Polish Lowland Sheepdog

GENERAL APPEARANCE 
Shoulder height: 40-52cm (16”-20”).
Colour: Whole or parti colours.
Coat: Shaggy harsh long outercoat with soft undercoat. Long hair covers the eyes.
Gait: Smooth true gait. Inclined to amble. The head is carried fairly low.
This cobby muscular dog is a true worker. Due to the profuse hair on the skull and muzzle, the head tends to look large for the size of the dog. The furrowed skull is slightly domed and the same length as the muzzle, or possibly slightly longer. The eyes, usually hidden by hair, are hazel or brown and the pendant ears are medium in size. The fore and hindquarter assemblies are strong and well angulated. The ratio of the body length to shoulder height 10:9. The ribcage must never be barrelled. The pasterns slope slightly to strong oval feet. Like the Old English Sheepdog, if not born tail-less the tail is usually docked.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
In Poland, this breed is known as Polski Owczarek Nizinny, or ‘Pons’. They are watchful, perceptive and quite self-controlled. They have excellent memories. Like many members of the working dog family, this breed’s herding instincts are inherent. They make excellent watchdogs and are easy to train. Their double coat needs regular grooming with a pin brush that will reach right through to the undercoat if knots and matts are to be avoided.
HISTORY
Many of the central European herding dogs are much larger than the ‘Pons’, and in order to produce a smaller herder it is believed that the Hungarian Puli was crossed with the local harsh coated sheep herders of the day. Thus the Poles produced a dog capable of being a functional working dog and with a coat that protected them from the vagaries of weather. It is presumed that this is the same breed the Polish seamen took to Scotland in the16th century - either as working dogs for the stock on board or to barter for other animals in Scotland. It is not hard to believe that this breed is an antecedent of today’s Bearded Collie or Old English Sheepdog.