This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, March 2013 issue.
Its origins lost in the mists of time, the Pyrenean Shepherd has abided for thousands of years in near isolation in the Pyrenees Mountains, what is today known as the border of southwest France and northern Spain—a remote region that contains the highest mountain in France and Europe’s southernmost glaciers. They shared their lives with the Great Pyrenees—whose presence as a large predator control dog allowed the little Pyr Shep to specialize for herding alone, including the small size needed to scramble quickly over the rocky landscape.
The Pyr Shep is a very lean, light-boned, highly athletic dog, whose nature makes them extremely (even excessively) devoted to their owners, often to the exclusion of all other people.
To understand the form and function of this heterogeneous breed, one must realize that they had a heterogeneous job. While most herding breeds are farm dogs (and the Pyr Shep can do fine on farms), their primary use was in the true wilderness—far from farms, roads, enclosed pastures, or crops. The terrain varies widely. It is rocky, very uneven, and includes small grassy valleys divided by sharp cliffs and expanses of glacial rubble with a few strips of grass among the rocks.
The dogs lived day to day as semi-nomads with the human shepherd—who himself camped every night in the open or in casket-like wood boxes carried from place to place by sturdy donkeys or in small stone huts or caves that were occasionally available. In the valleys, the very large flocks spread out over the rocky landscape to take advantage of the meager grass. The sure-footed mountain sheep were moved from valley to valley as grazing ran out. This form of herding is known as transhumance.
This unusual job called for an extremely nimble dog that was nearly cat-like and had anatomy that allowed them to perform different jobs at different points in the season and over widely varying terrain. The Pyrenees are a fairly small region, and the breed is quite inbred. Yet, the shepherds valued great phenotypic diversity—partly because no peasant can afford to keep any more dogs than strictly needed, and greater inbreeding in local areas tended to set slightly different styles.
Partly because local conditions vary greatly, dogs of rather different morphology were useful in different conditions. Thus, the unusual genetic complement that produces the discrete varieties in the same litter was preserved by the mountain shepherds. The squarer, more upstanding Smooth-Faced pups in the litter might often be chosen by folks working most in the lower valleys, while their Rough-Faced littermates would sometimes be favored by those working in the higher mountains.
The longest-haired Rough-Faced dogs were especially valued in the highest mountain areas since their longer backs and well-arched loins allowed quick bursts of speed and excellent scrambling ability over talus slopes. Their heavier coats helped them resist the cold nights. These dogs’ coats tended to form thick quasi cords called “matelotes” or “cadenettes” that shed the cold rain. Yet, they were not too hot in warmer seasons because each spring they would tear off all their matelotes by vigorously rolling and rubbing against rocks and trees until the thick mats were scraped off.
The demi-long Rough-Faced dogs didn’t need to go to such lengths! And the demi-longs frequently have the best coat texture—called “goat-haired” by the shepherds. One could say that the breed taken in its entirety is adapted to controlled heterogeneity. But in all cases, what each individual needed above all was extreme athleticism, intense drive, and profound heart.
Their athleticism is so pronounced that, although only recently introduced to competitive agility, it has allowed the breed to dominate the midi competition at the World Agility Championships. With less than a dozen Pyr Sheps among hundreds of competitors in this international competition each year, Pyr Sheps have taken countless gold medals in the past dozen or so years, including overall Champion four times by three different dogs—one of them bred and owned in America.
In 2011, all four top spots overall went to Pyr Sheps. Here, their prowess has earned them countless gold medals in the 16″ category at the Eukanuba Invitational, the AKC National Agility Championships and the counterpart agility organization’s USDAA World Cynosport Championships.
Running a Pyr Shep is, however, not an easy undertaking. Their blazing speed and quicksilver intelligence make them extremely challenging for even well-seasoned handlers! And the high need for socialization to people and places goes far beyond the usual herding breed.
Their work as the daily herders of sheep, and to some extent cattle and other livestock when called upon, required them to be a jack of all trades, rather than a highly stylized master of one like the Border Collie.
Beginning in the 1920s, they have competed at the top levels in French herding competitions, with one little bitch earning the coveted national championship 3 years in a row! They are also outstanding search and rescue dogs as their small size and keen drive allows them to search areas where larger dogs simply can’t go.
All these shapes and activities make the breed very challenging for the non-specialist to judge. Here follows a dozen of the questions most commonly asked by judges.
Q: What are the 3 most important criteria in judging the Pyr Shep?
A: Head type, body proportions and side gait.
Q: What constitutes correct head type?
A: The head should be triangular with a pointed muzzle sweeping back to the zygomatic arches in a well-filled-in wedge. The eyes are almond-shaped but somewhat open—more the shape of an almond in the shell. Their dark-brown color accentuates the intense, alert, somewhat suspicious expression so crucial to breed type. The skull is nearly flat on top with the ears set high. The muzzle is shorter than in other herding breeds – slightly shorter than the backskull.
Q: What is the correct movement?
A: The dog has a flying trot and a double-suspension gallop. They should have a big, ground-covering side gait—more pronounced in the Rough-Faced variety. They are highly athletic and will often jump effortlessly onto the table. Pyr Sheps quickly singletrack coming and going. Their dewclaws make them look even closer in the rear. Side gait is to be prized much more highly than perfection on the down and back.
Q: How do I tell the varieties and coat types apart at a glance?
A: 1) The Smooth-Faced has short hair on the face and the fronts of the legs, rather like a Sheltie except the body coat is not more than 3″ long and with less undercoat than a Sheltie or Aussie. Rough-Faced dogs have long hair on the face, but not so long as to hide the eyes, and longer leg hair of equal length on both front and back of the legs.
Proportions of the Smooth-Faced variety are nearly square; the Rough-Faced variety is a horizontal rectangle. Both coat types within the RF have strikingly rectangular proportions.
Q: What are the two coat types within the Rough-Faced variety?
A: The Rough-Faced variety has two coat types: long and demi-long. The body coat of the demi is not as long and has a crisp texture and little undercoat. Furnishings can be very pronounced on the longhaired dogs, more rudimentary on the demi-long. Longhaired dogs may be corded on the legs and even over the sides and loin but not on the head or over the withers.
Q: Are they always examined on the table?
A: Yes. In the US, they are always examined on the table. This is optional in Canada. In Europe, they are generally examined on the ground. In the US, they should never be touched in the ground but put back on the table if the judge desires further hands-on—this is standard AKC policy.
Q: What should the judge look for on the table versus on the ground?
A: The temperament of the breed encourages them to be very alert and in constant motion. In this low-entry breed, class dogs are generally inexperienced, as are their owners (whom for the sake of the future of our sport should be encouraged!). So the judge should not prolong the table exam. The class dog will only get more fidgety.
The judge should look for 3 main things in the table exam:
A) Head shape: flat on top with small ears set on high. Muzzle shorter than back skull, but not exaggeratedly so.
B) Scissors bite: level or reverse scissors is acceptable as long as the teeth are touching. But a gap over or under is a DQ.
C) Long scapula and humerus.
D) Rough-Faced dogs have a complex topline with a crested neck knitting well into the back with the long scapula tips making a bump over the withers. The back is level over the ribs but has a pronounced rise over the loin. This rise is accentuated strongly by the coat, especially on heavily-coated dogs. Rear should be well angulated with good let-down of hock.
Smooth-Faced dogs should be more square, more moderate in angulation, length of scapulae and rise over the loin and are higher on hock.
Q: Should I wicket dogs that appear small or large?
A: The breed has a very large size range and most dogs fall within it. And because they tend to be fidgety it can be difficult to get a fair measurement. Judges might be especially tempted to wicket dogs who look very large. Remember that although being over standard is a fault, a judge should refrain from disqualifying unless the dog exceeds standard by more than half an inch—but that doesn’t mean this significant fault should be overlooked in making placements.
Q: Are small dogs preferred?
A: Not per se. Dogs within the entire size range should all be considered equally. However, the standard says the dog should be of minimal size and weight. Thus, faced with 2 dogs of equal quality in head type, proportion and movement, the judge would favor a small, sinewy, light-boned dog over a large robust dog.
Q: Why is this breed so weird?
A: As outlined above, this natural breed is adapted to a lifestyle like no other. Thus the standard reflects a range of acceptable variation, rather than a cookie-cutter approach of “normal” breeds that have been fashioned more extensively—dare we say artificially? However, dogs falling outside that range should be faulted significantly. Correct dogs are actually more consistent than first glance would suggest clothed in their diversity of size, coat and color. The mountain breeders embraced these odd variations for good reasons.
Q: Why is the temperament so odd and why should judges tolerate behavior that would be faulted in other breeds?
A: The breed’s wilderness lifestyle called for a super high energy, super alert dog capable of making split-second decisions and sticking to them despite dangerous terrain and obstinate sheep. Although highly trainable and extremely attached to their humans, the work required a dog that worked at a distance and was able to override the directions of the human shepherds when they felt they knew better—and at such moments they usually did!
As a breed, they learn a tremendous amount of their job from other dogs, rather than via specific training by their human counterparts. The isolation of the mountains meant that strangers were likely up to no good and should be challenged. This produced a dog that tended to resent the eye and hand of the judge.
Exhibitors should have enough control of their dogs to prevent aggression, but fidgeting, leaning away from the judge and general suspicion of the judge are expressions of the normal temperament of the breed and thus not to be faulted per se. Class dogs that behave perfectly at training class may revert to these natural tendencies in the more serious and less familiar show situation—confounding less experienced handlers.
Dogs that feel the judge is intimidating the handler may feel the need to take control of the situation and back the judge off. Give the exhibitor more space and authority will help these dogs feel more comfortable. Do not attempt to “train” the dog or “help” the handler. Encourage the owner to take control, calm their dog and indicate when they are ready to have the dog submit to the exam.
These behaviors are less pronounced among specials, who have been habituated to shows. Do not attempt to make friends with the dog. This will make them more suspicious. Be matter-of-fact and business-like.
The highly desirable alertness has led to a style of presentation in their home country in which the dog is faced away from the handler, allowing them to focus on something of interest in the distance. So the dogs end up standing in a haphazard manner, rather than in a line on the mat. This is easier to achieve at outdoor shows. Free baiting and especially hand stacking are not as desirable since the dog is not pulled together as naturally as in the traditional presentation. But smaller rings sometimes necessitate more generic presentation.
Judges should not just tolerate but embrace the traditional attitude of the breed. After all, temperament is an element of type.
Q: How do I perform a breed-specific exam?
A: While the exhibitor is settling the dog on the table, you can observe the overall proportions and get a feel for the harmony of the dog. Move to the front and take the head in your hands to feel its structure. Ask the exhibitor to show the bite. Use your hand to feel the topline—especially to evaluate their true silhouette..
