Selene Gazi Baba Volcanoes
FCI/UKC Sarplaninac Bitch
Selene and her sister Eos were imported by Northwest Guardians in early 2016 from Macedonia.
Selene has been our foundation bitch and a big part of our pack, even taking some hits from a cougar in 2019. She is merciless in the defense of her stock- a fierce protector.
Health Testing Information:
Selene’s DNA screening results: http://embk.me/nwgselene
Clear of DM – The only OFA Recommended genetic disease test for Sarplaninac
167 Genetic diseases Embark screened: Carries 0, At risk of 0, Affected by 0.
Selene’s OFA Hip, Elbow, Cardiac clearances: https://www.ofa.org/advanced-search?f=sr&appnum=2033164
OFA Hip: Good SAR-24G38F-NOPI
OFA Elbow: Normal SAR-EL12F38-NOPI
OFA Cardiac: Normal SAR-CA1/38F/P-NOPI
History:
Selene and her sister Eos were imported from a show kennel (Gazi Baba Volcanoes) in Macedonia as small pups. They had never met a goat, or any other livestock, prior to our bringing them home. The supervision and training required of these girls was higher because of this fact. While all LGD breed dogs do have the basic instincts to be successful, much behavior molding and bonding is required of a pup who did not know stock in their first 12 weeks of life. The sooner a pup is exposed to various stock, the better for their working future. We encourage anyone looking to import new lines (regardless of breed) to look into shepherd’s dogs, not show dogs.
The girls were raised together on the property, and Eos was sold when it became obvious that she and Infi were not going to function together in a pack, ever.
Fun Facts:
The reason we selected these girls was their sire, Memati (left) owned by Gjorji Nachevski. He is from the mountain lines, not show lines, and lives with stock in Macedonia. Selene takes after him very much in type, which pleases us. While her summer coat is short for the breed standard (she meets the minimum guard hair length), we will always favor a functional working coat over a show standard. The Sarplaninac breed has been divided between working/show/military lines for decades now, and we will always prefer the working lines for their utility.
Memati is still working in Macedonia today, and we are on good terms with his owner.
The shepherds of Macedonia and that whole region do not conform to the Sarplaninac FCI breed standard- selecting for working ability above color, coat length, and size.
Since her sister’s departure, Selene has continued to be a solid worker and an asset to the LGD pack here. Because the girls were often split up and trained separately, we were able to avoid the common pitfalls of littermate syndrome and generally raising two same-age bitches simultaneously. More on this topic is forthcoming to help others understand why this method (getting two littermates, especially sisters) is NOT recommended.
Selene loves babies, human and stock alike. She is a hard worker, alerts to new births reliably, and is a great asset to our pack. In 2019, we had a very bold cougar come down after our mini calf. Selene took point and drove the cat off with the support of the pack. She got some scratches down her back, but healed well and completely!
Selene
Selene's Progeny
