Andreoli / De Falcis Bergamasco

1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-62187-062-3
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

Reihe: Comprehensive Owner's Guide

Authored by expert breeder Maria Andreoli, founder of the famed Dell'Albera Kennels in Italy, and Donna DeFalcis, the first American breeder of the Bergamasco, this Special Rare-Breed Edition provides everything a new owner needs to know about acquiring a well-bred puppy, coat care, temperament, training and more. As a much-needed resource for owners, this new book offers a complete history of the breed, accompanied by over 135 unique photographs, as well as an authoritative text to help the read to better understand, train and raise this fascinating breed.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Andreoli

De Falcis, Donn

Leseproben

At the end of the 19th century, the Bergamasco was still referred to as the Alpine Sheepdog and the Northern Italian Sheepdog. The breed’s official name is a fairly recent designation.

ORIGIN OF THE BREED

It is now universally accepted that the first centers for domestication of sheep and goats were located in central and southern Asia. From these regions, populations that migrated in search of new pastures from east to west settled in mountainous zones along a practically uninterrupted line from the upper plains of Asia across the mountains of Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Carpathians and the Alps to the Pyrenees.

Scientists who dedicated their studies to cow-and sheep-breeding noted the presence, in these same regions, of dogs with long, bristly coats. The origins of these breeds probably go back to the Himalayan zones, where there existed a wolf known as Canis lupus laniger, which had a very thick coat. Along this route there are a number of dog breeds now stabilized and recognized, which are almost certainly direct descendants from a common ancestor. From a historical point of view, it is quite logical that a group of dog breeds with such similarities is to be found along the routes followed by these migrant populations.

The characteristics shared by all of these dogs are robust constitutions and thick, rough coats with more or less pronounced tendencies to felting on all parts of the body, including on the head, where the hair often forms a curtain in front of the eyes. These characteristics have become set, due to the dogs’ adaptation to the climates and geographical locations of their places of origin, and maintained through environmental conditions. The breeds that are known today for these characteristics are the Ovcharka in Russia, the Komondor and Puli in Hungary, the Polish Lowland Sheepdog in Poland, the Sheeppoedel in Germany (now very rare but not entirely extinct), the Bergamasco in the Italian Alps, the Briard and the Berger des Pyrenees (Little Pyrenean Sheepdog) in the French Alps and the Catalan Sheepdog in the Spanish Pyrenees.

Many shepherds consider the Bergamasco as an ideal breed for handling sheep. Even the sheep seem to respect them as they wait attentively for the dog’s “instructions.”

A migratory current far further north could have been responsible for the presence of other dog breeds, probably of the same origin as the aforementioned—the Old English Sheepdog (Bobtail), which is still a working breed in northern England and the Scottish Highlands, and the Bearded Collie in Britain. There is also mention of a Norwegian Sheepdog of days gone by.

Once these migratory populations abandoned their nomadic existence and settled down within confined territories, their inseparable companions, their dogs, underwent the same evolution. Together with their masters, the dogs settled down in all parts of Europe and lost contact with groups located elsewhere. Climatic conditions, environmental factors and the habits of the local populations with whom they lived influenced the evolution of these isolated groups in varying manners so that, with the passing of the centuries, their looks, character and habits underwent changes. Each one of these groups of dog assumed its own identity, which made it different from its remote ancestor, but also different from the dogs of other groups. However, even today, these differences are not so great that we cannot recognize the different breeds’ common origin.

The ancestors of our modern Bergamasco arrived in Italy, spreading right over the flanks of the Alps. Until some 50 to 60 years ago, when sheep breeding was still prevalent in much of northern Italy, the dog was to be found throughout the entire Alpine region. Initially, our Bergamasco must have been used as a watchdog, which constituted the original function of the breed and remained unchanged over the centuries. Originally, all sheepdogs were guard dogs, and their activity was limited to protecting the flocks from animals of prey. The guard dog carries out his task by remaining close to the flock, and his instinct makes him immediately aware of the approach of strangers, human or animal, that attempt to penetrate the imaginary protective circle that the dog has drawn around the flock. The guardian sheepdog was and is still now used to protect the flock, and no other kind of work is expected from this type of dog.

GENUS CANIS

Dogs and wolves are members of the genus Canis. Wolves are known scientifically as Canis lupus while dogs are known as Canis domesticus. Dogs and wolves are known to interbreed. The term “canine” derives from the Latin-derived word Canis. The term “dog” has no scientific basis but has been used for thousands of years. The origin of the word “dog” has never been authoritatively ascertained.

However, in regions where agriculture progressively was developing, the process of stock-breeding needed to adapt to changing conditions. Forests were being cleared and areas previously dedicated to grazing were being ploughed up, thus restricting the territory available for wild animals and limiting their numbers. The continuous disappearance of wide open spaces for grazing necessitated important changes in the time-honored traditions of stock-breeding.

Before the advent of wide-scale agriculture, the flocks were able to wander from one grazing ground to another without demographic barriers, so that their roaming did not need to be controlled. Once these zones were under cultivation, what had once been no-man’s land became the property of individuals who defended their land against intruders. It therefore became difficult to cross these zones. To avoid problems, it became necessary to drive the flocks over restricted passages and to make certain that the animals did not trespass. The classic methods used by shepherds for keeping their flocks together proved inadequate. It was at this point that men realized how better use of their dogs could be an advantage to them.

This transformation was no more than a gradual and slow evolution during which the dog retained his guardian qualities, but also acquired a new behavior pattern through which he learned to drive the flock. These methods had never been applied to the ferocious guard dogs, as it would have been dangerous to deliberately set them after the sheep when it might not be possible to curb their aggression. They were, therefore, gradually replaced by smaller, friendlier dogs with great intelligence. This transformation process was slow, progressive and, in the beginning at least, unintentional. These circumstances were what gradually led toward increased use of the sheepdog.

Since this extended function (meaning the dogs’ ability to herd) was required sooner or later in many different places, particularly in Europe, it is impossible to confine the dogs’ evolution to one place or to one moment in time. This new behavior pattern could only have been acquired and ingrained over a long evolutionary period due to rigid selection. Although scarce, we can find traces of this evolutionary process of our dogs amid historical data, providing us with a significant guideline.

Of particular importance was the migration of Italian sheep to Switzerland, which commenced in the latter Middle Ages (the first documentation refers to the year AD 739) and continued until 1886, when the Swiss government banned it. From the eastern Piedmont and Lombardy regions, the flocks crossed the Valtellina and the more accessible of the Alpine passes to reach the Grisons, where summer pasturelands were leased for them. The sheep migrated in vast numbers, some reports indicating as many 40,000 heads. Surely shepherds needed the help of the sheepdogs to accomplish this migration.

Capable of both guarding and herding, the Bergamasco is a one-dog shepherding system.

In ancient times, the Alpine passes were wild areas where bears and wolves lived. Large and ferocious guardian sheepdogs were essential for the protection of flocks and men. The writings of G. von Albertini von Tamins, dated 1781, inform us that at the beginning of June, Italian shepherds drove their flocks up the Splugen Pass from Piedmont. He continues, saying that their excellent sheepdogs not only bravely guarded their masters and the flocks against wolves but also nearly replaced the shepherds in managing the animals. This is the first citation that confirms the beginning of the transition from watchdog to drover. In books written some years later, we find descriptions of these sheepdogs: “Big dogs with long, woolly coats are the courageous assistants of the Bergamasco Shepherds” and “…large thin with long, woolly coats.”

Influenced also by environmental changes, the character and habits of the dogs progressively adapted. In the Hoepli manual of 1897, The Dog, author Angelo Vecchi stated, “The North Italian Sheepdog, in particular those that emanate from the Alpine regions, are docile, friendly and not aggressive unless their flocks are menaced. The shepherds teach them how to manage the sheep to prevent them from straying into fields along the paths they follow on their long journeys and to keep them together on roads.”

It is interesting to note that, around the end of the 19th century, the dog was still defined by some authors as “Alpine Sheepdog” and sometimes as “Northern Italian Sheepdog,” proving that the name “Bergamasco Sheepdog” is fairly recent. The present name should not be attributed to its place of origin, as is commonly assumed, but is more probably linked to the history of the “traveling shepherds.” The arid Bergamasco Valleys...