Characteristics

The character of the Polish Lowland Sheepdog is indeed charming and its intelligence is remarkable. It should be pointed out to newcomers their ability to learn is tremendous, picking up both good ways and bad incredibly quickly. With their origin being a herding watchdog, puppies should be socialised from an early age. PONs are faithful, loyal companions who adore nothing better than to be at your side, preferably at your feet, they are certainly not at their happiest being kenneled. Not to be forgotten is the fact they are wilful little characters and need sensible handling; otherwise they can become quite unruly. Coats require a considerable amount of grooming because of the very dense undercoat.

A medium sized, strong, cobby, muscular dog is required by the KC standard with the height to length proportions being 9-10, that is slightly rectangular, not long in the back or square. The variation in size allows some bitches 42-47 cms (16 ½ -18 ½ ins) to be larger than the dogs 45-50 cms (17 ¾ -19 ¾ ins). All colours are acceptable but pigmentation should be as dark as possible, eyes hazel to brown. Presently the breed is shown naturally without trimming. This will hopefully continue, as we do not need to glamorise a sound working dog with trimming and back combing. Polish Lowland Sheepdogs now have tails of varying lengths since docking was banned in the UK in April 2007, although occasionally puppies are born tailless due to genetic reasons.