The Shepherd is a breed of dog native to the Basque Country, well known in rural environments where it is used to perform tasks such as handling animals.
The Basque Shepherd dog breed, in Basque euskal artzain txakurra, is a breed widely used in the Basque Country for handling animals. This breed is located in the provinces of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Alava and Navarra and has a longevity of approximately 13 years.
History: The Shepherd has been present for centuries in the Basque Country, proof of this are the paintings of the sixteenth century where you can see dogs of this breed. It is also present in Basque mythology, showing the importance of the Shepherd among us. This breed had a bad period between the 19th and early 20th centuries due to the fact that many Basque farmhouses suffered wolf attacks, against which the Shepherd has nothing to do due to its physique. That is why the Basque Shepherd was replaced by dogs of a totally different style, much more corpulent dogs such as the Leon mastiffs, not so skilled in the work of handling animals but very effective in keeping the flock alive. Nowadays the wolf is an animal that unfortunately has hardly any presence in the Basque Country, the only wolf specimens in the Basque Country are those that cross the borders of the Basque Country coming from other autonomous communities. The provinces with more wolves are the provinces of Alava and Gipuzkoa.
The Basque Shepherd is still among us thanks in part to the shepherd dog competitions that are organized regularly in many towns in the Basque Country. Many times this breed has won international shepherd competitions, but this has not prevented that nowadays there are less than 1000 Shepherds in the Basque Country.
It was not until 1995 that it was officially recognized as a breed, being the last of the breeds to be recognized throughout the peninsula.
2 Basque Shepherd females
The breed: We can distinguish two types of sub-breeds: Gorbeiakoa and Iletsua, these two names allude to the area of origin and the form of the breed in Basque, thus, Gorbeiakoa, refers to the fact that it is a breed from the area of Gorbea (emblematic mountain of the Basque Country) while iletsua means hairy in Basque.
Gorbeiakoa: This sub-breed of the Basque Shepherd has a redder coat than its breed mate and a longer tail. As its name suggests, it is from the vicinity of the Gorbea mountain, although nowadays it is possible to see it in other parts of the Basque Country.
Iletsua: This breed can be found anywhere in the Basque Country and Navarre.
Physique: The Shepherd is a medium height dog and not very heavy, as in most breeds the female is usually smaller and lighter than the male, so we can say that the male can reach 40 kg and a height of 70 cm while the female can reach 20 kg and 60 cm.
Basque Shepherd with sheep
Today: Today the Basque Shepherd breed is a breed that works with native flocks of the Basque Country such as the Carranzana sheep and the Latxa sheep. There are few specimens left among us, and the Shepherd breed is almost in danger of extinction. A very lively dog with a great eagerness to control and defend the flock that today protects and “controls” many Basque families, who, following tradition, have a Basque Shepherd in their farmhouses.
Recommendation: If you can and want to, we invite you to attend a shepherd dog competition to see the ability of the Basque Shepherd to manage and control a flock under the orders of his master, to whom he responds without hesitation in his daily work. Oñati, the cradle of the shepherd competitions in the Basque Country will offer us a show that is undoubtedly worth seeing. In these shepherd dog competitions it is also usually possible to see the evolution and current situation of the Basque Shepherd in which he will have to compete against the best shepherd dogs in Spain and France. This contest is usually held in September coinciding with the festivities of the municipality, if you do not have the option to travel to this Basque town in September do not worry, there are other competitions in which it is possible to see the Basque Shepherd in action.
We leave a video for you to see what the Shepherd dog contests consist of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzLdgfsGXmA
As you can see the Basque Shepherd or euskal artzai txakurra is a breed that has very few specimens but with a lot of quality in the domestic work that unfortunately nowadays is only practiced in a few farms in the Basque Country. If you want to see and spend a day with a Basque Shepherd we recommend you our article about the Shepherd of Abadiño.
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