Komondor

The Komondor is a large, white livestock guardian dog from Hungary with a long, corded coat. It has guarded flocks and property for centuries, and Hungary has declared the breed a national treasure, to be preserved and protected from change.

History

The Komondor came to Hungary with the Cumans, a Turkic-speaking nomadic people who moved west ahead of the Mongols and settled in Hungary in the 12th and 13th centuries. The name means “dog of the Cumans”, and Komondor remains have been found in Cuman graves. The first written use of the name is in a Hungarian work of 1544.

Hungary’s other guardian breed, the Kuvasz, developed apart from it. The Kuvasz belonged to the Magyars, who for a long time lived in different areas from the Cumans and spoke a different language, so the two kinds of dog mixed little, if at all.

Many Komondors were killed during the Second World War. The breed is now fairly common in Hungary, and it has come into wide use in the United States to protect sheep and goats from coyotes, cougars and bears.

Appearance

This is a big, robust, strongly muscled dog with long legs and a body slightly longer than it is tall. Females stand at least 65 cm (25.5 in) and average 70 cm (27.5 in); males stand at least 70 cm and average 80 cm (31.5 in), and no upper limit is set. Females weigh 40–50 kg (88–110 lb) and males 50–60 kg (110–132 lb). The head is broad, and the nose and lips are always black.

The coat is the breed’s mark. A puppy’s coat is soft and fluffy. As the dog matures, the soft undercoat and the coarser outer coat twist together into tassels or cords, which take about two years to form and keep growing, reaching 20–27 cm. The Komondor is always white, though a working dog may look off-white. The coat shields the dog from weather, undergrowth and the bites of wolves, and it helps the dog blend in with the sheep.

Temperament

The Komondor is calm and steady when all is well and fearless in defense of its charges when it is not. It was bred to think and act for itself. With its family it is affectionate, and it is gentle with the family’s children and friends. It is wary of strangers but can accept them once it is clear they mean no harm.

It rests by day while keeping an eye on things, and at night it patrols its whole territory. It will usually knock an intruder down and hold him there until its owner comes. It is not a dog for an apartment.

Care and health

The cords need some help to separate as they form, so that the coat does not become one solid mat. Once the cords are set the dog sheds very little. After a bath the coat takes about two and a half days to dry.

Facts on this page were checked against Wikipedia and may have changed since.