recognition thanks to the work of attentive breeders and enthusiasts.
The Bergamasco sheepdog descends from that group of herding and droving dogs that spread from East to West in the wake of the migrations of nomadic peoples and their flocks. The exchange of dogs took place at the time of the transfer of sheep and was a common occurrence among shepherds.
"The ancestor of the Bergamasco found a more than fitting cradle in our country in the Alpine arc, where livestock farming was highly developed, and in the Piedmontese and Lombard plains, the wintering grounds for flocks. The herding dog was selected exclusively for its working aptitudes and, for a long time, pedigrees were jealously guarded by shepherds, who nevertheless focused their selection solely on working ability," notes Lele Morandi of Allevamento dei Lupercali. Unfortunately, in doing so, crosses with other breeds or even with mixed-breed dogs were sought, thus allowing the characteristics — both morphological and temperamental — of the breed to gradually disappear and progressively die out.
"This is a dog with a distinctive appearance, covered in the characteristic "flocks" that make it rugged and suited to outdoor life. It is quick and agile, with a tendency towards guarding and protecting its family, and not only towards herding flocks," explains Bruno Ferrari, canine behaviourist. Traces of these ancient dogs can be found in nineteenth-century Swiss writings. At the time, Italian dog fancying was primarily interested in hunting breeds, and so this skilled sheepdog was completely overlooked.
"The Marchese Cornaggia Medici developed a passion for the breed before the Second World War, but it was only after the war that a group of dog enthusiasts took the recovery of these ancient dogs to heart, gathering data for three years, at the end of which Giuseppe Solaro, one of the most renowned canine experts of the time, drew up the definitive breed standard, which was approved by Enci and came into force on 1 January 1958," adds Morandi.
Precisely because of its original function, which demands balance, obedience and sensitivity, the Bergamasco shepherd needs above all to be part of family life, and everything else is secondary to it. "More than large open spaces, this dog needs to feel part of a pack (even better if that pack is made up of affectionate, attentive human beings). It is, in fact, a breed that is sociable with everyone, particularly patient and gentle towards the weaker members of the 'pack' to which it belongs (children, the elderly, people with disabilities, puppies, etc.)," explains Lele Morandi.
The Bergamasco has a great capacity for learning and a particular attentiveness to what it is taught, and it is an alert guardian, yet is never fierce or unreliable in its dealings with strangers. It knows how to defend the group it belongs to, but does so with awareness and composure. The breed is known for its hardiness, its adaptability and its thoughtful nature. "All these characteristics have made the Bergamasco shepherd a dog suited to a wide variety of roles. Individuals of the breed have been employed with good results as disaster dogs and for surface search operations and for pet therapy, as well as naturally as sheepdogs and cattle dogs," concludes Morandi.
The coat is undoubtedly the breed's most striking and distinctive characteristic. Among all sheepdogs, the Bergamasco is in fact the only one to have two types of texture (goat hair at the front — wool at the rear) in addition to the undercoat. It is difficult to establish what gave rise to this particular coat during the evolution of the breed. The environment in which Bergamascos were selected to carry out their work has certainly had a great influence on this characteristic. Working essentially in an Alpine and pre-Alpine climate, from spring to autumn, the dogs required effective protection above all against the wide daily temperature fluctuations found at high altitude where the pastures were located.
"Thus the dense, woolly coat on the rear protects them from the night-time cold, whether in winter, spring or autumn, while in summer, as the undercoat sheds until they almost appear to be wire-haired dogs at the front — where the hair is of the goat type — Bergamascos are able to withstand the hot summer sun on the pastures," explains Morandi. It may also be supposed that this characteristic became more pronounced during the evolution of the breed in order to provide Bergamasco shepherds with effective protection against the wolf attacks that were frequent in the areas where the breed originated.
"The division between the two textures may also have been accentuated by an involuntary selection on the part of shepherds, who perhaps clipped them only partially to aid movement, but without completely stripping them of their natural protection, which thus remained essentially woolly and in flocks," explains the expert.
A hardy and long-lived dog, the Bergamasco shepherd requires particular attention to its coat. "The coat calls for the minimum level of care common to all long-haired dogs that is indispensable for the dog's wellbeing. Constant maintenance of the beard, moustache, ears, tail and underside of the tail is important. The rest needs to be kept in check so that the coat does not felt beyond what is normal, especially if the woolly component is predominant. Like all dogs, Bergamasco shepherds need to be washed — not excessively, but whenever it is considered necessary. In any case, the problem with this type of coat is not the bath itself but the drying, which must be done with great care, especially in winter," specifies Lele Morandi.
As regards health, the ears may be the only weak point of the Bergamasco shepherd: being hairy, they require constant monitoring to prevent the build-up first of earwax and then of ear infections. "The breed's good fortune is that it has never been fashionable, and breeders have so far managed to preserve all the morphological characteristics of its ancestors, even though they are sometimes forced to work with inbreeding due to the low number of dogs registered in the Enci studbooks," the expert specifies. For this reason, no hereditary conditions — typical of many other more widespread breeds — are currently known. Diseases such as dysplasia, common in large and medium-sized dogs, are not currently a major problem for the breed, although it is always advisable for breeders to test breeding animals before mating in order to improve this aspect over time as well.