Sardinian Shepherd Dog Fonni's Dog | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Other names | (Pastore) fonnesu Cani sardu antigu Cane de acapiu Cani fonnesu antigu 'Ane de 'onne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Origin | Sardinia (Italy) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Breed status | Not recognised as a breed by any major kennel club. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dog (domestic dog) |
The Sardinian Shepherd Dog or Fonni's Dog (Sardinian: cane fonnesu or cani sardu antigu; Italian: pastore fonnese) is an ancient landrace breed of Sardinian dog used as a herding, catching, and livestock guardian dog.
Although there are depictions dating back to at least the mid-19th century, it is not recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.[1] It has gained a recognition of the Alianza Canina Latina.[2]
The breed, which is indigenous to the island, was founded with approximately 170 specimens gathered from rural parts of inner Sardinia. The breed is, therefore, a landrace. Because of the large number of founders and the breed's genetic variability, the breed should enjoy relative freedom from genetic inbreeding. Most of the dog breeds are derived by a very small number of founders (for example, nine dogs were used as founders of the Siberian Husky) and therefore inbreeding tends to be high, resulting in a high incidence of illness due to gene mutations.[3]